Progressive Blog

Houston Chronicle Op-Ed: Houston Is Making a Losing Bet on Fossil Fuels

by Randall Morton, Founder, The Progressive Forum

The following op-ed originally appeared in the Houston ChronicleMarch 18, 2024

Leaders of the oil and gas industry are in Houston for CERAWeek, grappling with the inevitable decline of the industry. While the spotlight is on the historic energy transition, we Houstonians should reflect on the stakes: Big Oil’s decline is an existential crisis for our region. Even worse, our economic development leaders at the Greater Houston Partnership are doubling down on this declining industry. 

Houston Chronicle Op-Ed: 'Killers of the Flower Moon' & My 100 Years of Healing

by Randall Morton, Founder, The Progressive Forum

The following op-ed originally appeared in the Houston Chronicle, October 14, 2023

JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in "Killers of the Flower Moon (Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+)

Last spring, an email arrived with the power of a comet jolted from its ancient orbit. It bore a faded newspaper clipping from 1920s Tulsa — a half-page pictorial of a driveway murder scene of my father’s parents, noting the spot where he watched it as a teenager.

Under the headline “felled by bullets,” I finally learned the facts of my grandparents’ murder. On my computer screen, the past unsealed itself — an era when whites, impelled by a culture of killing, slew Osage Indians with impunity. A next-door neighbor, a lone white man, had waited on the steps for my father’s parents’ black car. Knowing that a white man wouldn’t be prosecuted, he shot them over a petty dispute involving the use of a garage.

 

Progressive Forum Presents Andy Borowitz in Houston, September 21, 2023

“One of the funniest people in America” according to “CBS Sunday Morning,” Andy Borowitz will discuss his book, Profiles in Ignorance: How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber, at The Progressive Forum Thursday, September 21, at 7:30 p.m.

Progressive Forum Presents Heather Cox Richardson in Houston, October 19, 2023

Acclaimed historian with more than 2 million avid readers of her daily newsletter, Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson will discuss her upcoming book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, at The Progressive Forum, Thursday October 19, at 7:30 p.m.

Progressive Forum Presents Michael Pollan in Houston, November 9, 2023

The author of several #1 New York Times bestsellers, Michael Pollan returns to The Progressive Forum to discuss his book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, Thursday, November 9, at 7:30 p.m. CT. at the Wortham Center, Cullen Theater.

Pollan’s books will be on sale, and he will sign books at the evening’s conclusion.

Progressive Forum Presents Douglas Brinkley in Houston, November 10, 7:30 p.m. CT

New York Times best-selling author and acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley will discuss his upcoming book, Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening, at The Progressive Forum Thursday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Progressive Forum Presents Lt. Col. (retired) Alexander Vindman in Houston, October 13, 7:30 p.m. CT

Lt. Col. (retired) Alexander Vindman, the man of conscience who reported President Trump’s “perfect call” that led to presidential impeachment, will discuss his book, Here, Right Matters: An American Story, at The Progressive Forum Thursday, October, 13 at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Paid ticket holders at the event will receive a free copy of his book, a retail value of $17.99. The book partner is Blue Willow Bookshop.

Progressive Forum Presents Karen Armstrong in Houston September 12, 7:30 p.m. CT

Acclaimed religious historian Karen Armstrong is returning to The Progressive Forum for the American launch event of her upcoming book, Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World, on Monday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Paid ticket holders at the event will receive a free copy of her book, a retail value of $28. The book partner is Blue Willow Bookshop.

Progressive Forum Presents Nikole Hannah-Jones in Houston, August 24, 7:30 p.m. CT

Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones will discuss her book, New York Times number one bestseller The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, at The Progressive Forum Wednesday, August 24, at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Houston Chronicle Op-Ed: 10 Ways Houston Can Embrace Climate Action This Earth Day

by Randall Morton, Founder, The Progressive Forum

The following op-ed orignally appeared in the Houston Chronicle

When Mayor Turner spoke at the Climate Conference in Glasgow last November, he peddled Houston as a leader of the world’s energy transition, saying our city government uses 100 percent renewable energy and that Exxon plans to invest $100 billion in a tax-subsidized carbon-capture scheme in the ship channel complex. But a closer look shows a lack of real action to move the needle on Houston’s massive emissions, which, at 34 million metric tons a year, rival that of many individual nations at the Glasgow Conference.