The Civitas Outlook Energy Symposium
What will be America’s energy needs in this century?
Energy policy in America has become, over the past few decades, one of the most fraught debates in American politics. The progressives immersed the issue in a soup of universalist sentiment that equated fossil fuel use with war on the planet and our childrens’ futures. We needed to “decarbonize” the economy and rebuild it with “clean energy.” Policies to that effect have been implemented in America by Democratic presidential administrations and were a part of an overall approach to governing that stretched from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Energy, with a stop at the Securities and Exchange Commission. This Whole of Government Approach is intended to curtail and end the fossil fuel industry. But will the American people endure the high prices and sacrifices these policies require to achieve some purportedly pollution-free economy, thwarting the perils of climate change?
Conservatives have focused on practical aspects of energy policy: prices, supply and demand, diversifying and broadening America’s energy base, production efficiency, and economic growth. It could point to tremendous success in fracking technology and to America’s growing capacity for cleaner energy production, even though the country still requires more energy. Along the way, America has become both more productive and more energy-independent.
The new variable is AI, and its inescapable need for vast new sums of energy. How will America meet this challenge, central not only to economic vitality but also national security? How will America meet its energy needs? To answer these questions and more, Civitas Outlook has assembled four thinkers with diverse perspectives on how America’s energy policy should proceed, given our strengths and challenges.
Russ Greene
From Energy Repression to Energy Dominance
Steven F. Hayward
America’s Energy Revolution Continues
Mark Mills
Oil Remains the Epicenter of Commerce, Geopolitics, and Energy
Michael Toth
Economic Dynamism
The War on Disruption
The only way we can challenge stagnation is by attacking the underlying narratives. What today’s societies need is a celebration of messiness.
Unlocking Public Value: A Proposal for AI Opportunity Zones
Governments often regulate AI’s risks without measuring its rewards—AI Opportunity Zones would flip the script by granting public institutions open access to advanced systems in exchange for transparent, real-world testing that proves their value on society’s toughest challenges.
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Downtowns are dying, but we know how to save them
Even those who yearn to visit or live in a walkable, dense neighborhood are not going to flock to a place surrounded by a grim urban dystopia.
The Housing Crisis
Soaring housing costs are driving young people towards socialism—only dispersed development and expanded property ownership can preserve liberal democracy.
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Blocking AI’s Information Explosion Hurts Everyone
Preventing AI from performing its crucial role of providing information to the public will hinder the lives of those who need it.
Kevin Warsh’s Challenge to Fed Groupthink
Kevin Warsh understands the Fed’s mandate, respects its independence, and is willing to question comfortable assumptions when the evidence demands it.
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