The McDonnell Group

By Nancy Broe

The second installment of this three-part series “What Drives Energy Journalists?”continues with thoughts of prominent journalists covering the utility and energy markets on what drove their interest in these areas.

"I wanted to know more about what motivates today’s energy journalists, so I sent out a simple query: “Which came first for you -- energy or journalism? What motivated/motivates you to write about energy?” Their responses, in their own words, continue.

For me, journalism came well before energy. I covered the tech industry for about 15 years before I started to transition into energy. My initial motivation into energy and green technologies was mostly concern over the environment. But energy touches so many other areas--business, politics, technology, climate--and it's a topic that affects people on a personal level, too. So energy makes for a good story, one that I hope continues to be as dynamic as it is today."

-- Martin LaMonica, Senior Writer, CNET Green Tech blog

By Nancy Broe

While I’ve always believed that communication should be two-way –- with equal parts speaking and listening -- in reality, I do far more blabbing than listening. I suspect I’m not alone in this. Too often, whether with friends and family or in my role as a PR agent for tech vendors, I spend much of my time trying to get others to listen to my stories. It’s ironic, really, since most of the people I’m “pitching” ideas to, day in and day out, are professional storytellers, with fascinating tales of their own to tell.

In this three-part series of posts, I’ve set out to tip the scales back a tad the other way. Why not step away from the crowd clamoring for media attention and pause to consider what really drives the people who write about energy?

What inspires them? How did they get into this very specialized universe? What has their work shown them about it? I reached out to some energy journalists and –- for a change -- asked them to tell their stories to me.

My question: Which came first for you -- energy or journalism? What motivated/motivates you to write about energy?

By Don McDonnell

ATLANTA – December 21, 2011  As a young kid in Buffalo I once broke a mercury thermometer open and played with the rolling mercury until my father caught me and scolded me severely.  At the time in the early 70s my dad was part owner in an upstate New York chemical company. This was before he had transitioned into a career in construction risk management.  The incident stuck with me to this day.  My Dad’s “elemental scolding” reminds me of what is happening to the utility industry this week in the wake of the EPA publication of its MATS rules on power plant toxic emissions.

The blogosphere and mainstream media have been aflutter even as folks are distracted by the short week and Christmas rush.  I’ve spent the better part of the afternoon reading, and I can’t even keep up with the list of blogs and articles popping up.  The most blunt and rapidfire commentary is coming from the environmental community which has been quick to praise the action as a victory for human health.  It’s as if they are shoring up the media rampart in support for the ruling before it’s even fully settled in.  This ruling will be a energy political hot potato in the upcoming election and beyond.  Areas that could be the most affected span important battleground states.

In perhaps the most pointed online coverage today,  Peter Lehrner of the Environmental Defense Fund  turned the screws on state’s rights-based opponents to the EPA Federal Rules writing in a blog post entitled New Limits on Mercury Pollution, After Decades of Delay, Build on State Lead : “And they {rules} have finally emerged into reality because of efforts started years ago in a place Tea Party and Republican leaders say they respect: the states.” 

By Marc Marton

A morning routine of reading the first section of Wall Street Journal (print) was recently upended when I let my subscription lapse around Thanksgiving, so I found myself scanning the USAToday app on my phone while drinking the first of many coffees and beginning the daily commute.

Scrolling the tiny electronic screen, I saw this news story about consumer electricity costs skyrocketing between 2009 and 2010 in the USA.  It appears that households shook off the effects of a down economy and cranked up the juice once again during that span, paying an average of $300 more in 2010. That seems like good news in a sense as, perhaps, the country may have indeed been climbing out of an economic hole.  Whether the improved economic climate can be sustained through 2012 is another matter.