David Morris

Date: 18 Dec 2008 | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Dr. David Morris is co founder and vice president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. His five non-fiction books range from an analysis of Chilean development to the future of electric power to the transformation of cities and neighborhoods. His columns have appeared in over 200 magazines, journals and newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Japan Times, International Herald Tribune, Smithsonian magazine and Journal of Commerce. He has been a consultant to local, state and federal governments in the U.S. and abroad.… Read More

Voter fraud? No, voter suppression.

Why are we hearing so much about voter fraud and so little about election fraud? After all, the odds of someone voting fraudulently are about the same as those of an American being struck and killed by lightning.

A microscopic evaluation of election data in the 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington state revealed that voter fraud occurred approximately 0.0009 percent of the time. An analysis of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio revealed a voter fraud rate of 0.00004 percent.

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Sunny Post-Partisanship Sounds Nice, but What’s Obama’s Larger Vision?

Responding to criticism that President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet is composed largely of recycled Bill Clinton appointees, Obama’s close advisor David Axelrod told the New York Times, "He’s not looking for people to give him a vision. He’s going to put together an administration of people who can effectuate his vision." A few days later, after introducing his foreign policy team, Obama himself declared, "I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made.”   

Which leads to the inevitable question: What is Obama’s overarching vision? What is the philosophical framework that will animate his administration and guide his cabinet officers to adopt policies different from those they embraced in the past? 

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Report: Meeting Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard Using the Existing Transmission System

Date: 20 Nov 2008 | posted in: Energy, From the Desk of David Morris, The Public Good | 1 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This report, jointly authored with George Crocker of the North American Water Office and Michael Michaud of Matrix Energy Solutions, examines the implications that two recent distributed generation studies in Minnesota may have on the need for building new high-voltage transmission lines in the state. The authors conclude that project over a certain size be compared to alternative ways sufficient power transfer capability for dispersed renewable electricity generation may be available on the existing grid or with relatively modest, strategic enhancements to the existing grid system to meet the Minnesota’s 2025 renewable energy goal without building major new 345 kV transmission facilities.… Read More

Self-Reliant Cities

Originally published in 1982, we’re making this book available as a free download since many of its discussions are as relevant today as they were 25 years ago. The first half discusses the century-long struggle by cities to gain autonomy and authority from state governments and create their own planning and service delivery capacities. The second part describes the first urban-based localization movements and the successes and challenges. As a standalone document, we’ve also included the new foreword and the book’s last chapter, The Ecological City given the current revived debate about the subject.… Read More

Will the Economic Crash Take Down Our Hopes for Clean Energy?

Date: 29 Oct 2008 | posted in: From the Desk of David Morris, The Public Good | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Will the Economic Crash Take Down Our Hopes for Clean Energy? By David Morris, originally published in Alternet, October 29, 2008 A century ago French philosopher and writer Paul Valery observed, “The central problem with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.” He could have been commenting on current events. … Read More

Voter fraud? No, voter suppression.

Date: 28 Oct 2008 | posted in: From the Desk of David Morris, The Public Good | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Voter fraud? No, voter suppression. By David Morris, originally published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 28, 2008 Why are we hearing so much about voter fraud and so little about election fraud? After all, the odds of someone voting fraudulently are about the same as those of an American being struck and killed by lightning. … Read More

The Big Difference in Obama’s and McCain’s Plans for Our Energy Future

A few weeks ago I was at Iowa State University addressing 500 students and faculty at its engineering school. I was sharing a platform with former CIA Director Jim Woolsey. At one point, a student asked our views on the presidential candidates’ energy programs.

Iresponded that the essential difference between Obama and McCain is not in their goals as much as it is in the tools they would use to reach those goals. Obama believes in the active use of government authority; John McCain does not. McCain’s self-declared heroes, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, galvanized and led a movement whose principal thesis is that government is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

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The Big Difference in Obama’s and McCain’s Plans for Our Energy Future

Date: 23 Oct 2008 | posted in: From the Desk of David Morris, The Public Good | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The Big Difference in Obama’s and McCain’s Plans for Our Energy Future By David Morris, originally published in Alternet, October 23, 2008 A few weeks ago I was at Iowa State University addressing 500 students and faculty at its engineering school. I was sharing a platform with former CIA Director Jim Woolsey. At one point, a … Read More

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