The Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat
Yes, there actually is one. It’s in Reykjavík. And here’s why it’s worth pondering.
Working away in anonymity, a cadre of civil servants keeps the machinery of government working. There’s actually a monument in Reykjavík, Iceland to these public servants. It shows someone in a business suit carrying a briefcase — or more specifically, the lower half of the person, with the upper half replaced by a block of basalt. According to a local website, “the block of rock is a perfect metaphor for how everyday life crushes down on us, while at the same t...
CONTINUE READINGShow Time: Stark message from the International Energy Agency
As the 26th Climate Conference (COP26) approaches, there is lots of discussion of the recent IPCC report. There will be a flood of other climate reports landing over the next couple of weeks, from international agencies, environmental groups, industry associations, and many others, all timed for maximum attention at the COP. But for a concrete understanding of the present situation, the most important analysis is in a report that appeared back in May. The Internationa...
CONTINUE READINGCost-Benefit Analysis: FAQs
Cost-benefit analysis has been a key part of the regulatory process since 1980. Here’s how it works.
Cost-benefit analysis is required for all major regulations. It’s also highly controversial, as well as being a mysterious procedure unless you’re an economist. These FAQs will tell you what you need to know about how cost-benefit analysis (CBA) fits into the regulatory process, how it works, and why it’s controversial. Q: Let’s start with a basic question. Exactly what is cost-benefit analysis? A: The term cost-benefit analysis is sometimes used to m...
CONTINUE READINGWhat power does the state have over land-use regulation in California?
State court concludes that state does have the authority to intervene in local regulation of land-use
A big court ruling in California land-use law happened last month – and it has really large implications for the state’s efforts to address California’s housing crisis. The lawsuit is a challenge by a pro-housing advocacy group (California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund (CARLA)) to a decision by the City of San Mateo to reject a multi-family housing project. CARLA relied on the state’s Housing Accountability Act (HAA), which limits the ability of a ...
CONTINUE READINGWhy Local Governments Underproduce Housing
Local control over land-use regulation means local governments focus more on the harms than the benefits of housing
As governments in California and across the United States wrestle with how to address soaring housing costs, a significant flashpoint has been the issue of local control. Most land-use regulation in the United States is done by local governments: cities, counties, towns, villages. In California, much of the legislation intended to increase housing production has sought to strip away or limit local control over land-use regulation. Those legislative efforts have in ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Shock of the Global
What the current fossil fuel energy crisis means for climate and clean energy policy
Pick up any newspaper and it is clear that much of the world is experiencing a series of interrelated energy price shocks. In Europe and the UK, natural gas prices are up by more than 500% over the last year, hitting all-time highs earlier this month. In the US, even with abundant supplies of natural gas as a result of extensive shale gas development, natural gas prices are more than double where they were a year ago. China and India are both running dangerously ...
CONTINUE READINGNorth Carolina’s New Climate Legislation
A major, bipartisan step forward in an unlikely state.
Last week, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed an important piece of climate legislation. I wrote last month about major, bipartisan climate legislation in Illinois. Like the Illinois law, the North Carolina law enjoyed broad bipartisan support. The North Carolina legislature is under firm Republican. Nevertheless, the bill passed the state senate by a 42 to 7 vote and the state house by 90 to 20, before being signed by the Democratic governor. North Carol...
CONTINUE READINGDelayed harm and the politics of climate change, reconsidered
How much does zero emissions warming commitment matter, and what are its political implications?
The world is gathering soon in Glasgow to debate how to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades. But what happens when we achieve the goal of zero carbon dioxide emissions from human actions? Does the climate keep warming, stay the same, or even cool? It turns out this is a critical question for understanding what carbon budgets we have in terms of emissions, if we seek to meet temperature thresholds like 2 degrees Celsius. If warming will continue to ...
CONTINUE READINGReforming the California Endangered Species Act
Updating the state's landmark biodiversity law for the twenty-first century
California has a rich heritage of biodiversity, with many species found nowhere else in the world (including the iconic giant sequoia trees). But California’s biodiversity faces grave threats – pressures from development that eliminates habitat; water shortages that harm aquatic species in California’s rivers; and climate change impacts that are shifting and altering habitats, among others. Governor Newsom has made protection of California’s biodiversity a pr...
CONTINUE READINGNever Give Up. Never Surrender.
Even if we miss our targets, simply shaving or flattening the carbon curve would be worth fighting for.
Although lacking the same eloquence, today’s post is in the spirit of Churchill’s famous speech promising that Britain would “fight on the beaches, … we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” My point is this: No matter how many battles we end up losing in the fight to stop carbon emissions, we can never afford to give up. It’s not hard to see why some people despair about the climate. The Paris Agreement’s goal is to keep global warming we...
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