Jerry Brown

Funny, It Doesn’t Look Bluish

The initial results in California last night make it seem like a sane drop of blue in the country.  Jerry Brown won for Governor; Barbara Boxer was re-elected; and Proposition 23, which would have reversed the state’s landmark climate change law, was resoundingly defeated.  Voters also approved Proposition 25, which allows the state budget to be …

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The California Attorney General race and the environment

This New York Times article notes why the California Attorney General’s race is very important for our state and national environmental and energy policies.  As a close observer of that office’s work on environmental issues and as a former California deputy attorney general myself, I believe the reporter is surely correct.  This race will matter from …

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Hear Sean on KCRW discussing tonight’s California gubernatorial debate

The last of the Meg Whitman / Jerry Brown debates is happening tonight and promises to be a doozie (& not just because of the recent uproar over name-calling).  By all accounts the election remains up in the air, with much at stake for environmental regulation in California (see here and here, e.g.).  For post-debate …

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Judge orders changes in ballot language for Proposition 23, which would suspend California’s greenhouse gas emissions law

Today, a judge ruled that the state must change the “title and summary” ballot language for Proposition 23, the oil-company-funded proposition that would suspend California’s landmark greenhouse gas emissions law AB 32.  (My colleague Ann Carlson wrote about this initiative campaign earlier this summer.)  Proposition 23 would render the law unenforceable until California’s unemployment rate …

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Energy storage is key to the success of renewables in California

UPDATE: The bill summary linked below from the California Energy Storage Alliance actually summarizes a former version of the bill.  The current bill version, linked below and here, is the best source now.  The current version imposes no percentage mandate on utilities.  Thanks to Ethan Elkind for pointing that out. UCLA Law and Berkeley Law recently …

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Breaking News: Jerry Brown Sues FHFA and Fannie & Freddie over PACE

As I suspected, we’ve got a lawsuit over the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s position on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). (Background on PACE and the controversy here.)  California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced today that his agency is suing these entities in federal court over their unwillingness to …

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Jerry Brown and the Environment

Unlike Meg Whitman’s website, Brown’s website features the environment front and center, with long lists of his environmental accomplishments as California Attorney General and in his time as Governor.   I was particularly  interested in what he said about his accomplishments as mayor of Oakland, which (according to the website) included: • Reducing Greenhouse Gases: Under …

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