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

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

consultant, researcher, and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

. 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 Southeas ...

and 1986, and has been a presidential candidate in

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 60 ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, and

2020 The year 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 even ...

. He has published papers on the

hydrogen economy The hydrogen economy is an umbrella term for the roles hydrogen can play alongside low-carbon electricity to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The aim is to reduce emissions where cheaper and more energy-efficient clean solutions are not ava ...

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

, 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, ...

Life and work

Braun was born November 6, 1948, in

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of 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 ci ...

. A graduate of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, Braun lived in Arizona for 42 years. He and his wife Dorothy now reside in Canton, Georgia. Since 1998, Braun has been the principal of Mesa Wind LLC, which developed

wind energy Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ...

(and

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

) 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 a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

-based energy economy rather than the current fossil-fuel-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 statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

. 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. History Early years The newspap ...

'', "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 1986, 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, 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 and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, 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 by ...

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 television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

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 was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. 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, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

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 Politicians from Compton, California Candidates in the 2004 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election American scientists 20th-century Georgia (U.S. state) politicians