Why Does Larry Summers Want to Accelerate Climate Change?
I've never been a huge fan of Greenpeace: although I like much of the work they do, it has always seemed to me that they are more interested in headlines than the slogging work it takes to promote sustainability. But they had a great idea a few days ago: commission the respected private corporate consulting firm ICF, which no one would ever condemn as a bunch of tree-huggers, to analyze the stimulus proposals for greenhouse gas impacts. In particular, analyze the transp...
CONTINUE READINGQuote of the Day
"We have long suspected that the new administration would stress environmental enforcement activities at a faster clip than the last administration, and I think we're seeing that," said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, which represents utilities. The quote referred to DOJ's filing of an enforcement action involving new source standards....
CONTINUE READINGSweet and Sour Pork
Like any good observant lapsed Jew, I'm always on the lookout for tasty pork. But as Jonathan discussed on this blog, the highway pork in the stimulus bill is looking most unsavory -- especially relative to the sweeter meats of public transit funding. No doubt, money for public transit agencies would go a long way toward creating jobs: orders for new buses and rail cars alone would create solid manufacturing jobs domestically. But for those hoping to see big capital p...
CONTINUE READINGNew Federal Nanotechnology Bill Takes Small Steps Towards Addressing the Environmental and Health Implications of Nanotechnology
The House Science and Technology Committee recently introduced H.R. 554, National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2009. The Committee hailed the bill, which is virtually identical to last session's H.R. 5750, as serving to "strengthen and provide transparency to the federal research effort to understand the potential environmental, health, and safety risks of nanotechnology." It is true that the bill does include limited steps meant to address environmental...
CONTINUE READINGWow, things really have changed in Washington: a Cabinet official speaks about climate change’s impacts on California
The Los Angeles Times has a story today in its (venerable but soon-to-be-axed) California section discussing new Energy Secretary Steven Chu's public statements on the dramatic challenges California will face as a result of climate change. From the story: Chu warned of water shortages plaguing the West and Upper Midwest and particularly dire consequences for California, his home state, the nation's leading agricultural producer. In a worst case, Chu said, up to 90% o...
CONTINUE READINGJudd Gregg on oceans
It often seems that Commerce Secretaries come in knowing little or nothing about their Department's responsibilities for ocean resource management and ocean and atmospheric research. One reason many environmentalists were excited about the prospect of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson taking on the job was that Richardson had expressed a strong commitment to ocean protection. But Richardson bowed out because of an ongoing federal investigation of "pay-to-play" allega...
CONTINUE READINGDEMON SPAWN OF THE STIMULUS
From an initial concept by H.P. Lovecraft: The Boxer-Inhofe Amendment SEE! $50 billion in new stimulus money for highways to be introduced on the Senate floor tomorrow!!!! HEAR! Nothing for transit!!!!! SMELL! (TASTE?) (FEEL?) Alleged environmentalist Barbara Boxer (D-Marin County) writing a bill with climate denier James Inhofe (R-Olduvai Gorge) to build thousands of miles of roads and increase our dependence on fossil fuels! THE STIMULUS THAT ATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL...
CONTINUE READINGEnergy law courses
If you're interested in learning more about energy law, you might want to take a look at these two Berkeley classes which are now available on youtube:: Law 270.6 - Energy Regulations and the Environment - http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8256AD22B9C1CE53 Law 270.7 - Renewable Energy & Alternative Fuels - http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=214AD3BA0B8D3FBA The downloads are free and available to anyone....
CONTINUE READINGUnnatural disasters
Scientific American's 60-Second Science blog is reporting, picking up on a news story from Science, that last year's devastating earthquake in southern China may have been caused by the filling of an enormous reservoir behind a dam built in 2004. The weight of the water in that reservoir, located just over 3 miles from the quake's epicenter, may have increased stress on the nearby fault enough to trigger its rupture. The Chinese government denies any connection....
CONTINUE READINGOn the International Renewable Energy Agency
Steve's post on the proposed International Renewable Energy Agency raises an important question: why do it this way? It would seem to me that if one really wanted to make a difference here. you would try to integrate renewable energy issues (and perhaps mandates) into the one international organization that really matters: the World Trade Organization. I say that the WTO matters because (virtually) alone among world bodies, it has real enforcement teeth: its judgments...
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