By David Poulson
In 1673, fur trader Louis Joliet and the Jesuit missionary Father Jacques Marquette spotted coal outcroppings along the Illinois River.
That’s the first recorded coal find in the U.S.
And it’s an indication of just how deep the roots of conflict run in Closing the Cloud Factories: Lessons from the fight to shut down Chicago’s coal plants.
The book picks up on other historical gems such as how turning the midway of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair into the “City of Lights” helped determine how the rest of the nation would be electrified. And we are introduced to Samuel Insull, a former assistant to Thomas Edison. His shrewd capture of the demand for electricity by street car companies fueled the growth of Chicago’s power grid.
Continue reading
Author Archives: Dave Poulson
River in the prairie
Turtle River and Civilian Conservation Corps pavilion at Turtle River State Park. Image: Eric Freedman
By Eric Freedman
This place doesn’t match your North Dakota stereotype of endless prairie stretching flat to the horizon in all directions, having been squashed flat by massive glaciers. Nor does it match your stereotype of marathon acres of wheat, flaxseed, barley and oats punctuated with International Harvester and John Deere mega-equipment. Nor that of the proliferating roads, dust and drilling rigs of the Oil Patch that’s bringing jobs and economic prosperity – and environmental worries – to the state. Continue reading
Depicting a 'Rosie' climate
Image: Eric Freedman
By Eric Freedman
The Obama administration’s recently proposed rule to reduce power plant emissions that contribute to climate change – or climate disruption – has provoked sharp criticisms from Republicans and utility companies as too expensive or unworkable or unnecessary. Meanwhile, some environmental groups say the EPA plan doesn’t go far enough.
Relying on executive authority under the Clean Air Act, the rule is aimed at carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that produce an estimated 40 percent of U.S. carbon pollution.
In a May 31 address, President Barack Obama said, “Earlier this month, hundreds of scientists declared that climate change is no longer a distant threat – it ‘has moved firmly into the present.’”
But of course, there are skeptics who deny that human-induced climate change is a crucial problem, not just in the United States but globally.
How do they explain climate disruption?
Well, at the recent Denver Chalk Art Festival in the city’s historic Larimer Square district, I saw this piece of art titled “Wrath of Rosie.” I don’t know what the sidewalk artist intended to depict, but to me it can be interpreted as one alternative, non-scientific, explanation of climate change.
Eric Freedman is Michigan State University’s director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
What would Lou do? Searching for ethical guidelines in a changed media landscape
David Poulson
By David Poulson
Many reporters of my generation went into journalism because of the Watergate scandal.
Holding public officials accountable – public service journalism – was the attraction then. So, too, were Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in All the president’s men, the movie version of that story.
Me? I was more of a Lou Grant kind of guy. Ed Asner isn’t as pretty as Redford nor as cool as Hoffman. But the crusty fictional city editor he played on the television show couldn’t be beat for advancing the nobler aspects of the profession.