Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Americana
How Rural America Is Balancing Clean Energy, Conservation, and Community This is the second installment in JCShepard.com’s October energy series, exploring how the clean energy transition is reshaping rural communities. Last week, we examined global energy trends and how data centers and AI are driving unprecedented electricity demand in America’s heartland. In this post, we […]
Fairness Isn’t Just for Strangers: Why the Rule of Law Matters in Small Towns In a small town, everyone knows your name. That can be a blessing—or a curse. When someone wants to build a new garage too close to the property line, or a cousin of a councilmember applies for a public grant, people […]
If effective public policy and good governance means the competent and ethical use of public power for public ends, then rural communities may have the most to gain—and the most to teach. Small towns often operate with lean resources, but they’re closer to the people they serve. They have economies of “scope” rather than economies of “scale”.
