Testimony: American Energy Security and Innovation: An Assessment of North America's Energy Resources

In this testimony, Jennifer Morgan, Director of WRI's Climate and Energy program, describes the energy risks and opportunities that climate change presents; the role that clean energy can play in the U.S. energy mix; and actions Congress can take to mitigate global warming's threats.Summary of Key PointsOur energy choices need to factor in both opportunities and risks. This testimony gives particular attention to why we must consider the risk of climate change, both on our resources being developed and utilized today and on our choices for development into the future. It concludes with the following recommendations:Congress should request that the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee review the current authorities of federal agencies and national laboratories, and recommend how consideration of risks associated with climate change can be more directly incorporated into decision-making.Congress should support efforts to better assess the impacts of climate change on America's energy infrastructure and incorporate this into planning and investment decisions.Congress should keep in mind four important criteria in considering policies to drive more effective clean energy growth and competitiveness: any energy policy should be comprehensive, long-term, targeted, and inclusive.In capturing energy efficiency across the economy, Congress can play a constructive role in two key areas:Informed consumer choice: supporting and expanding programs to help ensure product labeling is accurate and publicly reported in a timely manner, to encourage energy-wise investment decisions throughout the U.S. economy.Efficiency standards: supporting and extending the ability of federal agencies to develop and update energy efficiency standards for vehicles, appliances, and other energy-consuming equipment that is sold into U.S. commerce.Congress must work toward reaching bipartisan agreement on national energy policies that encourage more efficient energy consumption, increase the diversity of domestic energy production, maximize deployment of low-carbon energy technologies, and minimize environmental impacts throughout our energy systems. In the near-term, it is also critical for Congress to provide funding and incentives for low-carbon and clean energy technologies

Sing It To Win It

Jennifer Morgan explores the importance of music in political campaigns and notes that politicians who compile a campaign soundtrack that exemplifies their ideals and attracts a broad voter demographic is usuallymore successful than those who do not

The Early Reception of Romeo and Juliet in Spain

The tragic story of the star-crossed lovers of Verona was first presented to Spanish theatergoers during the early decades of the nineteenth century. During this period Shakespeare was largely unknown to the general public. The article examines the early reception of Shakespeare in Spain focusing on one iconic play, Romeo and Juliet, and its earliest adaptations: Dionisio Solís’s Julia y Romeo (1803) and Manuel Bernardino García Suelto’s Romeo y Julieta (1817). At a time when the Spanish public was captivated by the allure displayed by adaptations of Othello, this article argues that the adaptations of Romeo and Juliet composed by Solís and García Suelto also enjoyed popularity, as evidenced by their several revivals and the prestige of some of the actors and actresses who intervened in the productions. The article examines the historical, political and sociocultural factors that contributed to the composition and popularity of Julia y Romeo and Romeo y Julieta. Historical contextualization is combined with an analysis of the sources and main features of each adaptation. The article also offers a detailed account of the reception and performance history of both plays on the Spanish stage from 1803 to 1836. These neoclassical versions remain –up to this day– largely unknown texts, but they deserve close attention since both plays strongly contributed to the gradual dissemination of Shakespeare and his work in Spain.The research for this article has been funded by the project “La recepción de las obras de Shakespeare en la cultura española y europea II” (PGC2018-094427-B-I00; 2019 – to the present). I am grateful to the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation for its support

Was That in An Email? An Electronic Tool to Improve Nursing Communication Satisfaction

Background: Nursing communication satisfaction impacts engagement and turnover as well as patient care which affects organizational profits. Although direct care nurses report dissatisfaction with nurse manager communication methods, organizations and nurse managers do not utilize best practice strategies. In addition, there is a lack of high-quality implementation studies of best practice communication methods, specifically on obstetrics units, to assist managers in improving communication methods. Methods: An electronic communication tool was implemented on an inpatient obstetrics unit at a large tertiary hospital in the Upper Midwest. The tool was accessible on all unit computers on the SharePoint site. The project leader and unit stakeholders collaboratively updated the tool. Twenty-one direct care nurses completed the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire prior to and eight months after the implementation of the electronic tool. Results: The tool improved direct nurse communication satisfaction. Six factors showed statistical evidence of increased scores post-intervention (

Empowering Christian Witness at Sixth Avenue United Church of Christ through the Stories of Jesus

The purpose of this ministry focus paper is to offer a culturally appropriate, theologically formed strategy to empower lay people from Denver Colorado’s Sixth Avenue UCC for a way-of-life approach to evangelism, informed by both the biblical narrative and personal stories. Sixth Avenue United Church of Christ is a small, vibrant, growing congregation guided by a biblical, progressive, inclusive, liberal theology. The church leadership embrace a moderate to low Christology within an open and affirming environment. The congregation has had limited practices of evangelism, and this paper offers a plan for expanding Christian witness through Sixth Avenue. The paper contains three major sections. The first outlines mission challenges embedded in the local context, beginning with a general overview and history of the national denomination and a description of the local congregation and surrounding community. Additionally, it explores the church’s fears, hesitancies, values, successes, failures, and celebrations around evangelistic efforts, past and present. The second section describes the biblical and theological foundations—the platform for empowering lay Christian witness—guided by the stories and relational style of Jesus. The section begins with a review of nine books, then folds in theological reflection of six personal encounters Jesus had in his ministry, and proposes a theology of ministry for the church’s future. The third section provides a practical strategy for empowering lay Christians to engage actively and naturally in evangelism in their workplaces, families, communities, neighborhoods, and friendship circles. The strategy is delivered through small groups, and the essence of the strategy is developing skills for listening, storytelling, conversing, welcoming, and abiding in Christ. A plan for implementation, evaluation, and adaptation is also offered. Content Reader: Richard Peace, Ph

Religion and Identity in a Globalized Morocco

The focus of my independent research project is on the variety of religious identities among Moroccan youth, with youth being defined as people under 30 years of age. Prior to my interactions with human subjects, I consulted numerous literary resources to establish the context of my study. I investigated religious identity, globalization, individuation, the phenomenon of the Arab “youth bulge,” and youth culture. After this literature analysis, I constructed an interview guideline of about 20 questions for my youth subjects with the help of my advisor. I used all of the questions on this guideline in my four in-person interviews and my four online surveys. Although there are many similarities among the education levels and socioeconomic classes of my respondents, I have been presented with a large variety of responses to my questions, which were designed to understand how the respondent came about forming his or her individual religious identity. I also inferred about my respondents’ opinions on the religiosity of Moroccan youth in general. Furthermore, I asked two older people about their opinions of the degree of religious commitment in Moroccan youth. Although I am interested in how the older generation of Moroccans perceives youth culture, time constraints and other limitations pushed me to focus on my younger subject population. My varied findings supported my hypothesis of individualized Islam being at the forefront of religious identity in the young people of Morocco. I found differing opinions concerning the difference in religiosity between generations--some respondents see a clear generational divide in the religion of Moroccans, while others profess that Islam is not confined to a specific age group and that there is unity among all Moroccans in their beliefs. The study also found concrete support for the notion that globalization plays a role in informing individual ideas about religion, identity, and culture. Many of my respondents acknowledged the role of globalization in reshaping society, but most of them did not see how their own connections to the world have influenced them personally. From their responses, I can speculate (but not conclude) how globalization and the spread of mass media and technology may have been an underlying factor in the development of their individualized religious identities, and how the lack of such exposure among the older generation affects their general perceptions of religion in young Moroccans