Climate Change
A Stark Contrast: Clinton v. Trump on Climate Policy
Clinton wants to cut carbon emissions, Trump wants to raise them.
Forty percent of millennials don’t see a difference between Clinton and Trump on environment, energy, or climate policy. That’s just wrong — so wrong that it’s hard to believe anyone is that misinformed. The candidates are as different as day and night on those issues. As Paul Krugman said on Friday, “there is a huge, …
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CONTINUE READINGCelebrating California’s Climate Change Leadership
State Government Leaders From Both Parties Celebrate AB 32’s Tenth Anniversary
In stark contrast to a dysfunctional national government and an utterly dispiriting presidential campaign, Sacramento, California was today the site of an inspirational, bipartisan celebration. Current California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, and his predecessor, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, joined past and present state legislative leaders to commemorate the 10th anniversary of California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, better known as …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Clean Power Plan Oral Arguments
After marathon hearing, EPA comes out on top
Greetings, Legal Planet readers! As many of you know, I left the UCLA Law community several months ago for a new position in the environmental law world. But today, I emerge from blog-retirement for one very special post: insights from Tuesday’s oral arguments in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals over EPA’s Clean Power Plan. …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Impact of a Trump Presidency, in Tons of CO2
A Trump presidency would add 2.4 billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. At a minimum.
One of Trump’s pledges is to eliminate Obama’s Clean Power Plan. That wouldn’t be quite as easy as he thinks, but there’s little doubt that he could do so. So, how much difference would that make? The answer turns out to be 2,470,000 tons of additional carbon emissions. That’s a bare minimum; the actual added …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Machine at the Center of the Clean Power Plan
By William Boyd, Ann Carlson and Cara Horowitz
As attention shifts from last night’s debate to today’s oral argument on the Clean Power Plan, we thought it worth focusing on the machine at the heart of the President’s plan to cut greenhouse gases from the electric power sector: the electricity grid. You might think that the largest machine in the United States is one …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump Embraces His Inner Denialist
Nobody loves coal, oil and gas more than Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has pledged to wipe out Obama’s climate change efforts, including the Clean Power Plan and the Paris Agreement. His choice to head the transition team for EPA shows how little his view of climate change has evolved since he tweeted that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to …
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CONTINUE READINGEnergy Policies Worthy of Debate
Ten questions to ask Clinton and Trump about energy policy.
As we enter the brief debate season prior to the presidential elections, it is easy to anticipate that we won’t see much time set aside for discussing energy policy. That’s not the case for the graduate students in an energy policy class I am currently teaching at the Goldman School of Public Policy. Last week, …
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CONTINUE READINGGary Johnson’s Hasty Retreat
He was for a carbon tax. For a few days. Until he was against it.
I posted a few weeks about Gary Johnson’s embrace of a carbon fee, which seemed like an appealing sign of new ideas. Apparently, however, stale ideas are more politically salable. As it turns out, under pressure from horrified conservatives, Johnson waved the white flag and surrendered only a few days later. Here’s his explanation: “If …
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CONTINUE READINGHow to Hedge Your Portfolio Against a Possible Trump Victory
Place your financial bets on having LESS renewable energy and MORE climate change.
If you’re worried about the economic impact of a Trump victory, you should be thinking of hedging your risk. One hedging strategy is to place a bet on climate change. By undoing Obama’s climate regulations and scuttling the Paris Agreement, Trump will set back climate policy, here and around the world by years, maybe decades, He’ll …
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CONTINUE READINGObama’s Public Lands Conservation Legacy
Progress, but still much more to do
President Obama has gotten some high praise lately from the New York Times editorial board, and this op-ed from Prof. David Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice noted for his biography of President Theodore Roosevelt. Brinkley compares Obama favorably to Teddy Roosevelt for his conservation legacy. The specific recent actions by President Obama that prompted …
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