At the Frontlines of the Global Transition
MADISON, WI – I turn 70 today. How old is that? Like a film festival of mid-century classics, I remember scenes from the 1950s. Not vaguely — vividly. Faces, voices, color, sound. I was only a few months past two, for instance, still in diapers, when I bolted straight out the front door of our home in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and into the middle of Shady Lane. Heading my way was a driver who saw …
Behold the “No Kings” protests last month. Millions of Americans in the streets opposing the Trump administration’s reckless governing principles. Thousands of communities expressing the solemn right to push back against a clear and present danger. At least for the time being. For real. As public attention is diverted by the daily diet of strategically outrageous presidential distractions, fossil fuel companies and their industrial allies have been quietly advancing a new form of corporate vigilantism. …
Until May 2025, utility executives like those at Consumers Energy in Michigan operated in the world of orderly oversight of electricity generation. In coordination with MISO, the regional transmission agency, and the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), Consumers Energy decided when to build new power plants to meet energy demand. When plants grew old and too costly to operate, as happened with the coal-fired J.H. Campbell Generating Station in western Michigan, Consumers collaborated with MISO …
