Region: California
Ten Energy Stories to Watch in 2014
What will shake the energy world this year?
In our energy law classes at Cal, we like to start the day by talking about Energy in the News. The media never fails us. Every day, there are multiple energy-related stories of significance touching on resource development, new technologies, policy shifts, jobs, regional politics, prices, international relations, or the environment. Once you start looking …
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CONTINUE READINGAre Transit Strikes Bad for the Environment?
Banning public transit strikes might help the environment
Even if you’re not from the Bay Area, you’ve probably heard about the labor troubles at the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) – the rail system that is one of the largest public transit providers here in the Bay Area in terms of passengers. Hundreds of thousands of commuters use the BART system on …
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CONTINUE READINGIf You’d Like to Support Our Environmental Work
It’s not too late for the last tax-deductible gift!
“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To speak of many things, Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax– and gifts to the UCs.” OK, so Lewis Carroll didn’t write that. But just in case you might be thinking about making a gift at the end of the year, you might consider the UC Berkeley and UCLA environmental law programs …
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CONTINUE READINGNew on Ecology Law Currents
Ecology Law Currents, ELQ’s online companion, features lively short-form commentary. Check out the latest, an analysis of California’s cap-and-trade program. Author Penni Takade argues that the program has two key weaknesses: The first weakness is the process of allocation for GHG allowances to regulated firms. Under California’s allocation process, cap and trade will exacerbate economic …
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CONTINUE READINGEco-Friendly Gift Guide
Gift Ideas to Keep Your Holidays Green
To celebrate the holiday spirit, here are some gift ideas for your eco-savvy friends and family. May your holidays be warm (but not too warm) and bright. For the foodie: An “Eat Local” calendar For the techie: A portable solar charger For the minimalist: The gift of carbon offsets For the chef: A reclaimed wood …
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CONTINUE READINGGoing for Broke at the Climate Casino
The new Nordhaus book is good as far as it goes. But its analysis is muddled in crucial respects.
I finally had a chance to read Nordhaus’s new book, The Climate Casino, on a long flight. There are some goods lessons in the book. The book makes the case for serious mitigation, even rhough Nordhaus takes a fairly optimistic view about adaptation. Nordhaus also tells us that “it would be relatively inexpensive to slow …
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CONTINUE READINGWith Utility Power Purchases, Does the Environment Matter?
When does the approval of a contract trigger environmental review?
If an electric utility asks regulators to approve a contract to purchase power from someone else’s power plant, should the regulators consider the environmental implications before saying yes or no? Of course they should. But let me ask the question again, using a bit of California legalese: Does a decision by the California Public Utilities …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Pollution Regulations Aren’t Taxes
Opponents of environmental regulations love to call them hidden taxes. But constant repetition doesn’t make this idea true.
If you’ve seen a statement that regulations are hidden taxes, that’s not too surprising. Googling “regulation hidden taxes” produces over three million hits. But in fact, pollution regulations and taxes are completely different. The reason is simple. A tax removes value from the private sector. Environmental regulations simultaneously remove value from one part of …
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CONTINUE READINGA Bad Hollywood Ending for Smart Growth — What’s the Sequel?
Judge rules the downtown plan for transit-oriented growth is fundamentally flawed
Smart growth advocates are lamenting a judge’s decision yesterday to toss out the environmental impact report (EIR) on Hollywood’s years-in-the-making plan for higher-density growth around the city’s subway stops. Hollywood is one of the few communities in California willing to increase growth around transit stops and along transit corridors, and the demand for housing and …
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CONTINUE READINGIs Climate Change a Bulldozer or Bullet Train?
How fast will climate change happen? Maybe faster than we expect, according to the National Academy of Sciences.
We’re in the early stages of climate change — just how much depending in large part on whether we control our emissions. But how quickly will this happen? Is it a bulldozer we can dodge or a bullet train that’s too fast to avoid? That makes a lot of difference in terms of our ability …
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