Good news for right whales
It's easy for environmentalists to get depressed, given the amount of bad news about climate change, species losses, and the like. But sometimes there is unexpectedly good news. This morning's New York Times has one of those stories. The Atlantic right whale, which not long ago was thought by many to be a lost cause, appears to be rebounding. Last year brought a record number of calves, and "probably for the first time since the 1600s, not one North Atlantic right whale ...
CONTINUE READINGEd Glaeser Should Get Out More
Harvard's Ed Glaeser has long been regarded as one of the most astute economists around: economics Nobel laureate George Akerlof thinks he's a "genius." But if he keeps writing posts like this, it will serve as evidence less about him and more about the collapse of economics as a serious profession. Glaeser and my UCLA colleague Matt Kahn compared the carbon footprints of urban dwellers versus suburbanites: In almost every metropolitan area, we found the central city re...
CONTINUE READINGOcean Law Developments
If you're interested in ocean issues, you might want to take a look at the new symposium in Issues in Legal Scholarship: Frontier Issues in Ocean Law: Marine Resources, Maritime Boundaries, and the Law of the Sea. Issues in Legal Scholarship is on on-line, peer-reviewed publiation of Berkeley Law, featuring symposiums organized by Berkeley faculty and research centers. This particular symposium was organized by Harry Scheiber on behalf of the Law of the Sea Instit...
CONTINUE READINGNo wavering in waiver battle
No one is backing down yet in the multiple battles over California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver to allow it to implement its rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. EPA's announcement that it would reconsider the Bush administration's denial of that request was published in the Federal Register on March 6. The agency held a public hearing on the waiver issue on March 5. The transcript has now been posted in the public docket -- it's do...
CONTINUE READINGDon’t Judge a Book By Its Title
Some months ago, the publisher sent me a free copy of a book by Fred Pearce, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner. I left it sitting around but didn't plan to read it -- the title sounded unpleasantly self-righteous and simultaneously self-flagellating. I finally did leaf through it and ended up reading the whole thing. It's not only a good read but very interesting, and not at all the exercise in eco-piety that I expected. The subtitle, "Tracking Down the Sources of M...
CONTINUE READINGMust Be Green to Apply — Unless You’re Not Green
Not all "green" transmission lines are good for the environment. E&E Daily reports on Thursday's hearing before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commitee discussing separate transmission siting and planning bills circulated by Senators Reid and Bingaman. Both would expand Federal siting authority and require regional planning for transmission lines intended to deliver renewable energy. The plans differ, however, when it comes to making sure the new l...
CONTINUE READINGEnvironmentalists v. Environmentalists: The Case of Alternative Energy
A shift to alternative forms of energy and away from conventional carbon-intensive fuels like coal forms the centerpiece of virtually all carbon-reducing strategies. 28 states have enacted mandatory renewable portfolio standards (RPS) (requiring their utilities to procure a set percentage of energy from alternative/renewable sources); the President's stimulus package includes block grant money and tax credits to promote alternative energy; and green jobs are central to...
CONTINUE READINGGood news for gondoliers
The Gallup poll showing increasing public skepticism about the climate change threat, which Holly blogs about below, does not bode well for Venice, California--unless you're a gondolier. A report was released yesterday, sponsored by several California agencies, giving more detail than ever before about the threats to California's coast from rising sea levels. Margot Roosevelt of the LA Times has a nice story about it here. The visuals showing flooding of souther...
CONTINUE READINGFrom Our Far Flung Correspondents: Copenhagen Day 3
A Ph.D student in the Berkeley Energy and Resources program writes: The third & final day of the climate conference dawned bright & sunny in Copenhagen, and I jammed myself & my poster onto a packed subway car for the trip back to the Bella Center. Trains run every 2-4 minutes in Copenhagen at rush hour; nonetheless, passengers are packed like sardines, especially when 2000 conference attendees try to get on within a few stops! Before jumping into tod...
CONTINUE READINGTSCA Reform: Show Me The Money
It's a new year so it must be time for renewed debates over the future of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). In late February, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing specifically to revisit TSCA. With chemical policy reforms occurring in Europe with REACH and at the state level in California, Washington and Maine, there is increasing interest in taking action at the federal ...
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