Energy is the life’s blood of our economic well being. What we do in energy has a major impact of the quality of our environment, health of our economy, and our national security.

Warned by the energy crises of the 1970s, we initially reacted vigorously. But we lacked the staying power to do what was required to adequately ensure our energy, economic and environmental future. Instead, energy faded from view as a high priority public police issue. We allowed ourselves to become ever more energy intensive, and by extension, ever more dependent on imported oil.

As a consequence, here we are in the early 21st Century facing an even more uncertain energy future. In addition to increasing consumption and competition for oil globally, diminishing slack in oil production capability and possible peaking of oil resources worldwide, we are faced with mounting political instability in individual oil exporting countries and within oil exporting regions.

Separately and collectively, these factors contribute to less reliable energy supplies and higher energy prices, which makes energy unaffordable for many Americans.

We need to finish what we started to do back in the 1970s. We need to create an energy future that is fundamentally different than our energy past and our energy present. To achieve this overall goal will require the best efforts of all of us, both individually and collectively, in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and at the local, state, regional, and national levels

In Energy in the Public Interest the author summarizes and analyzes the energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) undertaken in the public interest from the 1970s to the present. After setting the overall energy context, he provides an overview of national and state governments’ investments in energy RDD&D. He calls attention to the often overlooked key role the states play in energy. And he introduces readers to five representative state energy RDD&D organizations, offering insights into what these organizations do, who leads and staffs them, how they do their work, and how successful they have been in contributing to the public interest. He argues that the nation would benefit from better communication, cooperation, coordination, and collaboration among the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Finally he makes recommendations and suggestions for achieving this overarching goal.

Your comments and suggestions will be appreciated. Please address them to jack.white@cox.net.

Access Energy in the Public Interest via online Adobe PDF.

Irvin L. (Jack) White
715 Riverside Drive
Riverside Lakes
Waterloo , NE 68069
Fax: 402-315-9712