Listening to the partisan political debate, some people may think that the only way for government policies to change is to elect the right people. While elections are important, they are not the only way that policies get changed. Another possibility is that the Overton Window shifts when some ideas become more popular, and the change can make previously unthinkable policies possible. I spoke with the Mackinac Center’s director of research, Michael Van Beek, to talk about how the Overton Window changes. We looked at the new ways policymakers thought about taxi regulations and what caused them to rethink their approach.
Tuesday, May 25: How to build a better grid
In each instance, lawmakers left
the state’s lightly regulated energy markets alone, choosing cheap electricity over a more stable system. As a result, experts say, the power grid that Texans depend on to heat and cool their homes and run their businesses has become less and less reliable and more susceptible to weather-related emergencies.
“Everyone has been in denial,” said Alison Silverstein, a consultant who works with the U.S. Department of Energy and formerly served as a senior adviser at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “They treat each individual extreme event as a one-off, a high-impact, low-frequency event, which means, ‘I hope it doesn’t happen again.’”
Federal agency rejects Tri-State s buyout policy – The Durango Herald durangoherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from durangoherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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In order for renewable energy projects to gain traction on a
larger scale in the United States, significant investments need to
go into building the required underlying infrastructure, including
a green sustainable grid across the country.
Eminent domain, the government s right to expropriate
private property for public use with just compensation, has
historically been the go-to tool for the fossil fuel industry to
build and expand its vast network of pipelines by obtaining the
parcels of land needed to build the pipeline. Eminent domain is a
Consumers Energy constantly monitoring and inspecting two big dams in Newaygo County
Hardy Dam on the Muskegon River one of the largest earthen dams east of the Mississippi River, twice as tall as the Edenville Dam which failed in May 2020. Author: Jon Mills Updated: 6:19 PM EDT May 19, 2021
NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. Historic rain flooded mid-Michigan over a 48-hour period in May 2020 causing the embankment at the Edenville Dam to collapse leading to the evacuation of several thousand people from areas along the Tittabawassee River.
The dam s failure sent a 20-feet high wall of water rushing downriver, destroying homes and bridges resulting in $250 million in damages.