Californians and the Environment: PPIC’s New Survey Results
The Public Policy Institute of California this week released the results of its 12th annual "Californians and the Environment" survey. PPIC, a non-partisan think tank, always seems to be generating thought-provoking and cutting-edge scholarship focusing on the nation-state of California. Its latest environmental survey, based on recent polling of 2500 Californians, continues that tradition. The new survey focuses on Californians' views on four distinct, environment-r...
CONTINUE READINGDestroying the Land in Order to Save It
In the middle of the worst drought in decades, the climate denying House of Ayn Rand Representatives was so intent on hacking apart Food Stamps that it couldn't even figure out how to pass a farm bill. (And the House Ag Committee version, it should be mentioned, was an abomination, maintaining egregious farm subsidies and rejecting the minor reforms in the Senate package.). Now, the House Republican Conference has realized that maybe it isn't such a good idea to go ...
CONTINUE READINGLaw School News: Sunstein Returns to Harvard
The White House announced that Cass Sunstein will be leaving OMB at the end of the month to return to Harvard Law School. Sunstein was not popular with environmentalists-- I have heard people say that he was worse than some of the OMB heads who served under Republican presidents. He also doesn't seem to have succeeded in persuading Republicans that Obama's new regulatory initiatives are justified on a cost-benefit basis. But there has been no doubt that he's had ...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Did Romney Believe and When Did He Believe It?
Two days ago, I posted documentation about Romney's views about climate change. Today, I want to discuss where he's been consistent and when he has changed course. What's causing climate change? Romney has been consistent in saying that the climate is changing. In terms of the reasons, however, he's been cautious, hedging to varying degrees since the time he entered public life. But he's usually said that human activities are probably contributing to climate change...
CONTINUE READINGWe Interrupt This Blog…
...and outsource it (or offshore it or whatever) to Roy Edroso of Alicublog (h/t Dr. Black): HOW TO BECOME AN UNPERSON. Steven Hayward at Power Line, March 2011: Embedded below, if I have mastered the custom Power Line formatting, is a stunning five-minute video of Berkeley physicist Richard Muller shredding the infamous climate “hockey stick” that is making the rounds widely on the Internet.... ..in the aftermath of Climategate, Muller is “going big” you might...
CONTINUE READINGThe Dark Subcontinent
Chaos has reigned over massive swathes of India during the last few days, as much of the northern part of the country outside of major urban centers has been without power. The New York Times has excellent spot coverage, but a deeper analysis comes from John Elliott's invaluable blog, Riding the Elephant. The government has blamed individual states' demand for power, which (it claims) has led to an overload of the entire national grid. Nonsense, says Elliott: These ...
CONTINUE READINGRomney’s Views About Climate Policy: A Detailed Timeline
Updated Sept. 4, 2012. There has been considerable discussion of Governor Romney's views about the causes of climate change and about policies such as cap and trade. It's not easy, however, to find detailed documentation. For that reason, I've assembled as much information as I could find about what Romney has said and done over the years, with links to sources (including video or original documents when I could find them). Timeline of Romney's Views on Climate Chang...
CONTINUE READINGOverdrafting California’s Groundwater Resources–A Chronic Condition
A recently issued study by a University of Texas-led group of research scientists confirm a discomforting fact: groundwater resources in California's Central Valley are being depleted at an alarming rate. As reported in the Sacramento Bee, the study warns that current groundwater extraction rates from the Central Valley aquifer--which is primarily mined to serve agricultural water users in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys--are increasingly unsustainable. Califor...
CONTINUE READING“Everything is God”: The Shema and the Environment
Rabbi Marc Angel is one of the most important Jewish thinkers today: the former chief rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel , New York's oldest Sephardic synagogue, he created and now heads the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, a think tank that has pioneered innovative modern Orthodox thought in the Sephardic tradition. His recent award-winning book on Maimonides and Spinoza is extremely useful reading for anyone interested in religion and philosophy. Rabb...
CONTINUE READINGChristie and Climate Change
I posted last week about Governor Christie's support for solar power. He immediately followed that action by vetoing a bill to bring New Jersey back into RGGI, the greenhouse gas trading system of the Northeast states. (RGGI stands for Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.) The veto message points out that he had already vetoed a similar bill. He contends that RGGI is just a tax on electricity that fails to reduce emissions. A tax on electricity would presumably redu...
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