Energy Without Enemies

My new book, The Myth and The Moment, is here! Order your copy today.

What you’ll get in this (solo) episode of Energy Thinks

In this solo pod, I reflect on the Abundance conference I attended in D.C. last month. Is there an abundance agenda that oil and gas employees, communities, leaders, and supporters could get behind? In other words, is there an abundance for the rest of us, in which cost of living eclipses everything else?

At the conference, speakers added “clean” before every mention of “energy” as if it were a tic, conveying a reflexive, tribal desire to say “We want to build, but only the stuff that our tribe approves of.” Sure, cleaner energy is undoubtedly our shared goal—but it has to be affordable and reliable as well.

Listen to hear me unpack the qualities our industry—and the rest of the world—could get behind in an abundance movement:

* Nonpartisan: Target outcomes, not tribes.

* High-energy: Energy makes other abundance priorities possible and affordable.

* Pro-building: Not just ADUs—support pipelines, too.

* Clear trade-offs: It’s more than permits; it’s understanding and making way for trade-offs.

Above all—and most radically—abundance needs to shed any good-guys-versus-bad-guys framing. Transforming policy conversations will require a real shuffling of coalitions—not just convenient “labor” additions, but real labor additions, like the employees of oil and gas companies and the citizens of their supporting communities.

My recommendation: Let’s take the first step and define what we would like to see out of the abundance movement. It will have to grow beyond its center-left roots—and I’m guardedly optimistic that it will.

Mentioned in this episode

Varieties of Abundance by Steven Teles, Niskanen Center

Watch the episode on YouTube or listen to the podcast on Substack.

What to do next in The Moment

* Email us to set up a briefing on how your company can understand The Myth and The Moment—and activate on it.

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* Love energy? Love your enemies? Tap that heart for either or both.

Energy without enemies cannot exist unless we make the first moves. Here’s what that looks like in practice: disciplined transparency, posture that calms the room, and a bias toward projects that measurably improve affordability, reliability, and cleaner outcomes. It’s how we foster trust—and permission to build—at the same time.

Build more—and argue less,

Tisha

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