Public 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 changing electricity mix has clear benefits in terms of air pollution. According to a recent report from the GAO, On average, coal-fired units—both olde...
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. I don't have a crystal ball and I don't know what the future holds. I do have a strong understanding of microeconomics and I know many of the details about how AB32...
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 share some disappointment about Obama's failure to get Congress to pass comprehensive climate legislation, and wh...
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 done. The first case involved the industry challenge to EPA's tailoring rule for greenhouse gases. The second case, Grocery Manufactu...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Does Climate Change Mean for Water Rights?
Dan Farber and I, along with Berkeley economist Michael Hanemann, have a new report out on climate change and water rights in California. The report—Legal Analysis of Barriers to Adaptation by California’s Water Sector—was prepared by Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, and it can be downloaded here. The report was released by the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program. The idea behind the rep...
CONTINUE READINGDrive a Stake Through Ethanol’s Heart!
Okay, that's even worse than a mixed metaphor: that's a Friedmanism. But it still applies today. Reuters reports: Two U.S. governors asked the United States government on Tuesday to waive this year's mandate for making ethanol from corn, adding pressure on it to relieve meat producers from high corn prices spurred by the worst drought in more than 50 years. As legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman once commented, "nobody knows anything." But even then, eve...
CONTINUE READINGInterior, Defense and Energy Departments Team Up to Advance Renewable Energy on Public Lands
The renewable energy side of President Obama’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy received a significant boost in the past two weeks, with a veritable relay of Department of Energy, Interior and Defense actions on clean energy. On July 24, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of the Interior (DOI) released the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development in six southwestern states—Arizona, California, Colorado, N...
CONTINUE READINGEnergy Forecasts, Accuracy and Climate Change
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides very important forecasts of energy prices, consumption, efficiency and so forth. The EIA produces short, long term and annual outlooks that are widely regarded as among the best and most independent forecasts of the state of the nation's energy use. The agency even has statutory authority to operate independent of political influence in order to ensure accurate forecasts. And yet, the EIA forecasts are only...
CONTINUE READINGThe Puzzling Silence Surrounding Richard Mourdock’s Consulting Business
Richard Mourdock, as you may recall, is the Tea Party candidate who defeated Richard Lugar to win the Republican Senate nomination in Indiana. In the course of researching Mourdock's positions, I took a look at his career to see how that may have helped shape his views. In doing so, I ran into a bit of a puzzle. Mourdock is a former oil company geologist and coal company executive. But his most recent job before running for public office is a bit mysterious. I found a...
CONTINUE READINGWill Driving a Prius Save the Planet?
John Voelcker says no, and he is right (h/t TPM). In fact, he is so clearly right that I am not sure why one would write this piece. Indeed, I'm a little suspicious of the hidden agenda here. Voelcker points out five things that make driving a Prius Not The Savior Of Planet Earth. They are, essentially: 1. It's better to drive an electric car, which is a Zero Emission Vehicle. To be sure, as Voelcker acknowledges, this will turn on the nature of the power g...
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
