Region: California
Scientific integrity in the Trump administration
We can’t tell yet what role science will play in the new administration’s policy choices, but there is reason for concern
There has understandably been a great deal of hand wringing in the environmental policy world since the US presidential election, including on this site (see, for example, Sean’s post here, Dan’s here, and Ann’s here). There are so many hands to be wrung, however, that we’re nowhere near through them all. One topic that …
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CONTINUE READINGSurviving the Trump Research Funding Drought
A Model for State Support of Climate and Energy Research
Federal funding for research on renewable energy and climate change is likely to take a nose-dive under Trump. For instance, a senior advisor recently announced that NASA’s earth sciences research program would be scrapped. In a previous post, I argued that state governments should help pick up the slack. Doing so could have economic benefits …
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CONTINUE READINGThe U.S. Goes Right, California Goes Left
Significant progressive wins in the Left Coast on election night
We all know election night took a turn to the right at the national level. But here in California, the results were all about the progressives. The California legislature saw Democrats get major pickups to move forward on a progressive agenda, although as KPCC radio reported, they may have just failed to achieve a 2/3 …
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CONTINUE READINGCould A Trump Presidency Actually Slow Climate Change?
A Trump-induced recession could temporarily slow global emissions
This might sound crazy, but Donald Trump’s presidency could actually have a temporarily positive impact on climate change. How? Nothing reduces emissions like a recession, and according to economists, Trump’s stated policies are likely to cause one. Specifically, if Trump follows through on his promise to start a trade war with countries like China, he …
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CONTINUE READINGAnother Job For California: Energy & Climate Research
If Trump guts research funding, California should step into the breach.
During the campaign, Trump said he would save $100 billion by cutting climate programs. His campaign staff referred as support to a report, which said that 75% of the funding was energy related and included “about 68 percent for energy technology, 23 percent for science, 8 percent for international assistance and 1 percent for adaptation …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump and Climate Change
There’s Nothing Good to Be Said About It
A Trump Presidency is a disaster for U.S. leadership on climate change. There’s no other way to spin this election. Myron Ebell, the head of Trump’s EPA transition team, thinks that President Obama’s Clean Power Plan is illegal, the Paris Agreement unconstitutional and that climate change “is nothing to worry about.” Though most of the …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Way Forward On Climate Change
State coalitions and global subnational action represent the best hope
After last night’s presidential election results, it’s easy to despair that we’ve lost the fight against climate change. Trump will likely kill the federal Clean Power Plan and pull the U.S. out of the Paris agreement. He’ll also probably pull back regulations that make it harder to permit coal-fired power plants and conduct other business …
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CONTINUE READINGDefending the Environment in Dark Times
Where do we go from here?
Yesterday’s election didn’t turn out the way many of us hoped. The results may put in danger much of the progress made over the past eight years in addressing environmental issues and even risk some earlier accomplishments. What’s done is done, however, and we need to think about how to move forward. The Bush years …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Big Land Use And Transportation Initiatives To Watch Today
Measures in both San Francisco and Los Angeles could have a big impact on the future of the state
Yes, there’s a lot happening today in the national election. Lost in the shuffle though are three big initiatives before some California voters that could have a big impact on the state’s transit and development future. Measure RR to restore BART: this is an unusual transit measure because it’s one of the first I’ve seen …
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CONTINUE READINGTahoe Regional Planning Agency Wins Big in Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals Rejects Challenge to TRPA’s Regional Plan
This week the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) won a major legal victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A unanimous three-judge panel of that court rejected environmentalists’ challenge to TRPA’s adopted Regional Plan for the Lake Tahoe Basin in Sierra Club v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. The Ninth Circuit decision effectively …
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