How To Pay For Energy Efficiency Retrofits — Evening Conference At Berkeley Law On Sept 21st
Free event on Thursday, Sept. 21st from 5-7pm, will feature Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister & Former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff
California has ambitious goals to make our existing buildings more energy efficient, through improvements such as wall and ceiling insulation and efficient appliances and fixtures. We simply cannot meet our long-term climate goals without more progress on this front. But these smart investments require upfront money, and it's not clear yet how the state can make easy financing available. As SB 350 (De Leon, 2015) requires California to double the energy efficiency of ...
CONTINUE READINGWebinar: Net Economic Impacts Of California’s Major Climate Programs On The Inland Empire
Free on-line event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 12th, from 10-11am
Following the state legislature’s landmark approval extending California’s cap-and-trade program through 2030 by a supermajority vote, Berkeley Law's Center for Law, Energy & The Environment (CLEE) and our research partners have completed the first comprehensive, academic study of the economic effects of existing climate and clean energy policies in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Together with UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education, an...
CONTINUE READINGClimate Policy in the Aloha State
Hawaii completely depended on imported oil and coal. But it has a plan for kicking the carbon habit.
In June, Hawaii adopted a law endorsing the goals of the Paris Agreement and reinforcing its efforts to deal with climate change. Until that law made the news, I’m embarrassed to say that I hadn’t paid any attention to Hawaii’s impressive record in this area. In fact, Hawaii may get the prize for passing the most laws on the subject. In 2012, NOAA published a summary of the state’s climate-related laws, beginning with a 2007 law to reduce emissions to 1990 lev...
CONTINUE READINGGuest Bloggers Rob Verchick and Matt Shudtz: Law Professors from Every Coast Ask SCOTUS to Weigh in on Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Case
Professors Argue Fifth Circuit Decision Upsets Federal/State Court Balance, Will Prevent States from Relying on Their Own Laws to Protect Important Natural Resources
Last month, more than two dozen law professors from around the country filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, urging a fresh look at a lower court decision with sweeping implications for the balance of power between states and the federal government. The issue is vital to Louisiana because it affects whether oil and gas companies can be held liable for decades of damage they have done to the state's coastal wetlands. The case is ambitious, t...
CONTINUE READINGThe Dark Art of Estimating Flood Risks
The 100-year flood and the 500-year flood are both very rough estimates.
My title is a little unfair. So far as I can tell, the people who are trying to figure out the 100-year or 500-year floods in various places are hard-working professionals, applying their expertise to a difficult problem. But there are a lot of uncertainties that get concealed behind the final numbers. The consequence is that the estimates can be way off. For instance, a 2012 study of Houston found that over 47% of all flood insurance claims were located outsid...
CONTINUE READINGOur Broken Flood Insurance System
It’s not just Houston. The National Flood Insurance Program is also underwater.
When people have gotten past the emergency of Hurricane Harvey, thoughts will turn to rebuilding. That requires money. Some of it may come in direct grants from the federal government, but flood insurance is the core source of funding for many people. Private insurance policies generally exclude flooding, so the main source is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). NFIP has in some ways been a very successful program, but it also has serious difficulties. It'...
CONTINUE READINGHigh Time to Fix California’s Affordable Housing Crisis
California Political Leaders Announce Historic Housing Accord
The Sacramento Bee reports that California Governor Jerry Brown and the Democratic leaders of the State Senate and Assembly have reached an 11th-hour agreement to address California's chronic, steadily growing affordable housing crisis. (The California Legislature's 2017 session concludes in mid-September.) That's good news indeed--and a most welcome (if overdue) proposed fix to one of the most intractable economic and social challenges in modern California history. ...
CONTINUE READINGHow Disaster Response Works
It’s a complex process involving many federal agencies and state government.
When people think of FEMA, they envision rescuers finding victims and taking them to safety. FEMA does provide emergency assistance, temporary housing and other services. But its main job is to coordinate the response of many parts of the federal government. And the federal government's role itself is mostly supportive, with the main job of emergency response falling on state and local governments. President Carter created FEMA in 1978 by combining the functions o...
CONTINUE READINGDid The California Supreme Court “Rip A Huge Hole” In Prop 13 & 218?
New decision could lower voter threshold for local government taxes by voter initiative
UPDATE: This post has been modified from its original version to reflect some ambiguity in the court's decision that I missed on first read. California local governments have long been stymied in efforts to raise taxes for basic infrastructure and services by California's constitution. Two voter-approved constitutional amendments, Prop 13 and Prop 218, require that any new local "special tax" (i.e. for a specific purpose and not for general revenue for the governme...
CONTINUE READINGThe Trump Administration’s Arbitrary Review of National Monuments
Zinke's review has been anything but transparent
Last Thursday, Secretary Zinke submitted a report to President Trump, recommending changes to national monuments. Although Trump’s Executive Order in April called for a "final report" within 120 days--the deadline was Thursday--the Interior Department's press release called the report a "draft." And as Holly Doremus explained on this blog, it has still not been made public. While we don't know exactly what is in Zinke's report, the Washington Post reported that it ...
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