Year: 2012
This Blog Post is Full of Crap
As Cara and I have noted previously, many municipalities are seeking to limit or completely ban plastic bags in grocery stores. Good for the environment, right? Well, maybe. How shall I put this? Plastic supermarket bags, while terrible in many ways, are particularly good at the removal of a particular form of non-toxic canine waste that often …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Environmental Impact of Cloud Computing
The NY Times has a long article and a Room for Debate piece about cloud computing energy demand. Basic economics tells us that these data centers are likely to locate in places where electricity is cheap but the article doesn’t tell us the geography of where these data centers locate. Internet companies will ignore the …
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CONTINUE READINGYour Legal Planet Weekend Movie: Watch the Greenland Ice Sheet Melt!
Forget the cinema or Netflix. Legal Planet can meet your movie viewing needs. This video highlights research done by Dr. Laurence Smith at the UCLA Department of Geography, who spent the summer on the Greenland ice sheet tracking its melting. Somehow seeing the melting happen from the ground has more of an emotional impact for …
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CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Finds Public Nuisance Lawsuit Unavailable to Address Climate Change Impacts on Threatened Native Alaskan Village
Today, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion affirming a federal district court decision to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Native Alaskan Village of Kivalina that sought damages from oil and electric power companies whose greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to climate change. Kivalina contended that the companies’ greenhouse gas emissions constituted a public …
CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Rules Against Indian Tribe’s Climate Change Suit
Not much of a surprise here; a Ninth Circuit panel “has ruled against the northwest Alaska village of Kivalina, which sued energy companies over claims that greenhouse emissions contributed to global warming that is threatening the community’s existence.” The village brought a common-law public nuisance claim against the oil companies, but the panel held that …
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CONTINUE READINGWhich Side Are Environmentalists On?
Watching Bill Clinton’s interview with Jon Stewart earlier today, I was struck by one thing: Clinton’s advocacy of Walmart’s environmental practices. If the 42nd President is to be believed, the retailing giant has pioneered a series of seemingly impressive environmental initiatives, particularly in the use of solar photovoltaics, and in reducing VMT for its vast fleet …
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CONTINUE READINGPrice Implications of the California 33% RPS as the Federal Government Cuts Green Subsidies
Frank Wolak is quoted in today’s LA Times about the electricity price implications of California’s pursuit of a 33% RPS by the year 2020. He argues that electricity prices will rise as a consequence of this regulation. At the same time that California is ratcheting up its RPS standard, the Federal Government is …
CONTINUE READINGFive Ideas for Regulatory Reformers
Duke is hosting a conference on Monday (10-4 ET) about conservative approaches to environmental protection. (livestream here). Here are a few ideas to throw into the mix:
CONTINUE READINGWarren versus Brown on Energy and Environment
At the debate between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown last night, there was a brief discussion of energy issues. Brown defended subsidies for oil companies but criticized Warren for trying to tie him to Jim Inhofe. Unlike Inhofe, Brown does believe in climate change (at least right now — he seems to have waffled over …
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CONTINUE READINGSubsidizing Fossil Fuels While the Wind Sector Bleeds Jobs
Yesterday, Jonathan Zasloff wrote a post on Senator Alexander and Representative Mike Pompeo’s Wall Street Journal op-ed opposing the wind energy tax credit, which is set to expire at the end of 2012 barring Congressional action. Yesterday’s post raised the question of how traditional fossil fuel subsidies compare to renewable energy subsidies. A 2009 Environmental …
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