The Climate “Partnership” with India
At least that's what the White House is calling it. (Okay, okay: technically, the White House calls it the "Green Partnership to Address Energy Security, Climate Change, and Food Security."). Does it mean anything? Maybe. Essentially, it provides for some technical assistance to improve governance capacity and scientific knowledge, and some new initiatives to foster R & D. It also takes the sensible position that the developed countries will adopt emissions...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Air Resources Board releases draft cap-and-trade plan
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) today released the preliminary draft cap-and-trade regulation. CARB staff would like to have comments by January 11th of next year. A new proposal based on the comments will then be issued in Spring 2010. Some quick key points: 1) The proposal limits a covered entity's use of offsets to a maximum of four percent of the allowances that the entity surrenders at the end of a compliance period. 2) CARB staff are considering shor...
CONTINUE READINGWar Tax=Carbon Tax
Congressman David Obey yesterday called for a war tax to pay for troops in Afghanistan. While the idea of a war tax makes all the sense in the world (if health care can't add to the deficit, why should our wars?), Obey's proposed tax on upper-income earners is aimed at the wrong source. Instead of an income tax, why not a carbon tax to pay for our wars in the Middle East? After all, much of the reason for our military involvement in that region comes from our desire to...
CONTINUE READINGReaders’ Opinions About The Timing of Climate Legislation
[polldaddy poll=2268512]...
CONTINUE READINGThe Challenge of Regulating the Ordinary
The title is a play on a great paper of Holly's about the converse challenge of saving the ordinary. Whether the ordinary is good or bad, however, it tends to escape our interest and attention because it's so darn . . . ordinary. Case in point: nitrogen pollution. We emit a lot of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere, while dumping a lot of nitrogen into rivers and streams because of excessive fertilizer use by farmers. Sounds like it could be a problem, but not ...
CONTINUE READINGPolar Bears. Wolves. Sea Turtles.
Polar Bears. Wolves. Sea turtles. Did I mention polar bears, wolves, and sea turtles? The most popular posts on our blogs feature those subjects, along with fetching pictures. Some people dismissively refer to such creatures as charismatic megafauna, as if there were something wrong with people being attracted to some of nature's coolest denizens. But the attraction people feel to parts of nature is important -- and most of the people who are dismissive and pro...
CONTINUE READINGA Lot of Hot Air
One of the arguments that pro-"cap and traders" like to make against a carbon tax is that the outcome of a tax is too uncertain. Like Goldilocks, you may end up with a tax that is too weak or too strong. If it's too weak, the desired environmental emissions targets may not be met; too strong, and we crush the economy like Goldilocks sitting on the little bear's chair. But this argument is pretty weak coming from advocates of a cap-and-trade plan. After all, what ...
CONTINUE READINGChina’s Problems, Our Problems
President Obama’s trip to China (noted here yesterday by Dan Farber) refocused world attention on China’s mushrooming contributions to global warming. Many have declared that China has eclipsed the United States as the number one emitter of greenhouse gases, and it is evident that its emissions grow by the day. Perhaps the most devastating examples of China’s “progress” are the Three Gorges Dam and the rapid-fire introduction of new coal-fired power plants. I...
CONTINUE READINGCan You Teach an Old Corps New Tricks?
The levee failures in New Orleans a few years ago -- the picture is to help refresh your recollection in case you've forgotten about them -- put the spotlight on some major deficiencies in the operation of the Army Corp of Engineers. According to E&E News, lawmakers are complaining that the Corp has failed to heed legislative mandates for reform: "Three of the most significant of these programmatic reforms, independent peer review, safety assurance review, and ...
CONTINUE READINGRemembering Tom Graff
Last week, California and the nation lost a true giant of water law and policy, Tom Graff, who founded the California office of the Environmental Defense Fund in 1971 and had a hand in every key water battle or negotiation (as well as many other environmental developments) since then. EDF's memorial page is here; it includes a link for sharing remembrances of Tom. Contributions in his memory can be made to EDF's California water program here. Stuart Leavenworth wrote a m...
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