Author name: Admin Krull

Revitalizing U.S. Energy Policy for the 21st Century | By Ariel Cohen

Achieving a green future is a worthy and necessary aspirational goal. However, realizing aspirations requires sound strategy and a willingness to learn and reformulate policies and plans in the future. The United States is undergoing a growing politicization of the energy transition, a “megatrend,” as Alexander Mirtchev, a Distinguished Professor at George Mason University, called it […]

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Episode 10: The Making of a Megatrend – New Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, and the Delayed Arrival of the Future

Reading news headlines, I can’t decide if I am living in an episode of The Jetsons, Star Trek, or a prequel to The Terminator. What’s clear is that we are in the midst of significant technological leaps; leaps that will come with both great promise and cascading consequences. As discussed in prior episodes, The Prologue

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Episode 9: The Making of a Megatrend – Economic Security at the Top of National Security Agendas

Although The Prologue was published over a year ago, many of the concepts discussed in the book are more relevant than ever. Drivers of the alternative energy megatrend: geopolitics, energy security, and environmental security (to name just three) have been thrust center stage as the world faces new 21st century post-pandemic realities and great power

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Episode 8: The Making of a Megatrend – Environmental Security Moves Center Stage

Since the Cold War, security has evolved from the security of the state and its resources to a broader sense that goes beyond the survival of nations. Today, security encompasses the environment, the economy, global health, cyber, biosecurity, demographic pressure and immigration, transnational crime, water and food security, and human rights.   The alternative energy

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Episode 7: The Making of a Megatrend – Defense Transformation

From wind and coal to oil and electricity, energy use in military operations has been a dominant strategic and tactical consideration since ancient times. The invention of the steam and internal combustion engines made warfare significantly more energy-intensive, allowing for rapid movement and maneuvering capabilities by ever-larger motorized military formations. Renewables’ contribution to the reshaping

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Episode 6: The Making of a Megatrend – Nuclear, a Possible Roadmap for the Alternative Energy Megatrend

COP26 once again shined a light on the role of nuclear energy in combating climate change. Disagreement over whether nuclear could be a meaningful part of a post-carbon future remains controversial. On one side, the U.S. announced that it will spend $25 million to help build reactors in Kenya, Brazil, and Indonesia. Russia is pushing

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Episode 5: The Making of a Megatrend – Dynamic Security Prioritization

In Episode 4 I discussed the relationship between the alternative energy megatrend and universal securitization. As a reminder, the security trajectory of the megatrend illustrates the increasingly complex terrain that policymakers must navigate to cope with expanding security threats (e.g., environmental, health, cyber, energy, economic), proving the utility of the framework of universal securitization as

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Making of a Megatrend: Episode 4 – Universal Securitization

One of the more complex themes in The Prologue: The Alternative Energy Megatrend in the Age of Great Power Competition is the notion of universal securitization. The notion of universal securitization tries to grasp the 21st century’s increasingly interconnected globalized world in transition. This interconnectedness includes ever-multiplying actors with the ability to wield power through

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Making of a Megatrend: Episode 3 – Energy Security

Along with geopolitical empowerment, humanity’s insatiable desire for energy is a major driver of the alternative energy megatrend. It fuels the economy, allows us to travel, keeps us warm (and cool), keeps the lights on and Netflix streaming. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that world energy consumption will grow by nearly 50% between 2018

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