Year: 2012
Should the University of California Be Part of the AB32 Carbon Cap?
The OC Register reports that UCLA may face a large bill (over $5 million per year) for its current carbon dioxide emissions under AB32’s cap and trade. If true, will the faculty at UCLA continue to support this regulation? Several issues arise. First, UCLA is a non-profit. While UCLA is “big”, should non-profits be part …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Irony of Todd Akin
Todd Akin’s views about rape and pregnancy are crazy, and he deserves his current political plight. The irony is that Akin is by no means the most extreme of the current crop of Senate candidates. In fact, in a recent blog post, I decided not to lump him with the other tea party candidates because …
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CONTINUE READINGThe ADB’s New Essay on “Green Urbanization in Asia”
Over the last few months, I’ve been working with economists at the ADB on the annual Key Indicators Special Chapter. “Green Urbanization in Asia” was recently published. This chapter covers a lot of ground but I think it does a very good job in presenting the core issues and challenges and discussing a …
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CONTINUE READINGMore monitoring problems
Here in the Bay Area we had a nasty fire at the Chevron refinery a few weeks ago. One of the questions is what, exactly, might have been in the smoke from the fire and what kinds of health effects we might expect from that smoke. Unfortunately, state and local officials haven’t been able to …
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CONTINUE READINGGenetically Modified Foods & California’s Proposition 37: What’s All the Fuss About?
Largely lost in the shuffle of the current presidential election campaign and several more heavily-publicized state ballot measures, California’s Secretary of State recently announced that the “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act” has qualified for the state’s November 2012 election ballot, where it will appear as Proposition 37. (The text of Proposition 37 …
CONTINUE READINGThe Ryan Consumption Tax and the Environment
One of the interesting elements of Paul Ryan’s budget plan is the proposal for an 8.5% consumption tax to replace the corporate income tax. Consumption taxes, like the European VAT, have well-known pluses and minuses, described in a Brookings discussion. They are appealing to economists because they encourage saving. As the European example shows, they …
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CONTINUE READINGPublic Health and the Changing Electicity Mix
The electricity mix has changed dramatically, as discussed by my colleagues from the Haas School recently. The following chart tells the tale: Notice that the blue line (coal) is diving, while the orange line (natural gas) is picking up the slack. The change seems to be due to the rapid decline in gas prices. The …
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CONTINUE READINGCan Economists Predict AB32’s Impact?
A mildly interesting debate is taking place among the economists. On Thursday, Bo Cutter and I published this opinion piece in the Sacramento Bee. Bo and I are both supporters of AB32 but we are not “naive supporters” of this regulation. I will speak for myself here and admit that I’m a modest man. …
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CONTINUE READINGIf Obama’s Done Nothing for the Environment Why Do the Coal Barons Hate Him?
I’ve had more than one conversation with Republican friends (yes, I have some) who are Romney supporters but also environmentalists. One of the arguments they trump out about why they support Romney despite their environmental interests is that “Obama’s been weak on the environment anyway.” They make this argument especially about climate change. While I …
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CONTINUE READINGStanding Doctrine Undercuts Industry Challenges – A “Man Bites Dog” Story
According to an old saying, “dog bites man” isn’t newsworthy, but “man bites dog” is worth a headline. Similarly, it’s not especially newsworthy when standing doctrine is used to toss environmentalists out of court. It’s much more so when it’s used against industry. Yet in two recent cases, that’s exactly what the D.C. Circuit was …
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