Commentary

At the close of 2009, the U.S. geothermal industry had seen seven new geothermal power plants come online in the previous 12 months. In 2010, only one new power plant was completed.

Central banks in the past 18 months have injected a flood of money into financial markets. This liquidity in the system has allowed many marginal companies to issue bonds and avoid looming bankruptcy. Now is the time to take steps to protect yourself from the effects of a failed business relationship.

Many leaders believe that an open door policy will improve employee communications and group productivity. On the other hand, there are five reasons why a closed-door policy may have more benefits to your organization.

Have you ever made a hiring mistake? The candidate had the right credentials, experience, and the price was right. When the new employee never meets minimum expectations, what should you do?

Someone once said that "life begins at retirement." For people, perhaps, but not for our aging inventory of coal-fired power plants that are slated for retirement during the next decade.

New research challenges the commonly held view that cap and trade legislation failed because of the spending advantages of opponents and false balance in news coverage. The report, "Climate Shift: Clear Vision for the Next Decade of Public Debate," released by American University Professor Matthew Nisbet on April 25, also shows how well funded both sides of the debate were.

When it comes to energy, the new Congress has a whole host of challenges and opportunities. But there is at least one complex challenge that has a straightforward solution. If we want a secure, reliable, and affordable energy mix, we must modernize our nation’s energy grid.

Perhaps more than for any other industry, a nuclear accident in any part of the world affects nuclear operations elsewhere. Such an incident necessarily and inevitably results in industry self-examination, heightened regulatory oversight, and third-party scrutiny.

The events in Japan, including the catastrophic destruction of a major nuclear power station, remind us of something we don’t like to think about: how to manage a physical disaster. But manage we must.

Wish you could get inside your customer’s head? If so, forget data and go to the source.