federal funding

Promoting Energy Innovation

Novel energy technologies need special care and feeding if they are to develop and enter the marketplace.

An MIT professor has a great idea for a molten metal battery that could outperform lithium batteries. Of course, like many great ideas, this one might not pan out. But even if it does pan out technically, Grist explains one reason why it might never get to the commercial stage: “Ultimately, the thing that makes …

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Conditional Spending and the Clean Air Act

Ann suggests that Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion today in Sebelius might open up the Clean Air Act to new challenges.  That seems right, but it also seems to me that there are two key differences between Medicaid and the CAA/Highway Spending nexus. 1)   Medicaid is an entitlement program; in other words, federal money flows more …

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Another (Mostly) Uninformed Post About the Health Care Cases and Environmental Law

I’ve only skimmed the opinion (National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius) but so far don’t think the Court’s holding that the health care law’s individual mandate violates the Commerce Clause will have any real effect on environmental law. The Court’s decision is concerned with whether Congress can require someone previously unengaged in commerce — …

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