LIEBERMAN DEFEAT

I don't know why our political establishment can't get it. What the people want, first, is political leaders who will stand up and admit that the Iraq War was probably the worst strategic/military/foreign policy blunder in U.S. history. It is hard to imagine anything positive that will ever come of it. More likely it has tipped the balance in favor of more radical and anti-U.S. elements in the region. It is getting worse. We have to stop the damage.

That should be the starting point for future policy in the region. The second step is for those leaders to give us confidence that they have a clear plan for exiting as quickly as possible consistent with trying to minimize the fallout. Similar--need I say it?--to what we did in Vietnam. Not on an announced timetable, but steady and inevitable. It worked out pretty well in Vietnam.

WRONG IDEAS OF THE 1990s

This posting is more of stream of conscious thought than most of my other postings. Just trying to get some ideas to coalesce, but I do think there is something here. I suppose these might seem like odd thoughts from an MBA who has worked within "the system" all his life. But, I have benefitted from working within a "meritocracy" with "controlled" capitalism, and we have been moving rapidly away from that toward a system where "capital" truly does prevail.

To me, much of the deregulation and movement away from the social compact over the past decade or two has proven to have been at least unwise. Below are just a few of the wrong ideas of the 1990s. Please feel free to add to the list.

I am starting to wonder if the lurch away from controlled/modified capitalism toward theoretical lassie faire capitalism at the end of the 20th century hasn't been a death throe. I almost titled this posting A New Paradigm: The Death of Capitalism.

Seriously, you have to wonder--unless world population is stablized or (preferably) reduced, and unless passing mega-wealth from generation to generation isn't prohibited...How can we avoid a world of permanant "haves" and "have nots", "landholders" and "landless"?

Father Richard Rohr, the Franciscan, has said that our economic system is setting most people up to fail. Can such a system be stable? We have to place a great emphasis upon creating opportunity for the "little guy" even at the expense of supposed economic efficiency.

SOME WRONG IDEAS OF THE 1990s

That we should put so many people in prison.
-3 strikes and you’re out.
-Mandatory life sentences.
-Major time for non-violent crime.

That justice is more important than forgiveness and mercy.
-Punishment instead of rehabilitation.

That shareholders are the most important corporate stakeholders.
-How about employees and the broader society?

That we focus on the short-term.
-That we must meet Wall Street’s expectations.
-That we can’t afford research.

That our country doesn’t have an “industrial policy”. That’s European!

That economic efficiency is more important than individual freedom and opportunity.
-The death of mom and pop businesses.

That the “private sector” is the most important social institution.
-Revisionist history forgets how much of what we have and value today came from government or government/private partnership (e.g., cross country natural gas pipelines, commercial airline industry, interstate highway system).
-Private sector has failed to care for our most vulnerable citizens.

That competition/wealth is the most important social motivator/goal.
-How about faith, community and social compact?
-That companies can walk away from their pension and health care obligations.

That "big" is good. That anti-trust enforcement is bad. That it doesn't matter if the mega-chain-store runs everything in your town as long as most people own a few shares.


Copyright 2006 by Nelson E. Hay

1984

“WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”

From 1984 by George Orwell



“Newspeak”. “Doublethink”. Words matter. George Orwell knew that long ago, but it was left to our times to really implement the concept for political mind control.

So, we now have the Democratic Party referred to as the “Democrat Party”. Perhaps the Republican Party should henceforth be known as the “Republic Party”. This one is just petty and stupid.

And, we have the inheritance tax referred to as the “death tax”. This one does succeed in changing the subject away from maintaining a level social playing field for the next generation. It works all too well in getting millions who would never be subject to such a “tax” to vote against their own best interests and those of the society.

And, we have the various “wars” against all sorts of things that may not actually rise to the level of a war. But, when we’re at “war” then behavioral expectations change. Then, opposition or even doubt is “treason”. Then, civil liberties are a price we may not think we can afford.

For more about the novel 1984, see http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/1984

Copyright 2006 by Nelson E. Hay

AN ALTERNATIVE TO “PROTECT THE OIL” AS U.S. ENERGY POLICY

I spent my career analyzing energy and environmental policy. A few things are clear to me as a result.

We cannot solve our energy problems with “new sources of supply”--not with acceptable economic or environmental consequences.

This is particularly true of increased coal use. Unfortunately, coal used in any way—direct firing, electricity generation or gasification—produces extremely large quantities of carbon dioxide--the primary greenhouse gas, other air pollutants and massive amounts of solid wastes. To increase coal use responsibly we would have to find an acceptable way to permanently sequester, i.e., lock up, the carbon dioxide and solid wastes—still an elusive goal as far as I know.

This is also true of nuclear energy. We have yet to find an acceptable way of disposing of nuclear wastes, including the old plants themselves. And, in an age of terrorism…need I say more?

Ethanol and other “bio-fuels” are produced from grain, so we’d be diverting food from a world in which many are still starving. That might not stop us, but the impact on consumer prices at home ultimately will.

Sounds gloomy, but actually there is a viable way forward: Conservation. Not just turning down the thermostat, but deployment of high efficiency energy production and use technologies. It worked in the 1980s, and it can work again for the long-term.

This is not a pipe dream. After the energy shocks of the late 1970s and early 1980s there was an enormous increase in the efficiency with which energy was found, produced and used. We were on the right track, if only we had stayed on it. Instead, we reacted to moderating energy costs with SUVs and giant homes.

I borrowed the title of this posting from a 1992 study, An Alternative Energy Future, that, among other things, took the rates of technology and efficiency improvements of the 1980s and projected them into the future[i] Had we stayed on that track, total energy consumption would have been stabilized according to the study, with a resulting reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, lower consumer energy bills, an improved balance of trade and increased employment. I believed it then, and believe it still.

But, we are where we are, as they say. So, what should we do now? First, we must admit that U.S. energy policy today mostly amounts to (1) Keep government out of the marketplace, and (2) Protect the oil supply. We have to have a more thoughtful policy.

First, do no harm! In the 1980s it was largely the marketplace responding to higher prices with better technology that made the difference and restored supply/demand balance. If energy prices stay “high” and if government stays out of the way I believe matters will mostly take care of themselves.

But, we shouldn’t be unwilling to use government power where government has shown it can be successful. The stakes are too high. One positive role for government in the 1980s was efficiency standards. Government should put in place and enforce strict new vehicular mileage and appliance, end-use equipment and building efficiency standards.

We should also focus and greatly increase government research and development funding on high risk, high expense research into totally new, clean energy sources such as fusion and even science fiction-like technologies beyond fusion. If the Federal Government would only spend a fraction of what we’re spending in Iraq on these technologies, we might be able to avoid future Iraqs. I am admittedly way out of touch on today’s research and development funding levels, but I see that the Fiscal 2007 budget for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is $4.1 billion—about 4 days worth of spending on Iraq. These technologies are probably the ultimate solution, yet industry really can’t afford to fund them in this era of stock market expectations for the current quarter. Would we rather spend our taxes forever on foreign wars or on domestic energy sufficiency?

Our friends in the electric utility and coal industries, as well as in manufacturing should resist the temptation to keep fighting to cast doubt on the reality that human energy use is changing the atmosphere with uncertain but potentially disastrous effects. i.e., climate change. Instead, focus your efforts and funding on sequestration and energy efficiency.

Finally, for so many who are opposed to offshore drilling, coal, nuclear energy, etc., please give up your matching his/her SUVs and 10,000+ square foot homes, and then we’ll talk. In the short and medium run, in spite of what I said at the beginning, we’re going to need all of the energy sources we can get to ease our need for foreign oil, with its disastrous military, political and economic consequences. But, we’ll also need some life style changes—as if terrorism and the Iraq War haven’t brought that already. Which lifestyle changes do we prefer?

We have to have an energy policy other than “Keep the government out of it” and “Protect the Oil”. Back when the price of crude oil was $20 per barrel economists used to say that the “real” cost borne by all of us was closer to $100 per barrel if all of the military and environmental costs of protecting and using the oil were “internalized” so that we saw them “at the pump”. I wonder what that figure would be today?

An energy future based on conservation and energy efficiency won’t be cheap, but neither is the policy we’re following today.


Copyright 2006 by Nelson E. Hay


[i] An Alternative Energy Future, Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C., The Alliance to Save Energy, American Gas Association and Solar Energy Industries Association, April 1992. Peer reviewed by the Center for Global Climate Change at the University of Maryland, Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Global Change Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Worldwatch Institute.

KEN LAY

I knew Ken Lay. Casually, not well, but for many years. I knew him, and I eventually owed him a couple of debts of gratitude that I never thanked him for.

I knew him nearly 30 years ago when he was a young gas pipeline company Vice President on the fast track. A rare Ph.D. economist in the management ranks. Someone we all turned to for guidance as the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 was debated into law. Someone who sparkled with brilliance. Someone very likable.

I knew him as he created Enron and turned it into the leading company among world natural gas companies—the “first natural gas major”. I knew him as he also turned Enron into the darling of many environmentalists and environmental organizations—a “green” industrial giant—a leader in wind energy technology and environmental policy-making. A progressive company. A company on the cutting edge.

In the 1980s he saved my job. As a trade association executive I had recommended support for imposition of a “carbon tax” as a means of addressing the issue of climate change, an unpopular proposal among many in the natural gas industry at that time. A personally threatening backlash among industry executives was growing until Dr. Lay said simply, “But Nelson is right.”

In the 1990s, when Enron was leaps and bounds ahead of other U.S. gas companies in expanding into international opportunities, Dr. Lay supported our efforts to encourage and train other U.S. companies—Enron’s competitors—to also do business abroad. He thought that the USA and the world would be better off if more U.S. companies had broader horizons and were involved in a positive way abroad, and he thought that Enron could compete with them just fine, thank you.

I really don’t know what went wrong at Enron, or how the son of a Baptist preacher got himself into such a mess that cost so many so much. I do know that Dr. Lay was an economist’s economist, and that our country, as well as Enron, turned a lot of policy-making over to theoretical economists in the 1980s and 1990s. Economic efficiency, competition and wealth became religious principles in their own right. With a lurch we placed unprecedented mystical faith in the invisible hand of the unregulated marketplace to bring the best possible results, albeit with some “creative destruction” along the way. I have a feeling that much of what ailed Enron and much of what ails the country today may have started right there.

To many today, Enron is regarded as having been a fraud and Ken Lay is regarded as having been a crook or worse. I guess my point—and I think I owe him this-- is just to remember that Enron was once regarded by almost everyone as the best of the best among natural gas companies, a company that could compete on the world stage, think outside the box, and stand for progressive policies in areas like the environment and international trade. Enron was a shining star in its time. Ken Lay was the guy who made it so.


Copyright Nelson Hay 2006

From 1996-2000 Nelson Hay was President & CEO of the International Gas Center, a natural gas trade association headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

A THOUSAND SOULS

Here's a poem I wrote several years ago about the Salt Cay public cemetary.

A parched and glaring half acre,
on a hillside,
with a few weeds and no trees.
surrounded by a low stone wall,
and iron gates.
The spectre of a white heron in flight,
the only motion in the complete stillness.
Two or three recent graves—
whitewashed, cinder block vaults.
Only one of them has a marker.
Some dozens of older markers,
eroded grey limestone,
all unreadable—-telling no story.
The place appears mostly empty
with enough space for many more
to end the journey there.
Yet, wherever they dig new graves
the bones of earlier residents
are turned up.
The place is really very full.
Close examination shows a pattern—
a grave every few feet—
in all, at least a thousand interred there
in the past 400 years.
Slaves mostly,
but also masters.
Salt makers
and sailors,
businessmen,
and government functionaries.
Wives and children
and mistresses.
Yellow fever victims,
and drowning victims,
murder victims,
brutality victims,
and just life victims.
1000 souls in 400 years,
1000 bodies
baking in the tropical sun.


Copyright 2006 by Nelson E. Hay

The Medicare Prescription Card Maze

I wrote this June 29, 2004, and it was published in the Venice (Florida) Gondolier newspaper. In spite of my frustration at the time I wrote this, I've come to consider the Medicare prescription benefit as President Bush's best legacy.

Changes in Medicare that were enacted last year provide a limited prescription drug benefit beginning in 2006, and promote the use of “Medicare Approved” drug discount cards in the meantime. Unfortunately, the process of enrolling for one of the approximately 75 approved discount cards is so complex, and there is so much uncertainty about what is being offered, that many seniors may opt to just give up and do without.

When my 87-year old mother tried to enroll by telephone she never succeeded in talking to a living human being. She eventually gave up in the face of lengthy holds and numerous automated options, and asked me if I would help her via internet.

What an experience that was! We finally succeeded, but the process required us to visit two web sites and a search engine; provide information and make choices via a lengthy interactive program; download, complete, sign, copy and mail a form; and--for peace of mind--call her pharmacy. We worked on it off and on for two days. At the end, mom’s pharmacy said they’d received no guidance from their headquarters regarding which cards they’re accepting, but that it was “probably” a safe bet that they were accepting her chosen card if the Medicare website said they were.

It’s hard to know what the U.S. Congress and the Health and Human Services bureaucracy were thinking about when they passed and implemented this legislation. While many of us younger seniors are fairly internet savvy most older seniors aren’t, and those that are savvy may not be the lower income seniors who could most benefit. Why didn’t they provide adequate telephone support? Did our officials seriously think that most seniors would be able and willing to navigate this internet maze?

Moreover, why did they require seniors to lock into one of these cards for the entire year, but allow the card companies and pharmacies to change their prices and coverage at will? This is commonly called “buying a pig in a poke”. The kindest explanation is that they were (and seemingly still are) extremely out of touch with their senior citizen constituency, and the worst is that the whole thing was just smoke and mirrors to create the impression of doing something for seniors before the 2004 elections.

That having been said, if you think you have the skills, internet access and patience, or if you have a helper who does, it is probably well worth enrolling for one of the approved drug discount cards. In addition to possibly receiving discounts on drug prices, enrolled seniors with annual incomes below $12,569 ($16,862 for a married couple) may qualify for a $600 annual credit toward the cost of drugs.

There are two ways of contacting Medicare to start the enrollment process: by telephone (1-800-633-4227) or by internet (www.medicare.gov). Via internet, a good procedure is:

First, use the Medicare website to choose a card and download the enrollment form.

Second, use a search engine to find the internet address for the card issuer, and visit their website to check them out and confirm the card information from the Medicare website.

Third, contact your pharmacy to confirm that they’re accepting the card you’ve chosen.

Fourth, fill out, sign and copy the enrollment form, and send it to the card issuer using their instructions. If your income is more than the limits stated above you may be required to pay an annual fee of up to $30. They say the cards should arrive in 2-6 weeks.
Finally, take the card to your pharmacy, and good luck!


Copyright 2004 by Nelson E. Hay

My Experience in Mississippi After Hurricane Katrina

I wrote this on September 26-29, 2005. Versions were subsequently published in the newsletter of the Venice Area Democratic Club, the Democratic Times (Newsletter of the Sarasota County, Florida Democratic Executive Committee), and the newsletter of the Venice Interfaith Community Association.

I served for three weeks in September with the American Red Cross in Meridian, Mississippi. I found much of the experience uplifting due not only to the dedicated spirit of the volunteers but also the patience and good nature of Katrina’s victims.

Yes, there were instances where storm victims—people who had lost both homes and jobs and then spent days standing in lines in the heat and rain trying to apply for financial assistance—became angry. Yes, we were sometimes called racists. Yes, we uncovered instances that seemed like attempts by desperate people to defraud the system out of a few hundred extra dollars of relief money. But, I thought that most victims and volunteers alike were extremely civil under the circumstances, and there were a lot of hugs and “thank you-s” all around.

There was also a lot of sadness and grief. Hundreds of thousands of people lost not only their homes and life’s possessions but also their jobs. In many cases those jobs won’t be coming back. In virtually all cases the recovery will take many years.

It was heartbreaking to encounter families—black, white, Hispanic, long-term poor and formerly middle class—who didn’t even have gasoline money. It was heartbreaking to hear of missing family members. It was heartbreaking to just sit and listen to a sweet grandmother recount all of the keepsakes that she lost with her home. It was especially heartbreaking that the one-time financial assistance available from the Red Cross was so small (a few hundred dollars up to about $1500 for a large family). Hopefully, FEMA and SBA and emergency food stamps and other funding will be forthcoming.

My group of Red Cross volunteers slept on the floor of a gym at First Baptist Church of Meridian, were fed our meals by the North Carolina Baptists, and worked outdoors 10-14 hours per day. Our service center was located in the Jubilee Mennonite Church. We provided food, the Baptists cooked it, and we delivered and served it. In our three weeks we served 300,000 meals, sheltered about 3,000 people and issued about 3,000 financial assistance checks. Other volunteer organizations provided medical assistance and housing placement. Overall, I’m told that this relief effort has been nearly 10 times as large as any previous Red Cross disaster response.

I served several functions including dispensing food from vans, delivering food to shelters, damage assessment and crowd care at the Red Cross Service Center. I particularly found satisfaction in the “crowd care” function. In that, we provided water, food, shelter, toilets, trash removal and security for long outdoor lines of applicants for financial aid.

We were often the first point of Red Cross contact for clients, explaining the basic requirements for financial assistance, and directing them to medical and counseling services as necessary. We had to call for an ambulance as often as seven times per day. I shared responsibility with another volunteer for maintaining order and controlling entry to the facility, which included the unpleasant task of cutting the line and sending away those who could not be serviced in a given day.

Many victims were coming from Louisiana and south Mississippi to us in Meridian, apparently because they were unable to get assistance in their home areas. They said that, while Red Cross shelters and food service were available further south, the financial service centers there had thousands of people in line and some had to close because of violence. I can’t confirm this, but I can say that our crowds in Meridian weren’t diminishing by the time I left, and only a small percentage was from the Meridian area.

As an increasingly committed pacifist I have to say that the National Guard, Meridian Police and a private security firm were invaluable to our efforts. In particular, the National Guard—a mostly black unit from just south of Meridian—were wonderful. They were sensitive and caring with the storm victims, and just their presence brought a certain level of calm and restraint. This is the kind of work the National Guard was intended for. I felt very sorry for them when they were told that they could no longer carry their M-16s, leaving them vulnerable on their overnight shifts.

I talked to more military personnel on this trip than I’m used to, and the conversations did nothing to ease my concerns regarding the Iraq War, the prospects for any kind of positive outcome or how our troops have been cared for over there.

I guess another “political” point would be to mention that I never saw a FEMA person during my three weeks in Mississippi. I confess that someone claiming to be from FEMA left a non-working number on my voicemail, and a few victims from the Gulf Coast said that FEMA had been in their neighborhoods. For the most part, though, victims were just trying to get through to the FEMA toll-free number to start the application process. Of course, I was pretty far inland from the catastrophic damage, but the absence of FEMA seemed to be in contrast to our experience in Florida last year.

We were all struck by the poverty of rural Mississippi and Louisiana. We encountered many people whose reading and writing skills were minimal, who lacked teeth and who lived in miserable homes and trailers. These people were in bad shape before Katrina.
But, not all of our “clients” were poor—at least not before the storms. Some of the most bewildered had always had businesses and jobs, and had never asked others for anything.

Still, I don’t think many of the volunteers went away with a sense of despair. In fact, a silver lining of this event is the way individual volunteers and volunteer organizations jumped into the breech. Of course, the Red Cross. And, the faith community. In Meridian, the Baptists, Mennonites, Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians and many others threw open their doors and offered their members as workers to house, feed and console Katrina’s victims.

In the United States it is always the faith and service organizations that stay for the hard, long-term work of dealing with insurance companies and government agencies and rebuilding homes and lives. As Democrats I hope we can increasingly build bridges to these organizations that should be our natural allies on issues of peace and social justice.

This horrible event has revealed domestic poverty and inadequate healthcare and education that remain a national shame. It has also shined the clear light of day on the extent to which the Iraq War has robbed our national treasury and depleted our ability to care for our own people. Hopefully, something good can come from this.


Copyright 2005 by Nelson E. Hay

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
AND TESTIMONY
AUTHORED, EDITED OR MANAGED
BY
NELSON E. HAY


BOOKS

Hay, Nelson E., Guide to the Alternative Bermuda: How to Have a wonderful time in Bermuda at a Price You Can Afford, Arlington, VA, Blue Sea Press, 1984.

Hay, Nelson E., Editor, Guide to New Natural Gas Utilization Technologies, Atlanta, GA, The Fairmont Press, Inc., 1985.

Hay, Nelson E., Editor, Natural Gas Applications for Air Pollution Control, Lilburn, GA, The Fairmont Press, Inc., 1987.

Hay, Nelson E., Editor, Guide to Natural Gas Cogeneration, Lilburn, GA, The Fairmont Press, Inc., 1988.

Hay, Nelson E., Editor, Guide to Natural Gas Cogeneration: Second Edition, Lilburn, GA, The Fairmont Press, Inc., 1992.

Vergara, Walter, Hay, Nelson E. and Hall, Carl W., Natural Gas: Its Role and Potential in Economic Development, Boulder, CO, and Oxford, England, Westview Press, 1990.

TESTIMONY

Hay, Nelson E., Oral Statement and Responses Before the U. S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Oversight Hearings on Liquefied Energy Gases, December 12-13, 1978, Ser. No. 95-134, Part 2, Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office.

Hay, Nelson E., Oral Statement of Nelson E. Hay on Behalf of the American Gas Association Before the U.S. Department of Energy Regarding The National Energy Policy Plan IV, Washington, D.C., March 2, 1983.

ARTICLES AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS

An Alternative Energy Future, Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C., The Alliance to Save Energy, American Gas Association and Solar Energy Industries Association, April 1992.

“Case Chemistry Chronicle: From Founders to Federation,” Engineering and Science Review, Vol. X, No. 3, March 1967, pp. 28-30.

Hay, Nelson E., A Comparison of the Sociological Attitudes of the Members of the Chemical Community at Case Institute of Technology to the Description of Those Attitudes for scientists as a Whole as Presented in C.P. Snow’s The Two Cultures, Cleveland, Ohio, Case Institute of Technology, January 4, 1967.

Hay, Nelson, “Clean Air Legislation and the Outlook for Natural Gas,” Proceeding of the 37th Annual Meeting of the Society of Soft Drink Technologists, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, April 30-May 2, 1990, pp. 31-49.

Hay, Nelson E., “Energy Policy Strategies: The Role of LNG,” Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Liquefied Natural Gas, Los Angeles, CA, June 15-19, 1986, pp. 1-15.

Hay, Nelson E., A History of the department of Chemistry of Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland, OH, May 27, 1966.

Hay, N.E., “The Outlook for U.S. LNG Imports,” Advances in Cryogenic Engineering, New York, Plenum Press, 1984, pp. 19-27.

Hay, Nelson E., Preparation and Characterization of Ceric (IV) Acetate, A Senior Thesis, Under the Supervision of J.K. Kochi, Professor of Chemistry, Cleveland OH, Case Institute of Technology, June 8, 1967.

“The U.S. LNG Imports Situation,” Proceedings of the Gastech 79 LNG/LPG Conference, Houston, TX, November 13-16, 1979, pp. 1-5.

Hay, Nelson E., “Use of Natural Gas for Environmental Purposes,” Proceedings of the Thirteenth Energy Technology Conference, Washington, D.C., March 17-19, 1986, pp. 971-984.

Hay, Nelson E., World LP-Gas Tanker supply and Demand 1974-78, Presented Before the U.S. National LP-Gas Association Annual convention, Chicago, IL, May 5, 1974.

Hay, Nelson E., “The Worldwide Gas Energy Option,” Symposium Papers: The World Gas Option, Chicago, IL, Institute of Gas Technology, September 1980, pp. 105-129.

Proceedings: 1982 International Conference on Combined Combustion of Coal and Gas, Cleveland, OH, October 12-13, 1982.

Kochi, J.K. and Hay, Nelson E., “Cerium (IV) Acetate,” Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry,” Vol. 30, 1968, pp. 884-886.

Kochi, Jay K., Bethea III, Tristram W. and Hay, Nelson E., “Photo-Induced Redox Reactions: Biennial Report to the National Science Foundation,” Cleveland, OH, Case Institute of Technology, December 1, 1966.

Lawrence, G.H., Hay, N.E. and Muchow, D.J., “The Future of LNG Trade and Regulation in the United States,” Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Liquefied Natural Gas, May 15-19, 1983, Jakarta, Indonesia, Chicago, IL, Institute of Gas Technology and Paris, France, International Gas union and International Institute of Refrigeration, 1983.

Lawrence, G.H., Muchow, David J., and Hay, Nelson, “The Long-Term Outlook for LNG Trade and Regulation in the United States,” Energy Law Journal, Vol. 4, No. 2, 1983, pp. 223-237.

Natural Gas and Climate Change: The Greenhouse Effect, Arlington, VA, American Gas Association, June 14, 1989.

Natural Gas Transmission and Distribution Methane Emissions, Arlington, VA, American Gas Association, November 1989.

Ozone and Carbon Monoxide: The Role of Natural Gas in Attaining Clean Air Act Compliance, 1988 Update, Arlington, VA, American Gas Association, March 25, 1988.

The Outlook for Ammonia Production in the U.S., Arlington, VA, American Gas Association, April 26, 1985.

The Outlook for Propane in Non-Feedstock Markets in the U.S., Arlington, VA, American Gas Association, June 1983.

The Outlook for Propane in the U.S., Arlington, VA, American Gas Association, August 19, 1988.

Schlesinger, Benjamin, Hay, Nelson E., Tucker, Leon L., German, Michael and Barcella, Mary L., “Consumer Impact of Indefinite Gas price Escalator Clauses Under Alternative Decontrol Plans,” Gas Energy Review, Vol. 9, No. 12, December 1981, pp. 1-9.

Schlesinger, Benjamin, Hay, Nelson E. and Mitchell, Jacquelyn S., “The Potential Role of Natural Gas in a Major Oil Crisis,” The Energy Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2, April 1982, pp. 101-118.

SNG Fact Book, Arlington, VA, American Gas Association, September 1978.

UBS Chemical Company: An Analysis of Strategy, In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in Business Administration, Boston, MA, Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, August 31, 1968.

Biography
NELSON E. HAY


Nelson E. Hay was President & CEO of the International Gas Center and President of Nelson E. Hay & Company from 1996-2000. He is the author and editor of numerous energy and environmental publications and several books, including Natural Gas: Its Role and Potential in Economic Development, Guide to Natural Gas Cogeneration, Guide to Natural Gas Utilization Technologies, Natural Gas Applications for Air Pollution Control, and Guide to the Alternative Bermuda. He has served on the boards and steering committees of a variety of organizations, and is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Climate Institute. He was a Member of the Council of the International Gas Union from 1995-1999.

Mr. Hay holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio and a Masters in Business Administration degree from Harvard University. He was elected to Alpha Chi Sigma, professional chemists’ fraternity, and Pi Delta Epsilon, honorary journalism fraternity.

Mr. Hay began his career in 1969 as a financial analyst with the Gulf Oil Corporation in Pittsburgh, PA. He subsequently held positions in a variety of functional areas in the international oil and gas industry and in Washington, DC. From 1971-74 he served as Planning Manager for Mundogas, S.A., an international shipper and trader of LP gas and other liquefied gases, located in Hamilton, Bermuda. In 1975 he served as a Policy Analyst and speechwriter at the U.S. Congressional Research Service in Washington, before being named Marketing Vice President of Trans-Energy International Inc., headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In 1977 he joined the American Gas Association in Washington, serving in a number of positions, including Chief Economist and Vice President, Policy and Analysis. He retired from the A.G.A. as Vice President of International Affairs in 1996, and founded Nelson E. Hay & Company to establish and manage the International Gas Center, a non-profit membership organization with the goal of helping the gas industry do business abroad. He retired from these organizations in 2000.

He presently divides his time between Venice, Florida USA and Salt Cay in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In Florida he is past Chair of the Board of Deacons and past Co-Chair of the Board of Missions of the Venice United Church of Christ. He is a past Director of the Venice Area Democratic Club, and a past Democratic Committeeman. He volunteers with the American Red Cross, Laurel Civic Association and Senior Friendship Centers.

Resume

Executive Resume
NELSON EDWARD HAY

Thirty years of management of non-profit and for-profit organizations, public policy analysis, speaking and Washington representation. Authored hundreds of publications and six books. Served on dozens of boards and steering committees for non-profit and government environmental and energy organizations. Extensive experience working with national and multilateral institutions worldwide. A founding Advisor of the Climate Institute.

Education

1967-69 MBA, HARVARD UNIVERSITY Boston, MA
1963-67 BS-CHEMISTRY, CASE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Cleveland, OH
Elected to Alpha Chi Sigma, professional chemists’ fraternity, and Pi Delta Epsilon, honorary journalism fraternity. Elected President of Case Branch of the American Chemical Society.

Professional Experience

1996-2000 INTERNATIONAL GAS CENTER/NELSON E. HAY & CO. Arlington, VA
President and owner of a small energy/environmental consulting firm, and President & CEO of an outsourced, non-profit trade association serving the international business development and Washington representation needs of major natural gas companies. Reported to Board of Directors composed of CEO-level representatives of member companies. Responsible for all aspects of management, including administration, fundraising, press relations, and coordination of complex programs with Member Company and U.S. government personnel. Organized and carried out over 60 international conferences, trade shows, training programs and other activities. Government representation to the ministerial and head of state level.

1977-1996 AMERICAN GAS ASSOCIATION Arlington, VA
Part of the Senior Management Team of this major, Washington, non-profit trade association, with 900 employees and an annual budget exceeding $100 million. Held a series of increasingly responsible positions, including nine years as Chief Economist, and culminating as Vice President for Policy, Analysis and International affairs. Had general management responsibility for conduct of quantitative energy issues analyses, development of gas industry positions in coordination with 250 member companies, and explanation of these to the press and public as well as in U.S. Congressional and Executive Branch government testimony. Held a series of increasingly responsible positions, culminating as Vice President for Policy, Analysis and International Affairs.

1976-77 TRANS-ENERGY INTERNATIONAL, INC. Hamilton, Bermuda
Vice President for Marketing, and Member of the Board of Directors. Responsible for administration of Head Office, as well as identification, evaluation and negotiation of natural gas liquids projects worldwide.

1975 U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE Washington, D.C.
Provided energy policy analysis and speechwriting for the U.S. Congress.

1971-75 MUNDOGAS, S.A. Hamilton, Bermuda
Entered as Market Planning Coordinator. Promoted to Planning Manager, reporting directly to company President. Implemented market forecasting, planning and capital investment analysis function that became the basis of a major corporate turnaround for this international LP-gas shipping and trading company.

1969-71 GULF OIL CORPORATION Pittsburgh, PAEntered as Financial Analyst. Promoted to Foreign Crude Oil Supply and Distribution Analyst. Introduced computer time-sharing system for monitoring Gulf’s worldwide crude oil situation.