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Energy & Environmental Policy

Op-ed: Rexposé

The Cockrell School has said in a statement that its new distinguished lecture series “aims to bring influential leaders…to the Cockrell School [and] offers students an opportunity to hear and learn from successful individuals at the top of their fields.” I feel let down by the Student Engineering Council for selecting Rex Tillerson, former CEO […]

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Economics & Trade Policy Energy & Environmental Policy

To Fund Infrastructure, Tax Carbon Emissions

If the midterm elections result in a so-called blue wave, Democrats could lead the push in securing funding for much-needed infrastructure investments. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), America’s infrastructure has a near failing grade of D+. ASCE recommends an additional $2 trillion in investments over the next decade, from all levels […]

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Energy & Environmental Policy

Cleaning Our Hands of Dirty Pipelines

  This article was co-written by Marcus Denton, a second year master's candidate at the LBJ School for Public Affairs, studying social and economic policy. President Obama generates controversy with nearly every one of his decisions. But if he gives in on the most important environmental decision in years, we’re all going to feel the […]

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Energy & Environmental Policy Global Policy Studies & International Security

Blind Consumption: Realizing the Full Costs of Oil

  On January 2, 2002, less than four months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, I enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. I did so in part to serve my nation and in part to earn money for college. In the summer of 2006, while serving my second tour in Iraq, I was on […]

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Energy & Environmental Policy

Lighting Up a Dark Continent

  Take a look at a satellite photo of Africa at night.  Apart from a few specks of light over the largest cities, the continent is dark. Millions of rural Africans live without any electrical power at all, and the U.N. Development Program estimates that on a yearly basis the 19.5 million people of New […]

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Energy & Environmental Policy

The Intersection of Climate Change and Recovery

  On Friday, April 8, the U.S. Congress dodged a government shutdown by striking a budget compromise, undoubtedly crushing the dreams of the news outlets gleefully throwing countdown clocks and “what if?!” statements around. What the media have largely failed to cover, however, are the follow-up discussions that continue to adjust the budget. One of […]

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Energy & Environmental Policy

Oh, Those Onerous Environmental Programs

  In this, the age of budget deficits, no political party wants to be caught being the one without any budget cuts to advocate. President Obama handed down a budget that promised to cut troubled programs or programs that had not been able to deliver results, to achieve what one administration official told the Associated […]

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Energy & Environmental Policy

Ethiopia’s Got Big Ambitions

  In July 2010, Ethiopia’s Environment Protection Authority declared it would have a carbon-neutral economy by 2025. What? An entire country? Carbon neutral? While I know that developing countries emit considerably less carbon than countries like the United States do, this is a hard claim to swallow, especially in such a short timeframe.  Indeed, it […]