Climate Change
Energy 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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CONTINUE READINGLouisiana Flood Lessons for a Climate-Changed Future
Louisiana’s preparedness for a 1000-year flood, and implications of the slow media response for slow-onset climate impacts
The devastating floods in southern Louisiana a week ago left at least 13 people dead, tens of thousands in need of rescue, and 60,000 homes damaged. In one parish, nearly ninety percent of homes flooded. Cellular network failures, road closures, power outages, and sewage-contaminated floodwaters continue to threaten relief efforts. The American Red Cross is …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Threatens Biodiversity?
Are we too worried about climate change to focus on the other problems we know about?
Yesterday, Nature published a noteworthy comment on the biodiversity crisis, written by researchers at the University of Queensland and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The piece is based on a study of 8,688 species that are classified on the IUCN’s Red List either as threatened (vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered) or near-threatened. The main …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown Launches Initiative Effort to Achieve Climate Change Goals
Governor Brown Decides to Play Offense in High Stakes Political Battle Over Next Stage of State Climate Change Mitigation Efforts
One of 2016’s biggest political battles in California is over whether and how the state will pursue its ambitious climate change mitigation goals past the year 2020. California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act–better known as AB 32–committed California to roll back aggregate state greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels no later than 2020. Through the …
CONTINUE READINGThe New NEPA Guidance
The new guidance on climate change is a step forward, though it could have been stronger.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued new guidance today on considering climate change in environmental impact statements. Here are the key points: Quantification. The guidance recommends that agencies quantify projected direct and indirect emissions, using the amount of emissions as a proxy for the eventual impact on climate change. The EIS should also …
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CONTINUE READINGA Clash of Visions
The two parties couldn’t disagree more about energy policy.
In every election, there are people who claim that both parties are alike. That’s certainly not true about energy policy this year.The distance between the tickets can be expressed numerically: Kaine has a 91% lifetime score of from the League of Conservation Voters, while Pence’s is 4%. And the differences between the presidential candidates are equally …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Cap-and-Trade Program After 2020
ARB publishes draft climate regulations that would extend the program
Against a backdrop of complex Sacramento politics on the future of California’s climate regulation, the state’s Air Resources Board last week issued an initial draft of regulations that would, among other things, extend the cap-and-trade program beyond 2020. Does ARB currently have the authority to do that? Yes, probably. But it’s complicated enough to leave room for disagreement. Here’s one version …
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