Region: California
Guest Blogger Ken Alex: California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard
Post #2 in a Series on California Climate Policy by Ken Alex, Senior Policy Advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown
[This is the second post in a series expressing my view of why California’s actions on climate change are so important and how they will change the world. The introductory post provides an overview and some general context.] SB 350 (2015) requires that California’s investor and municipal owned utilities provide 50% of their customer’s electricity …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Blogger Ken Alex: California’s Vision on Climate Change
Post #1 in a Series on California Climate Policy by Ken Alex, Senior Policy Advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown
California accounts for about one percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. As the Brown Administration enters its final year, I want to set out my view of why California’s actions on climate change are so important and how they will change the world. I thank the faculty at Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy, …
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CONTINUE READINGSupreme Court Update: PEPTO and Rinehart
Supreme Court denies review in two important environmental law cases
Last week the US Supreme Court brought closure to two cases we have been following here at Legal Planet. First is a case I had blogged about in the past – People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – a challenge to the constitutionality of the federal Endangered …
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CONTINUE READINGCities are suing oil companies for climate change harms. Could they win?
Join UCLA Law Emmett Institute and Union of Concerned Scientists for January 25 evening talk on new climate lawsuits
Who should pay for the significant costs that cities and other local governments incur in responding to climate change? Los Angeles is the most recent city to explore the idea of suing fossil fuel companies for these harms, following in the footsteps of San Francisco, San Mateo County and a growing cohort of other jurisdictions …
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CONTINUE READINGFinally, California Gets A Meaningful Housing Bill
SB 827 (Wiener) would be a game-changer to solve the housing and sprawl crisis
California State Senator Scott Wiener just introduced the bill I’ve probably been waiting for since I started following land use and transit in California over a decade-and-a-half ago. SB 827 would dramatically scale back local government restrictions on housing near major transit stops (see the fact sheet PDF). These restrictions by local governments have prevented …
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CONTINUE READINGWhere the Wild Things Are
For endangered species, don’t think Alaska or Montana. Think Hawaii and California. And Alabama.
When we think about preserving nature in the United States, we tend to think of the country’s great wilderness areas in places like Alaska and the Rockies. We don’t think about Alabama or Puerto Rico, for instance. But in terms of biodiversity protection, this is almost the opposite of the truth. By and large, the …
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CONTINUE READINGTen Environmental Lessons of 2017
We’ve learned a lot in the past year, some good, a lot bad.
No one can say it’s been a boring year. In many ways, it’s been a worse year than we expected, because the Trump Administration has gone all in on its anti-environmental vision. But there have also been some heartening positive developments. Here are some of the most important things, good and bad, that we’ve learned …
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CONTINUE READINGU.C. Davis to Host Conference Commemorating California Air Resources Board’s 50th Anniversary
CA Governor Jerry Brown, former USEPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, CARB Chair Mary Nichols Featured
On Friday, January 19, 2018, the University of California, Davis, will host a major conference commemorating the California Air Resources Board’s 50th anniversary. The conference represents a three-way partnership between UCD School of Law’s California Environmental Law and Policy Center, UCD’s Institute for Transportation Studies and CARB. Since its creation in 1967, CARB has been …
CONTINUE READINGGuess What? It’s THAT Time of Year Again.
Yes, it’s fundraising season. And yes, we’re asking for your help.
Like everyone else, I’m sure you find fundraising appeals annoying. That’s why we hardly ever do them. But twice a year doesn’t seem like too much of an imposition, and this is a really important time. In many ways, developments in Washington have been even grimmer than expected. So there’s an especially critical need today for …
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CONTINUE READINGComprehensive New State Survey Shows California Environmental Quality Act Rarely Impedes New Projects
Study covered all state-led projects over a 5-year period
A constant complaint from many business leaders and their allies is the high cost of complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the state’s signature environmental law which requires environmental review for major new projects. But a new survey from the State of California shows that the law rarely affects most projects where the …
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