Cracking the Code: Learning from past success
Trending
Lynnda and I got our COVID shots last week. We believe prevention is better than a cure. Some people are against vaccinations. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.
Most are too young to live through what Lynnda and I have. We remember crippling polio. Polio is an infectious virus that can cause muscle weakness resulting in permanent paralysis and possible death. It can cause muscle and fat tissue to waste away. There is no cure except for supportive care.
Both of us knew people with polio. I remember Danny in my second-grade class. He had a wasted leg from polio. Danny had a pleasant attitude even though he could not run like the rest of us. I remember him dragging his leg when he tried to run.
If polio attacked chest muscles, the person couldn't breathe and needed an iron lung to help them. An iron lung is a large, horizontal metal cylinder used as a negative-pressure mechanical ventilator. The patient had to lay in it. Not much of a life. Our nurse friend, Naomi, remembers 30 iron lungs at the hospital in Charleston.
As a child, I remember seeing disabled children in all-night telethons to raise money for polio research. The research was successful. Dr. Jonas Salk from Pittsburgh developed the first polio vaccine. It was an injection. The Sabin polio vaccine became available in the early 1960s. It was an oral vaccine. Our parents took us to the elementary school gym on a Sunday afternoon where our entire family and our neighbors got a sugar cube with the vaccine in it. We took three separate doses on consecutive Sundays. There was no mandate and no protests. People got the vaccine to prevent a horrific illness. Polio was wiped out in the USA.
Lynnda and I both remember having measles. Our bodies were covered with a rash and raised bumps. In addition, we had a cough, runny nose and a high fever. I recall my brother and I staying in a dark room for a week with no TV. The few times we left the room we had to wear dark glasses. If there had been a vaccine available then, my parents would have made sure we received it. Sixty years later, I can still recall the misery of that week.
I also had chicken pox and mumps. They were miserable. There were no vaccines available. Lynnda and I made sure our children received all the vaccines they needed to prevent disease.
Most parents today have no appreciation of the misery of these diseases and the lives they have taken. Lynnda and I receive only one vaccine at a time. We don't mix vaccines. In November, we will get our flu vaccine. We can learn from mistakes of the past. We also can learn from past successes and repeat them.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Another success from the past was the importance of getting an annual mammogram. The quality of breast exams constantly improves. My wife, Lynnda, is now three years cancer free. Her breast cancer was discovered early by a breast exam. With Lynnda's permission, I wrote about her journey with cancer. She wants to encourage women to get their annual mammogram. From responses to the articles, we heard from women who are breast cancer survivors. We learned how pervasive breast cancer is. Family members and other close friends were breast cancer survivors who previously had not let anyone know about their cancer. Their lives were saved by a breast exam.
For decades, the focus of PJM (our power grid) and other grids across the country was reliability. They successfully kept our lights, heat and air conditioning on especially during weather extremes. PJM was successful because they had abundant baseload 24/7/365 power from coal, nuclear and natural gas. Intermittent renewables are part of the grid with baseload back up. Focus on reliability was good for consumers and industry.
All worked well until 2021 when Washington, D.C., changed the focus to carbon reduction instead of reliability. We learned this from a PJM executive at the Governor's Energy Conference in Charleston in 2025. From 2021 to 2024, coal power plants producing 33 GW of electricity were shut down across the country. In addition, Washington (the White House) changed in-queue power projects (those in line to be built) to 95% intermittent power (wind and solar) and only one baseload natural gas project remained. Only in Washington, D.C., fantasy politics can you shut down 33 GW of baseload coal power; replace it with intermittent power; add additional load from EVs, industry and a few data centers; attempt to legislate gasoline vehicles out of existence; and believe power companies can keep our lights on. At the 2024 West Virginia Governor's Energy Conference, PJM, First Energy and AEP were on a panel. They were asked, "If nothing changes can we expect blackouts and brownouts by 2030?" All three responded, "YES."
Fortunately, in May of 2025 with new leadership in Washington, the PJM queue was flipped in favor of baseload natural gas, nuclear power and coal. Currently, West Virginia now has at least five natural gas power plants under construction or planned. In January, during a bitter cold snow and ice storm, for nine days, wind and solar contributed no power to the PJM grid. Coal and nuclear power were maxed out. Natural gas came to the rescue keeping people's lights and heat on, preventing frozen water pipes in thousands of homes. The lesson:We need our power grids to focus on reliability and sufficient baseload electricity from multiple sources to keep our power on.
Legislation and executive orders cannot change the laws of science and basic engineering principles like some states try to do and the federal government did in 2021-24. Energy and people's safety should be a technical not a political issue.
A lesson learned from my parents was the importance of honesty, integrity and common sense. We can demand this from politicians. We can all learn from past mistakes and to repeat past successes.
***
Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a master's in environmental engineering and more than 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker and author of four books and many published articles.