Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Empower Energy Development
People who envision massive gains in U.S. oil and gas production and
people who aspire to build a country dominated by zero-carbon energy
have something basic in common: realizing any of their agendas will
require a massive amount of energy development. Alas, they all face a
social, regulatory, and legal environment in which local concerns and
endless litigation have made development ever more dii cult. Many
want to see this situation i xed, but only for their preferred energy
sources. Many environmental advocates who used the current system
to block the Keystone XL pipeline in 2011 are also desperate to make
it easier to build wind and solar, and the electricity transmission needed
to support those energy sources. Backers of oil and gas who seek easier
permit ing for their projects typically couldn't care less about whether
renewable energy developers face similar problems.
Yet the best bet for unlocking the full potential of American energy is
across-the-board reform. h ere are substantial limits to what Washington
can do: many of the most powerful policy tools, such as smart zoning
to ef ectively integrate industrial activity near residential areas, will (and
should) never end up in federal hands. But the federal government can
still take important steps, including imposing minimum standards for
safe development of technologies in which public coni dence has fal-
tered, facilitating collaboration among regulators in dif erent states, and
streamlining permit ing for projects of all kinds while retaining smart
environmental safeguards.
Leverage Gains at Home to Make Progress Abroad
Extraordinary advances in U.S. energy have created big opportunities
to change the American energy system for the bet er. But most U.S.
worries about energy, and many energy-related opportunities, remain
anchored in dynamics well beyond the country's shores. h e United
States remains vulnerable to high and volatile prices borne abroad. Its
people worry about climate change because global emissions create
ever-larger risks. Many of its economic strategists see value in develop-
ing new energy technologies in part because new markets appear to
be emerging around the world.
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