Shock Poll: Bernie Sanders is the Most Electable Candidate in Either Party
Sanders shows the power and appeal of the progressive movement
By Brent Budowsky • 12/03/15 10:46am


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MANCHESTER, NH - NOVEMBER 29: Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner at the Radisson Hotel November 29, 2015 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The dinner is held annually by the New Hampshire Democratic Party. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

A stunning new poll by Quinnipiac suggests Bernie Sanders is the most electable candidate in either party to be the next president of the United States.

In the Quinnipiac poll Mr. Sanders would defeat Republican frontrunner Donald Trump by 8 points, while Hillary Clinton would defeat him by only 6 points. Mr. Sanders would defeat Ben Carson by 6 points, while Ms. Clinton would defeat him by only three. Mr. Sanders would defeat Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz by 10 points, while Ms. Clinton would defeat him by five. Mr. Sanders and Ms. Clinton would both defeat Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio by one point.

While polls often show different results, there are additional polls showing the same pattern to the relative political strength of the Democratic and Republican candidates. If the Quinnipiac poll turns out to be correct the political implications are profound.

It is now very plausible to argue that of all of the candidates in either party for the presidential race Bernie Sanders is more electable than Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

While this astounding possibility is contrary to the almost unanimous conventional wisdom of political pundits, there are very concrete reasons it could be true...

Australian all-electric bus drives into record books – 1,018km on one charge
By Sophie Vorrath on 20 November 2015

The Australian all-electric bus launched by Brighsun in Melbourne at the end of last month has set a new world record for the greatest distance covered by an electric bus on one charge, at 1,018km.

As we reported here in October, the prototype e-bus was launched at Yuroke, one hour north of Melbourne’s CBD, by Australia-based company Brighsun, as one of four full electric buses ranging from high range capacity route service passenger buses to touring coaches.

The buses combine a high performance lithium ion battery with proprietary eMotor, battery management and a regenerative braking system.

As part of the Melbourne launch, one bus – which is certified to international standards to drive 1004km on one charge (more than twice any current competitors) — successfully completed a road-trip to Sydney.

Last weekend, this same bus backed up its inter-state performance with a world-record breaking effort, travelling 1,018km on Victoria’s South Gippsland Highway, between Tooradin and Lang Lang.

According to Brighten....

3 Ways Wind and Solar Can Continue To Grow In a 21st-Century Grid
How a holistic view of grid economics can solve the “problems” of renewable energy integration
By Mark Dyson, James Mandel, Ph.D., & Amory B. Lovins

Earlier this year, MIT researchers were the latest in a series of analysts to raise alarm about the perceived limitations of solar PV’s continued growth. In short, these analysts propose that variable renewables will depress wholesale prices when they run, thereby limiting their own economic success. These concerns have garnered coverage in other venues (including Vox, Greentech Media, and The Financial Times), leading observers to suggest that the future prospects for renewables may be dim.

But are these concerns really justified, or do they rely on outdated assumptions ...

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UNDERSTANDING THE “PROBLEMS”
There has been increasing concern that variable renewables such as wind and solar may face an upper limit to adoption in the U.S. grid. The argument is that large amounts of variable renewables will create excess supply concentrated at the particular times of day when they produce. The notorious “duck curve” is an example of this—the duck-like shape of a particular, daily demand curve modeled for California’s grid when the production of large amounts of solar photovoltaics (PV) is netted out.

Critics argue that this technical characteristic of variable renewables, specifically PV—a daily generation pattern that is not perfectly matched with load—can have economic consequences for all forms of generators, especially the renewable resources themselves.

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THE OTHER HALF OF THE THOUGHT EXPERIMENT: THREE FACTORS THAT CAN ACCELERATE RENEWABLE ENERGY ADOPTION

Analysts who have put forth these arguments have elaborated only the first half of a microeconomics thought experiment. The problems they hypothesize hinge upon the laws of supply and demand, but omit important aspects of both, drastically overstating the perceived “problems.” Let’s see how.

1) Supply is changing holistically, not incrementally

Many of these thought experiments consider adding just a single supply resource (often solar PV) without considering many of the other supply-side changes happening at the same time. In reality, solar PV, wind, and natural gas are all joining the supply mix in a big way at the same time; the first two are often complementary and the third is dispatchable, so together, they can do a lot to mitigate the “duck curve” often portrayed.

At the same time, retirements of uneconomic assets will provide a countervailing buoyancy to wholesale prices. For example, even though old, dirty plants often have low production costs, they may exit the market anyway due to high costs of compliance upgrades or other fixed costs that erode their profits. The resulting less-abundant supply can cause the marginal supply curve to contract in quantity, leading to higher prices and higher profits for renewables and remaining fossil generators—unless demand drops too, as it’s doing in the industrialized world...

Commentary: Conservatives need to ‘hit the reset button’ on energy policy

WRITTEN BY
Mike Hartley
12/01/2015

Mike Hartley is the executive director of the Ohio Conservative Energy Forum.

...When it comes to energy policy, however, conservatives have been reluctant to embrace policies that promote this stewardship. In Ohio, we have allowed political rancor to polarize the issue. The result has been a freeze of the state’s clean energy standards in 2014 – standards that were established in 2008 with overwhelming bipartisan support.

It’s time that we, as conservatives, press the reset button on our attitude toward energy policy. All around us, breakthroughs in science and technology are changing the face of industry. Why then, when it comes to energy, have some conservative policymakers been so staunchly opposed to innovation? We know that new technology is giving way to energy innovation, entrepreneurship, and jobs – we’ve seen it happen right here in Ohio. Despite economic advances in the energy industry, however, some Republican leaders seem reluctant to accept this.

Current policies limit us to outdated energy sources and make us overly-reliant on foreign energy sources from the most volatile regions of the world. What would happen if we move toward an energy policy that relies less on foreign sources and more on resources right here in the U.S.? We increase our position of strength on the world stage. We increase the safety, security, and strength of our military. We help the economy by requiring fewer military resources to secure foreign energy sources. We improve our economy. These are outcomes that any conservative can get behind.

The truth is, however, it makes no difference on which side of the aisle you stand. Energy reform is necessary. There are solutions to our antiquated model of energy production – solutions that conservatives can and should embrace.

There can and should be conservative support for an innovative, competitive energy policy – one that embraces a true all-of-the-above approach. Enacting policies that foster the creation of a diverse energy portfolio will continue to make Ohio an attractive place to do business. Yes, Ohio is a coal state. And we have a healthy economy surrounding shale oil and gas development. We can and should continue to embrace these traditional sources. But in true conservative fashion, we should be encouraging innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit through new energy technologies.

These technologies have already helped to reignite Ohio’s growing economy by reinvigorating the manufacturing sector, providing jobs for veterans, attracting new business to the state, and ultimately saving ratepayers money...

A Wealthy Governor and His Friends Are Remaking Illinois
Unprecedented political spending helped elect a fresh-faced financier. But his ideological vision has unsettled many in the state.

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORENOV. 29, 2015

The richest man in Illinois does not often give speeches. But on a warm spring day two years ago, Kenneth C. Griffin, the billionaire founder of one of the world’s largest hedge funds, rose before a black-tie dinner of the Economic Club of Chicago to deliver an urgent plea to the city’s elite.

They had stood silently, Mr. Griffin told them, as politicians spent too much and drove businesses and jobs from the state. They had refused to help those who would take on the reigning powers in the Illinois Capitol. “It is time for us to do something,” he implored.

Their response came quickly. In the months since, Mr. Griffin and a small group of rich supporters — not just from Chicago, but also from New York City and Los Angeles, southern Florida and Texas — have poured tens of millions of dollars into the state, a concentration of political money without precedent in Illinois history.

Their wealth has forcefully shifted the state’s balance of power. Last year, the families helped elect as governor Bruce Rauner, a Griffin friend and former private equity executive from the Chicago suburbs, who estimates his own fortune at more than $500 million. Now they are rallying behind Mr. Rauner’s agenda: to cut spending and overhaul the state’s pension system, impose term limits and weaken public employee unions.

“It was clear that they wanted to change the power structure, change the way business was conducted and change the status quo,” ...