Americans need to ask some serious questions about the energy industry, according to policy expert Michael Levi. After five years of big changes, "almost all reversing previous preconceptions," Levi opened up at Aspen Ideas Festival about a range of topics from fracking to clean energy.
Levi is a senior fellow for energy and environment with the Council on Foreign Relations. His new book, The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future, analyzes the nation's rapidly changing energy portfolio and how we can best prepare (HuffPost's Tom Zeller Jr. interviewed Levi about the book last month).
Levi sat down with HuffPost's Daniel Koh earlier this month to delve into America's energy future, including the debate surrounding shale gas and fracking. He didn't cast an opinion on the practice, but said that when it comes down to regulation, safety is key.
"There's got to be some level of national consistency," he said. "If something goes very badly in one part of the country it's going to affect development in others."
Levi was also quick to praise Obama's recent climate change speech and efforts to curb the energy sector's CO2 emissions, but also added that the government needs to present multiple opportunities to help wean consumers off dirty energy, addressing both supply and demand.
"On the demand side we got to deter excessive oil consumption and we've got to deter excessive carbon emissions," he said. "Let's tackle that on the demand side, but with as many options as possible to meet the standards that we've set."
Take a look at the full interview above to listen to Levi's perspectives on the clean energy market, a proposal for a government-funded green bank, the importance of battery and storage technologies and more.
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