Reprieve for Coal, Hawaii's Early Electricity, Corporate Wellness Programs

Is Trump’s Power Plan a Coal Rescue?  Guest: Kate Konschnik, Director, Climate and Energy Program, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University The Trump Administration has proposed a new vision for how quickly the United States should shift away from coal as a source of energy. Coal currently accounts for nearly a third of all electricity generated in the country. But utilities have been using less of it because natural gas has been cheaper to burn and federal policies have pushed to reduce CO2 emissions. The new rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency this week will give states more control over how aggressively they reduce their carbon emissions and what role they want coal to play in that mix.  A King and an Inventor: The Story of How Hawaii Went Electric Before Most of the World  Guest: Allison Marsh, PhD, Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina Inventors are always looking for the “next big thing” in technology. These days, that could be artificial intelligence or 3D printing. In the late 1800s, the most exciting technology was electricity itself. Here in America, it didn’t catch on as quickly as you might think, but thanks to a series of events, involving a curious king, a trip to Paris, and a meeting with Thomas Edison—the islands of Hawaii got electricity before most of the world. To put this in perspective, the White House in Washington, DC wasn’t electrified until 1891. By that time, over 800 homes in Honolulu and the King’s palace had electric lights. How did a tiny island Kingdom in the middle of the Pacific get on the cutting edge of this revolution? Why Corporate Wellness Programs Aren’t Really Working Guest: David Molitor, PhD, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Nearly half of workers in America have access to some sort of wellness program. It could be free fitness and nutrition classes or health screenings offered by the employer. Companies spend a lot of money and time on this stuff hoping