energy law
Three Ways of Dodging Responsibility
After disaster strikes, there are some tried-and-true ways of avoiding responsibility.
In the wake of the Texas blackouts, we’re seeing a number of familiar moves to deflect blame by the usual suspects–politicians, regulators, and CEOs. These evasive tactics all begin with a core truth: Eliminating all risk is impossible and would be too expensive even if it weren’t. But then they spin that truth in various …
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CONTINUE READINGOn the Frustrations of Climate Politics
It’s not just the shortcomings of Joe Manchin. Climate legislation is a tough challenge at all levels.
Yesterday, Joe Manchin announced that he couldn’t support the Build Back Better reconciliation bill. Unless Biden can somehow coax him back to the negotiating table, that dooms what would have been a major breakthrough in climate policy. Manchin bears responsibility for this deerply regrettable decision. But climate legislation is hard, even in more favorable political …
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CONTINUE READINGDownstream Emissions
A new court ruling could doom the Trump Administration’s ANWR plan.
A Ninth Circuit ruling yesterday overturned approval of offshore drilling in the Arctic. The ruling may directly impact the Trump Administration’s plans for oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). By requiring agencies to consider emissions when fossil fuels are ultimately burned, the Court of Appeal’s decision may also change the way that …
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CONTINUE READINGCoal in 2019: A Tale of Decline
Like Canute & the ocean, Trump may wave his hands, but he can’t stop the tide.
Coal is just about the worst possible way of generating electricity in terms of its climate impacts. It’s also a serious public health hazard due to the particulates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides it produces. Thus, reducing the use of coal is a high priority. How did we do in 2019? The short answer is …
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CONTINUE READINGIs Socialism Good for the Environment?
The answer is: “Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much.”
Some of the people who are most fervent about the environment these days describe themselves as socialists. But is socialism actually a good thing for the environment? That seems like a significant question in a political context where people on both sides are throwing around the word “socialist” so much, so I decided to see …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Federal Government Has *Always* Shaped the Energy System
Obama was criticized for intruding the federal government into energy policy. But that’s nothing new.
To hear some of the debate, you’d think that the Obama Administration breached some longstanding barrier that left energy policy to the states and the market. If there ever was such a barrier, it disappeared over a century ago, with the onset of World War I. Ever since then, the federal government has been actively …
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CONTINUE READING‘Let the Sunshine In’: The Fight for Solar in the Tar Heel State
Despite utility opposition and conservative state legislature, the law is slowly shifting toward solar energy.
In North Carolina, renewable energy is more a distant dream than a reality. The state has a modest renewable portfolio standard (10-12% by 2018 or 2021, depending on the utility). Right now, the state is at only about 7%, with the remainder split more or less equally between coal, gas and nuclear. It has old-fashioned …
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CONTINUE READING200 Days & Counting: State and Local Action
States and cities can do a lot to push back against Trump, but they do face some legal challenges.
In the Trump era, what avenues are open to state and local governments to use self-help to protect the environment? I’ve posted before about the opportunities for state and local governments taking action to protect their own environments. (here and here). Perhaps the most important recent development is the extension of California’s cap-and-trade program to …
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CONTINUE READINGSurveying Climate Change Law
In only 25 years, a dynamic new field of law has taken root.
Climate Change Law, the first volume of Elgar’s Encyclopedia of Environmental Law has just appeared. There are a number of excellent edited collections about aspects of climate change law. What distinguishes this one is that breadth of the coverage, including both international and domestic aspects of carbon reduction and adaptation to climate change. The book confirms how quickly climate change …
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CONTINUE READINGEnergy and the State of the Union
There’s quite a bit about energy in the State of the Union, including a discussion of the potential for natural gas and this about clean energy: We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. …
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