Events

UPCOMING EVENTS

Candor and Energy/Climate Aspirations. In the spring of 2026, despite (or bccause of) current headlines, I will speak about climate change law and policy. My remarks will address whether ambitious climate and energy policy goal announcements (e.g., “zero emissions by 2035”) should be accompanied by explanations of the advancements and the sacrifices needed to make them happen. Or do such disclosures “chill the vibe” and “kill the buzz,” and thereby make it less likely that we will even approach a worthy aspiration? All is covered in my article “Candor, Climate and the Energy Transition.”

RECENT EVENTS

Law and Baseball. On February 9, 2025, I was the guest (starting 18 minutes in) on the Last Call Baseball podcast #175, discussing John Updike, the origins of the Infield Fly Rule, and my blog post on the Beige Rainbow.

Clean Technology Outlook for 2025. On February 13, 2025, I spoke on “Cleantech That Will Thrive in 2025” at the 14th Annual Energy Law Symposium at the Texas A&M University School of Law in Fort Worth. Thanks to my colleague Clarence Tolliver for research assistance.

Law and the New Logistics. On March 5, 2025, I spoke to students in the International Business Transactions course at the University of Hawai’i William S. Richardson School of Law on changes in transportation and shipping, concentrating on the pandemic and its aftermath and the looming trade disputes. (Speaking in Hawai’i, by zoom alas. Thanks to my colleagues Dayo Ajanaku and Andrew Jacobs for research assistance and to Dayo, Andrew and Polly Gomez for joining me!)

Critical Materials for Energy Innovation. On March 19, 2025, I spoke with reporters about rare earths and other vital elements in industrial, commercial, and national security sectors.

David Tsai Scholarship Fund. On June 3, 2025 at Pillsbury, I introduced my law partner and dear friend David Tsai at the launch of the David Tsai Scholarship Fund with the BALIF Foundation of the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. My introductory remarks about a truly conscientious lawyer

Artificial Intelligence in Conventional and Renewable Energy. On September 11, 2025, my partner Aimee Ghosh and I spoke at an online BARBRI continuing legal education (CLE) program on this topic. Related article

Construction Gigaprojects. On September 15, 2025, I was interviewed by my friend and partner Khalid ArArfaj on my gigaprojects report, with special reference to large works in Saudi Arabia. Now posted on YouTube.

Data Crunching in the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958).

Not that long ago, DeepSeek was being called a “Sputnik moment”! What was Sputnik, anyway? (After the 1957 Soviet launch, embarrassed American educators doubled math and science homework. One student recalled, “It was then and there that I began to hate communism.”)

On October 25, 2025, I spoke at a conference held in association withe the Museum of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on how the scientific cooperation to launch the Space Age depended on retrieving, preserving, and calculating with big data under unprecedented and remote conditions—outer space (yes, Sputnik), the ionosphere, and the deadly climate of the unexplored Antarctic. See the “My Sputnik Moment” post, linking to my tribute page on the International Geophysical Year, which includes a video-audio of my speech, the presentation deck, and links to other materials including the Donald Fagen song “I.G.Y.”