Blog

The barrier to having a decent energy policy is very similar to the barriers of solving illegal immigration.  Both the left and the right have their own vested interests in not fixing the problem.  I see the political spectrum as a circle, not a line from far left to far right.  It is a circleRead more

One thing I’ve learned many times over with approaching or ongoing energy efficiency projects with clients, mostly end users, is that when the decision maker is replaced for whatever reason – the guy took a different job, retired, moved to a different place in the company – you name it, it is time to pullRead more

This week in Coon Valley, where I’ve lived for 15 years, we were hit with frost that ended the growing season for unprotected plants.  I have said for years that the first killing frost is always around the first of October, depending on the timing of cold fronts, but this year was earlier than normalRead more

Earlier this year I was partaking in an interview for a large project and we were asked a formal list of specific questions, the last of which was, why should we hire your team?  While one possible response would be to ramble on for a few minutes about how great we were as demonstrated byRead more

This week features an overload of potential topics but let’s start with this one: Can we put some adults in charge in certain seats of power in Washington.  I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the EPA is running wild when it comes to mandating emissions requirements from power plants.  Lisa Jackson, head of the EPA andRead more

I spent last week at the International Energy Program Evaluation Conference, IEPEC, as in, I-E-P-E-C to hard core evaluators or I-Peck for the rest of us. Ninety-five percent of the conference including content and networking was great.  Of course with this being the Energy Rant, I will beat on the remaining 5%. Recapping, there areRead more

As administrations and congresses come and go, one thing remains the same: “there is no clear energy policy”, and “we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil”.  Neither one is ever addressed. First, what the heck is a clear energy policy anyway and are we sure we want one?  When the government messes withRead more

I’ve spent most of my career in energy efficiency marketing and selling energy efficiency to clients and anyone who might listen.  Come to think of it, I marketed and sold to a lot of people who didn’t listen, to be sure.  So no one is safe.  A major component is removing barriers; also known asRead more

It has been quite a year for protests.  From Glenn Beck (although he swears it wasn’t a protest) and Jon Stewart (ditto) taking up the entire National Mall in Washington, to the months long battle royale in the 85 square miles surrounded by reality – also known as Madison, WI.  For what it’s worth, youRead more

As you must know, last week congress failed to pass a repeal of the incandescent light bulb with their “Better Use of Light Bulbs” (BULB) act.  There you go right there – God awful marketing.  Who comes up with this junk?  Why does every bill have to be called an “act”?  It’s like every scandalRead more

A couple years ago I was attending an ACEEE conference and I was speaking with a gentleman who with his company was a program implementer.  I remember him saying that program evaluators should always work for the regulators.  If evaluators worked for the program implementer, which in many cases is the utility directly, the resultsRead more

My mother informed me during my annual July 4 visit to her house that I’m getting more gray hair.  Thanks for that information, Mom.  I can do things such as exercise and stretch to keep my body in a youngish condition but I’ve never heard of anything not fake that keeps non-silver hair growing fromRead more