Government | ModeShift

More on Midwest Energy Schizophrenia

by Keith SchneiderNovember 18, 2007November 19, 20071

With as much Midwest fanfare as they daredÂ toÂ muster, nineÂ governors last week announced a regional compact to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. It was the third such multi-state climate change agreement.Â States in the Northeast and the far West have already ratifiedÂ similar pacts. Midwest governors also agreed on an economic development plan forÂ our increasingly wintry and troubled region that focused on promoting biofuels, wind energy, efficiency, conservation, and other measures to reduce costs and clear pollutants. Michigan …

Election Results for Smart Growth Are Strong

by Keith SchneiderNovember 8, 2007November 12, 20070

Smart Growth continues to flourish at the ballot box. With the exception of the defeat of a disputed highway and transit measure in the Seattle region, voters on Tuesday this week again overwhelmingly approved candidates and strategies that make their places cleaner, greener, more neighborly, and much more efficient consumers of land and resources. Voters across the country approved 34 of 55 conservationÂ measures on the ballot, generating $1.4 billion in new conservation funding. The election …

Blueprint for American Prosperity

by Keith SchneiderNovember 6, 20071

Â If you’ve had the chance to visit America’s big cities, you’ve no doubt noticed thatÂ almost without exception they’re pretty terrific places to be these days. The revival of America’s big city downtowns and neighborhoods, the development that’s occurring in the inner ring suburbs, all portend something very useful to the nation’s well being in this century.Â The prosperity that’s occurred in American cities represents one of the great achievements in the United States in the …

$100 Barrel Oil Nears; Streetcars in Portland

by Keith SchneiderOctober 31, 2007November 1, 20070

Â Two items caught my eye today. World oil prices reached $93 a barrel this week, which is why gasoline at the Wesco down the road is $3.07-a- gallon tonight.Â The other news is the announcement on MondayÂ that city leaders inÂ Oregon want to dramatically expand the number of neighborhoods served by Portland’s spectacularly successful streetcar. The two developments are related, of course, because as fuel prices rise the sanity and fuel-efficiency of streetcar lines makes ever …

New Peak Oil Assessment – Not Good

by Keith SchneiderOctober 23, 2007October 30, 20076

Â Cheap oilÂ was, arguably, the most important driver of prosperity in the industrial world during the 20th century.Â Expensive energy is one, but not the only significant driver of theÂ economic Mode Shift occuring in the 21st.Â Today, just in time for gas prices here in Benzie County to edge close to $3.00 again, and with news of $90 a barrel oil this week, comes the latest independent assessment of global oil stocks. The conclusion that the …

What Was Bill Richardson Thinking?

by Keith SchneiderOctober 14, 2007October 15, 20078

Â On October 4 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson, who also happens to be the governor of New Mexico, essentially committed a personal political drowning here in the Great Lakes region. Mr. Richardson, who is campaigning hard to win the Nevada’s presidential caucus on January 9, the nation’s second such contest,Â told the Las Vegas Sun the following: “I want a national water policy,” he is quoted as telling the newspaper.Â “We need a dialogue between states …

I Wish, I Will

by Keith SchneiderSeptember 30, 2007October 15, 20070

Â NEW YORK — The three-day Clinton Global Initiative concluded with a flurry of new commitmentsÂ including a five-year, $4 billion pledge by Pacific Gas & Electric and Ausra toÂ build solar thermal generating stations that both companies says is cost-competitive withÂ fossil fuel generation.Â California-based Ausra will build at least 1,000 megawatts of solar power plants and PG&E will purchase at least 1,000 megawatts of solar thermal, and the dealÂ will eliminate over 36 million tons of CO2 emissions …

Online, Televised, Blogged, YouTube and More New Media at the Clinton Initiative

by Keith SchneiderSeptember 29, 2007October 5, 20072

NEW YORK —Â Live television imagesÂ fromÂ the various plenary and working sessionsÂ are everywhere at the Clinton Global Initiative. They appear on screens as big as king size bed sheets in the main conference hall. They illuminate flat screens that stand in the halls and smaller meeting rooms. A row of smallÂ screens decorate a refreshment area close to the lobby of the Sheraton New York. This demonstration of televisedÂ ubiquity is just the leading edge of a communications strategy …

Climate Change Is A New Global Organizing Principle

by Keith SchneiderSeptember 27, 2007September 28, 20075

Â NEW YORKÂ — The X Prize Foundation, which developed a new philanthropic idea called “revolution through competition,” toldÂ participants today at the Clinton Global Initiative that it would commit $300 milion in the nextÂ seven years to help solve global crises in each of the four CGI focus areas. The foundation said it is developing new prizes to increase access to renewable fuels, improve energy efficiency, and promote use of cleaner fuels. It also will have …

Mitt Romney Has A Smart Growth Record; But He Keeps It Hidden

by Keith SchneiderAugust 20, 2007August 21, 20070

Â There’s never been a time in my life, which now spans 51 years, when the conversation in communities is so distanced from what state lawmakers choose to talk about. And the gulf only gets wider between the concerns knocking around state capitols and what Congress and the White House think is important. This isn’t a partisan problem. It’s a national disgrace. Our state government here in Michigan, for example, is led by a two-term …