Blog Posts
Renewable Energy Insight: The best things in life are free
By: Thomas Holst Renewable energy in Utah has grown rapidly over the last decade. Renewable energy sources include solar, geothermal, wind, biomass, and hydropower. In contrast to fossil fuels, renewables have little or no carbon footprint and have been embraced by some states, most notably California, in an effort to slow climate change caused by greenhouse gases. […]
Insight: Utah could use a little beautification
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in the Deseret News During World War II, Germany destroyed Great Britain’s House of Commons Chamber. When it came time to rebuild the structure, an argument ensued. Some members of Parliament wanted to rebuild the chamber in a semi-circular design, but Winston Churchill favored the same rectangular pattern that existed before the bombing because he felt it bolstered the two-party system. He famously uttered, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.” […]
Insight: Who is Responsible for Clean Air in Utah?
By: Juliette Tennert As residents of Utah, we are all contributing to the problem of air quality, and we must all be part of the solution. This was the main message from Thom Carter, the Executive Director of the Utah Clean Air Initiative (UCAIR) at the March Newsmaker Breakfast at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. […]
Insight: Food – Struggling Retail’s Best Friend
By: Dejan Eskic Innovate or die — that is the mantra of many of companies today. This is especially true in retail. Last year was the year of retail apocalypse with more than 5,000 store closures. This year, approximately 3,600 stores are expected to close their doors too. It is counterintuitive to have record store closings when consumer confidence is at an all-time high. I recently heard the phrase “retail isn’t dead, mediocre retail is dead.” The market is transforming for the next generation of shoppers. By some estimates, America retail is overbuilt by about 50 percent, indicating that we[...]
CEOutlook Insight: Creating Utah’s Own Economic Index
By: Marin Christensen The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute has partnered with the Salt Lake Chamber to create CEOutlook, an economic confidence index informed by Utah’s leading business executives. The index is created by surveying these senior executives every quarter to “gauge the economic pulse of Utah’s business community.” Industries represented are chosen to proportionally represent Utah’s business sectors. We completed our first year (four quarters) of surveys in 2017, and have created an index based on our preliminary data. As our director Natalie Gochnour explains, “The coming year will allow us to fine tune and evaluate the index to[...]
Insight: Uintah Basin Energy Activities Set to Rebound in 2018
By: Thomas Holst Oil field metrics in the Uintah basin confirm a resurgence in oil and gas activity. The current Uintah basin rig count is 12, up from three a year ago. Operating permits issued to energy companies for exploration and production activity has also increased. This upswing in activity was triggered by a steady rise in oil prices to $64 per barrel from a low point of $30 per barrel in early 2016. […]
Insight: Brookings Institute Scholars Visit the Gardner Policy Institute
By: Natalie Gochnour In their recent book, “The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism”, Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak detail how power in decision making has shifted downward from national-and-state-level governments to city-level and metropolitan communities. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute was pleased to host a conversation with Katz and Nowak, along with Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, in January 2018 as part of its series of Informed Decisions Seminars, to explore how this shift may affect the Wasatch Front and how we can embrace the change to build on new opportunities. […]
Insight: Peak Oil Theory Revisited
By: Thomas Holst, M.B.A. The term “peak oil” is part of geologist M. King Hubbert's theory developed in 1956 describing the point in time when the maximum rate of global crude oil production is reached, after which crude oil production would enter into terminal decline. Hubbert’s peak oil theory gained traction when he correctly predicted that U.S. crude oil production would peak in 1970 and then enter into decline. However, recent developments have highlighted flaws in Hubbert’s peak oil theory. The United States Energy Information Administration (USEIA) recently projected the U.S. will surpass the Saudis and Russians in crude oil production in 2018 and again become[...]
Insight: The SLC International Airport is a first-class gift to Utah’s economy
By: Natalie Gochnour Originally published in the Deseret News I just completed eight years of service on the Salt Lake City International Airport Board. During this time, I observed air traffic controllers doing their stressful work, TSA officers screening luggage in their high-tech monitoring area, airline employees supervising the automated luggage sorting system, airport police working with their bomb-detecting dogs, a wildlife officer keeping birds away from the jets using pyrotechnics and raptor traps and the incredible airport staff servicing more than 23 million travelers annually. The SLC Airport is a wonder to behold. […]
Insight: Budgeting for the next downturn
By: Jonathan Ball, Legislative Fiscal Analyst, and Jennifer L. Robinson, Associate Director, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute One lesson state budget inquisitors can learn from living through two recessions – including one labeled as “great” – is that it is never too soon to start planning for the next one. This is not the result of strategic policy formulation, long-term planning, or some arcane academic theory – it’s simply for self-preservation. Yet, a recent panel on budgeting at the Western Political Science Association, in which we participated with our colleagues from across the West, demonstrated that some states haven’t learned[...]