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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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Are 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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Helping to Break The Junk Food Habit

Some of the methods used to regulate alcohol could help with junk food.

A recent study shows that rats find oreos addictive — they like eating them just as much as they like cocaine.  And they definitely preferred them to healthier foods like rice cakes.  People seem to have the same difficulty in resisting junk food as rats. What’s to be done? A recent paper by RAND researchers suggests that relatively modest …

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More Musings on the Cert Petition Grant in the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Case

Does Regulating Greenhouse Gases Lead to Absurd Results and What Happens Once the Court Rules?

In follow up to my early morning post of this morning, here are a couple of additional points. 1)  A related but different argument petitioners are making about why the PSD provisions don’t apply to the regulation of greenhouse gases is that the application of the provisions would lead to absurd results.  The absurd results …

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Calfiornia Bans Lead Ammunition

New Law Is Welcome, But Probably Won’t Take Full Effect Until 2019

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation that will ban the use of lead ammunition in California by hunters. In approving AB 711 (Rendon), Brown withstood furious lobbying efforts by the National Rifle Association and some (but not all) hunting organizations, who had urged the Governor to veto the legislation. AB 711 was supported by …

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A Farewell to August: Tax Private Jets!

For Dan, Labor Day means thinking about Labor.  For me, it means thinking about the horrific traffic that Cape Cod summer residents face on their way back to wherever.  Or rather, it means thinking about the ridiculous mode of transportation the some friends of mine used to avoid that traffic. My friends work for a …

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The D.C. Circuit’s Sleeper Decision in CBD v. EPA

Before I even get to the majority opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA, a quick word about the concurring opinion by Judge Brett Kavanaugh.  Kavanaugh may be the most outspoken conservative on a court composed almost entirely of Republican appointees.  So what he has to say about climate change is really noteworthy:  In …

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The Social Cost of Carbon

I participated in a NPR interview on Marketplace on the topic of the “Social Cost of Carbon”.   A different way to say the same thing is; “What is the benefit of not producing another ton of carbon?” While President Obama will ask a “Dream Team” of economists and climate scientists to answer this question …

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The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council’s “Draft Comprehensive Plan for Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy” does not actually include any restoration projects.

Everyone knows that life is just a little bit slower in the South; as it turns out, so is ecosystem restoration. On this date three years ago, you likely were continuing to monitor distressing television footage of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, wondering if the millions of barrels of oil …

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We Have Met the Unknown Unknowns and They are Us

There are uncertainties about climate science such as tipping points and feedback effects.  But these pale in comparison to the biggest source of uncertainties: people. Here are some of the major things we don’t know and really can’t know about future society: Will economic growth continue, and if so, how quickly and how uniformly?  Richer …

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