Guthrie Theater Declares “Happening” and “Amber Sanctuary”

Previous Happenings include An Immigrants’ Cabaret, an evening of music, movement and poetry; Enacting the Dream, an opportunity to reflect on the lived realities of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients living in the United States; Aftermath: A Newtown Screening and Community Conversation about the impact of gun violence on public health; Water Is Sacred, a performance combining ceremony, music, text, dance and discussion to honor and celebrate water and recognize the ways it has been threatened on Indigenous lands; The Trump Card, acclaimed monologist Mike Daisey’s exploration of Donald J. Trump and how he rose to his standing in the 2016 presidential race; and Acting Black, a solo project by Carlyle Brown that explored the appropriation of the African-American narrative.

Listen Up: Isaac Orr Talks About the Importance of Keeping Existing Power Plants Running on the Plugged in Podcast

I had the pleasure of being on the Plugged In podcast, hosted by the Institute for Energy Research, last week. On the show, I talk about why closing down existing coal and nuclear plants is a bad idea, and how Australia has experienced skyrocketing electricity prices in the wake of imposing a carbon tax (now repealed) and setting aggressive renewable energy mandates. Enjoy!

Crackpot California Cage-Free Ballot Measure Threatens MN Farmers

You may not have heard about Prop 12, the latest crackpot measure approved by voters in California, given the wild fires and mass shooting dominating the news from the Golden State. But you will before long. Check out the rapid response to the latest ballot measure backed by California’s cage-free caucus on the Farm Journal website. California consumers will likely experience an unnecessary increase in food prices and a decrease in consumer options now that Proposition 12, a ballot measure that requires more housing space for certain hens, breeding pigs and calves raised for veal, has passed in their state,...

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Separate But Equal Continuing Legal Education

Guest column from attorney Peter A. Swanson: On Monday, the Hennepin County Bar Association is sponsoring a Continuing Legal Education seminar called "Attorneys of Color PLUS: Maneuvering Barriers to the Successful Practice of Law." You may be wondering what "PLUS" means.

A Little Math Shows Switching to Natural Gas Will Probably Increase Fuel Costs for Minnesota Ratepayers

It’s a common refrain for energy policy: it is cheaper to generate electricity from natural gas than coal. In some respects this is true, but power plant efficiency and fuel prices are important variables we should consider before we completely shutter Minnesota’s coal fleet in favor of renewables and natural gas. Combined cycle natural gas plants are more efficient than coal plants because they use the heat produced as gas is burned to make 50 percent more electricity. It’s hard to explain, so I’ve included a video below. However, not all natural gas plants are combined cycle plants, and many...

Being pro-free enterprise is not the same as being pro-big business

There is no problem with big businesses per se. If they have grown and stayed big by producing goods and services that consumers want to purchase, they are to be applauded. This is a good thing. But where they have gained and maintained their size by sucking up to the government, that is to be opposed.

High Electricity Prices Cripple Australian Manufacturers, Is Minnesota Next?

Companies throughout Australia are reconsidering whether they will indeed bring manufacturing jobs back from China after experiencing enormous increases in electricity prices as a result of the closure of an enormous coal-fired power plant and government regulations that mandate the use of “green power.” For example, according to the Financial Review: Hardware manufacturer Alchin Long Group in Sydney’s west has had to agree to a near-doubling of its electricity price, said Graham Lee, national operations manager. The price of the new two-year contract from Origin Energy has surged from $55.30 per megawatt-hour to $109.70 . Aluminium scrap processor Weston Aluminium,...