Welcome to The Conservation Current
Stewarding public lands through the energy transition.
Welcome to The Conservation Current.
I’m Michael. In 2023, I spent 6 weeks in rural South Africa, living through daily rolling blackouts that locals had to accept as usual. Sparking my initial curiosity, I had to know: Why was this happening? Who pulled the energy strings? How is energy transmitted to this remote area? Does this small village produce its energy? And why do some places have more blackouts than others?
After learning more about South Africa's racial and political roots, I felt I needed a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of energy in general. So, I took a year to study it at Yale’s Center for Business and the Environment. I learned it's an extraordinarily complex and outdated system that requires work. Everything uses energy in some way, keeping everything going. This gigantic systematic problem grew my fascination.
What drives me now?
Figuring out how to get clean, equitable power without trashing the public lands we all share in the United States.
We are caught between a climate emergency and landscapes uniquely defining America, public lands. How do we get the cleanest, most efficient energy without wrecking these places?
The Conservation Current explores the dynamic relationship between energy production and public lands. Who are the people in charge? How does energy procurement impact biodiversity? How does it impact the people who use public land? Can you rewild an abandoned coal mine? From community solar fields to oil rigs, from threats to public lands to solar farms impacting elk migratory paths, everything is connected. This is what I will be diving into.
Stay tuned for weekly briefs (Pulse of the Land) and longer pieces (Currents & Crossroads).
Stick around if you care about a cleaner energy future and wild spaces.