Government by Reconciliation
The reconciliation process avoids the risk of a Senate filibuster. But it comes wth procedural and political complications.
These days, legislation normally needs sixty votes to pass the Senate. This can be a huge barrier. But there’s an exception: the reconciliation process allows taxing and spending measures to pass the Senate on a majority vote. Republicans have big plans to use reconciliation to advance their agenda. That would certainly have advantages for them, but they’re also going to face some serious challenges. Procedural Limits on Reconciliation The first issue faced by ...
CONTINUE READINGA Crisis in Climate Communications
Deadly windstorms, wildfires, and hurricanes constitute something more horrific than just “climate change.”
What’s best for communicating urgency: phrases like “global warming” and “climate change” or “climate crisis” and “climate emergency”? What do audiences take away from these semantic choices? Does it matter what words we use? What about when the entire nation is watching a series of wildfires engulf Los Angeles, fueled by unusually dry vegetation during what used to be the wet season? I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about these questions. And I d...
CONTINUE READINGWhat policies lead to greenhouse gas emissions declines?
A recent study emphasizes the role of policy mixes in driving short-term emissions reductions
In a series of posts (beginning here, and ending here) last month, I outlined an approach to climate policy that emphasizes the role of subsidies in building political support and technological progress for climate policy. In doing so, I drew heavily on existing political science research and case studies from North America and Europe. But another fruitful approach for climate policy research can be studies that look at policies and emissions results from a large num...
CONTINUE READINGTrading more LNG exports for more electricity transmission?
Recent Department of Energy report indicates that the trade may be worth it
In a series of recent posts (first post, second post, third post), I examined the permitting reform bill advanced by Senators Manchin and Barrasso in the last Congress. That permitting reform bill is now dead. But the reasons for doing a deal still remain. Decarbonizing the US economy requires a massive increase in renewable energy, and that in turn depends on building out the US electricity transmission network, which in turn depends on reducing regulatory obstacl...
CONTINUE READINGTesla’s Trajectory
What do recent developments teach us about the world?
Recent news about Tesla sheds light on the company’s future, the global EV market, and crony capitalism, along with the state of American democracy. It may also say something about Elon Musk’s role in the company. That’s a lot of information wrapped up in Tesla’s stock prices and related developments. Overall, the upshot is good news for the environment but bad news for democracy. The first of these developments is that Tesla experienced its first drop i...
CONTINUE READINGWhat to Expect When You’re Expecting Trump: Looking Ahead to 2025
Before even taking office, Trump has confirmed that “normality” is out the window.
Trump’s picks for office provide a strong hint of what next year will look like. In Trump’s first term, government actions were often overturned by the courts. Agencies made basic mistakes: skipping mandatory procedural steps, ignoring important evidence, or failing to address opposing arguments. Many people thought he had learned his lesson and pick competent, experienced administrators this time. They were mostly wrong. Some of his choices like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Ga...
CONTINUE READING2024: Ending on a Dark Note
It was a pretty good year for the environment – until November 5, that is.
No point in mincing words: 2024 ended on a grim note for anyone who cares about the environment. Donald Trump is once again in the White House. His record in the first term made him in the most anti-environmental President in history. The story of the next four years will be a struggle to limit his damage while trying to continue progress at the state level and in the private sector. Although the outcome of the presidential race bodes ill for environmental protect...
CONTINUE READINGTest Your Knowledge of Climate Law
How much do you really know about the law relating to climate change?
In case you're stressing out over the election --and you should be, whichever side you're -- this little quiz could offer a welcome diversion. Climate change is inevitably a complex subject. Test your own knowledge of the legal aspects of the subject by answering a few quick questions. Don't worry if you have trouble. Our audience isn’t just people who live and breathe climate law. We do our best to make sure that you don’t need to know the answers to any of the...
CONTINUE READINGThe Environmental Gifts of the Magi
Clean air. Clean water. We receive these public goods every day without payment, as gifts from everyone to all of us.
One of the Christmas classics is the Jimmy Stewart movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. Stewart’s character is feeling suicidal, until he learns how much he has unknowingly helped others and how grateful they are. It’s heartwarming if also very corny. There’s a flip side to that story: the need to remember how much others have contributed to our own lives. That includes people we don’t know who have helped give us a better planet on which to live. Even the mos...
CONTINUE READINGThere are Piles of Coal in America’s Christmas Stocking
Coal is piling up, unused, at powerplants across the country
Bad children, supposedly, will get only lumps of coal in their stockings. That could be taken as a metaphor for the anti-environmental programs coming down the line, but I have in mind something a bit less metaphorical. According to a recent report, coal-fired power plants have immense piles of coal – 138 million tons, equal to the entire output of Appalachia. There’s a reason for that: coal plants aren’t burning as much coal as they used to. When Trump first to...
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