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Congress Moves forward with NDAA, blocking Chinese metro and bus activity

12 Dec 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Congress has moved forward with reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with the House voting to include language known as the Transit Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act (TIVSA). This language blocks certain foreign powers from access to federal taxpayer dollars in public infrastructure bidding contracts. At issue is the…

How Green Are Electric Vehicles Really?

09 Dec 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

To many, the Tesla brand has become synonymous with sustainability, an unprecedented feat considering the automobile industry has often been deemed the antithesis of a ‘green’ enterprise. Even when disregarding Tesla’s SolarCity subsidiary and other sustainable ventures, Tesla has pioneered the production of innovative electric vehicles and has prevented over…

unintended consequences

3 Unintended Consequences For Regulators to Consider

26 Nov 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Everyone makes mistakes, but regulators have a higher responsibility to be careful and deliberate. Institutional speed bumps help keep the pace slow, reducing the speed at which bad decisions can be made and forcing more deliberation over good ones. Some of these features like checks and balances or notice and…

potholes

Data as a solution to potholes

26 Nov 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

  hile it may not be the main reason that roads across the country are in disrepair, lack of information is one starting point to find solutions. Simple intuition suggests that officials cannot know about every pothole, collapsed sign, or damaged median. While perfect knowledge is impossible, we have the…

geothermal energy

Down to Earth: Ohio’s Geothermal Energy Innovation

21 Nov 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Miami University, a public research university located in the small city of Oxford, OH, has been making unprecedented progress in the field of geothermal energy. Up until 2010, Miami had relied on carbon-intensive steam to heat almost all buildings on its 2,100 acre campus. Currently, 49 percent of those buildings…

Aii Asks: Have you heard of two-factor authentication?

01 Nov 2019, Posted by bdierker in Aii Asks, All Posts, Blog Posts

Question: October was National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Initiated in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the National Cyber Security Alliance, the monthlong project exists to encourage safe practices online. From the private sector to public agencies, protecting data is paramount. In an increasingly interconnected and…

wholesale electricity

A perfect storm for wholesale electricity prices

30 Oct 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Summer temperatures and tensions were high across the state of Texas, at least for some. While every resident of the Lone Star State dealt with immense heat during August, some Texans found themselves with ludicrously high electricity bills as well. This spike in price only affected a certain sector of Texas’…

cybersecurity awareness month

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

09 Oct 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Beginning in October 2004, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month has continually drawn attention to the issue of cybersecurity and the resources available to ensure Internet safety on a national scale. Since its creation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM)…

Weathering Climate Change Through Resilient Infrastructure

08 Oct 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters can be truly devastating. Not only are precious lives lost, but property damage can decimate local communities and business activity. As concerns over climate change cause many to fear stronger or more frequent storms, one simple solution stands ready to protect lives, economic activity,…

ESG Footprint

Why We Can’t Leave Fossil Fuels In The Ground

05 Oct 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Environmentalists and activists on the further reaches of the green movement occasionally go as far as to say ‘leave all fossil fuels in the ground.’ While a legitimate fear of climate change may make this view understandable, it is ultimately misguided. Modern life unequivocally requires fossil fuels, but that doesn’t…

Will FERC Consider Cumulative GHG Impacts of New Pipeline Projects? It’s Complicated

30 Jan 2019, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Will FERC Consider Cumulative GHG Impacts of New Pipeline Projects? It’s Complicated The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) made a little noticed determination over the course of 2018’s summer that modified how the commission performs environmental reviews moving forward – specifically, how and if they consider cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG)…