Harry William Braun III (born November 6, 1948) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

consultant, researcher, and political candidate. He was a congressional nominee in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, and has been a

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. He has published papers on the

hydrogen economy The hydrogen economy is using hydrogen to decarbonize economic sectors which are hard to electrify, essentially, the "hard-to-abate" sectors such as cement, steel, long-haul transport etc. In order to phase out fossil fuels and limit climate ch ...

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

, and

photobiology Photobiology is the scientific study of the beneficial and harmful interactions of light (technically, non-ionizing radiation) in living organisms. The field includes the study of photophysics, photochemistry, photosynthesis, photomorphogenesis, vis ...

Life and work

Braun was born November 6, 1948 in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

. A graduate of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, Braun lived in Arizona for 42 years. He and his wife Dorothy now reside in

Canton, Georgia Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958, up from 7,709 in 2000. Geography Canton is located near the center of Cherokee County at (34.227307 ...

. Since 1998, Braun has been the principal of Mesa Wind LLC, which developed

wind energy Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

(and

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

) projects. Braun received a bachelor's degree in history and general science from

in 1971. Since then, he has done independent research in the fields of energy technologies and resources, photobiology, molecular biology, and protein evolution. Braun is an Advisory Board Member of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Braun is the founder and senior scientist of the Phoenix Project Foundation (PPF), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which advocates for a

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

-based energy economy rather than the current

fossil-fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ma ...

-based economy. The foundation promotes ideas outlined in Braun's book, ''Phoenix Project'', initially published in 1990 and revised in 2000. Braun's published papers and books include material on

, the

, and

; he has also published several versions of his book about using renewable energy to generate hydrogen, entitled ''The Phoenix Project''.

Political campaigns

Braun has not been elected to office, but was the nominee of the Democratic party for two congressional races in the 1980s.

Congressional campaigns

, Braun was the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 1st congressional district of Arizona, losing to incumbent Republican congressman

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

. According to ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'', "A key element of Braun's energy platform is what he calls the 'Phoenix Project,' a plan to mass produce hydrogen with electrolysis by using solar power to produce the electricity." Major political problems of the 1980s that the plan could conceivably address included nuclear weapons, pollution, energy scarcity, and deficit spending. Braun received 22% of the vote. In

, Braun ran again, and was again the Democratic nominee for Arizona's 1st congressional district, losing to Republican nominee Jay Rhodes. Energy policy in general, and

plus the

in particular, was again a key platform-plank of Braun's campaign. Braun also campaigned on a broader set of issues during October 1986, including irrigation and water-use policy. Braun improved on his 1984 performance, and received 29% of the vote.

Presidential campaigns

2004

In 2004, Braun ran an independent campaign for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, with the campaign-slogan of "Making America Energy Independent & Pollution Free with Windship Hydrogen Production Systems." Braun's energy policy was distinct from the

proposed by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, in that Braun wanted to generate hydrogen from seawater via electrolysis (using

), as opposed to generating hydrogen from coal and

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

plants. Braun participated in a Presidential Candidates Forum in 2004 in New Hampshire that was covered by

C-Span Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

2012

Braun did not run in 2008, but did run again in 2012, against incumbent Democratic President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. Braun's 2012 campaign included stops in Iowa.

2016

Braun ran for the Democratic nomination again in 2016.

2020

Braun announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination again in 2020.

Proposed constitutional amendment

Braun has proposed an amendment to the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

which he calls the Democracy Amendment. It reads "We the People, hereby empower the majority of American citizens to approve all laws, federal legislation, presidential executive orders, and judicial decisions that impact the majority of citizens." His plan is for the amendment to be ratified directly by voters through constitutional conventions. He has made this amendment a focus of past presidential campaigns.Editorial, "Candidate's call for more direct democracy should be heeded," The Daily Iowan, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, Thursday, July 28, 2011

/ref>

Notes

References

External links

Campaign website

Phoenix Project Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Harry 1948 births Living people Arizona Democrats Arizona Independents Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Arizona State University alumni People from Canton, Georgia People from Compton, California Candidates in the 2004 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election American scientists