Op-Ed

A new and vastly improved climate change policy has come out of nowhere to capture the imagination of state and national policymakers: "Cap and dividend." It works like this: Step one, impose a carbon cap. Step two, auction off all carbon allowances. Step three, return most of (if not all) the revenues generated to all households on a per capita basis. More

Community-owned broadband is one way to bring fiber to smaller markets, but many states restrict the practice. Researcher Christopher Mitchell argues that it's time for a bit more Roosevelt-style localism in US broadband. 

Following ILSR's map showing states that preempt local authority to build Community Broadband Networks we published the following op-ed on the leading tech site Ars Technica. More

How many times do the people have to be proven right before their political leaders listen to them? The recent cancellation of Big Stone II by its investors brings that question to mind.

Back in 2006, seven Minnesota utilities asked the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission for permission to build a large coal fired power plant in that state. At the same time they asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for permission to build a high voltage transmission line to bring that plant's electricity into Minnesota, where more than half of its output would be consumed. More

Current providers won't encourage the competition necessary to improve service and cut costs.

Last January, as the economy spiraled downward, Time Warner did what no other company could have gotten away with under the circumstances: It imposed a price increase of as much as 5.5 percent on its Maine customers.

Meanwhile, the state's other major broadband Internet provider, FairPoint, has amassed a stunning track record of mismanagement and abysmal customer service. More

We all agree that a 100% renewable energy system is preferable.  But we don’t need a new, high-voltage transmission network now to reach that goal, and it’s far from clear that we’ll need it in the future.  More

The last thing renewable energy needs right now are new transmission lines.

This statement is heresy in the green community, but there’s a danger that the increasing focus of green energy advocates on a new nationwide transmission superhighway may undermine the pursuit of near-term renewable energy goals. More

Just as railroads and highways were the essential infrastructure for development in the 19th and 20th centuries, broadband networks will be essential for 21st-century competitive economies. Small cities and even isolated, rural communities that have strong educational systems and human talent will be able to compete in the new global information economy.

West Virginia's beautiful mountains and valleys, coupled with low density make most of the state an unattractive investment for private phone and cable companies. Fortunately, no community has to be left behind, each can seize the future with smart public investments.

This should not come as a surprise. Local and state governments built our roads. Thousands of rural communities gained access to electricity through publicly owned networks. More

Consider: Which of these sectors is the one really doing a number on society?

At the birth of the American republic, the word "private" had a sinister connotation. Derived from the Latin privare, meaning to reduce or tear apart, it described behavior often contrary to the public interest. In the late 18th century, a pirate was called a privateer.

Today "private" has become a positive, even boosterish word, while "public" carries a shady undertone. "Private sector" has become synonymous with efficiency and innovation, while "public sector" connotes bloat and unresponsiveness, even corruption. More