oil and gas

The Speaker Race and the Environment

An image of the U.S. Capitol Building in the evening.

No, it’s not a pretty picture. Scalise was bad. Jordan is worse.

In what felt like one of the few times I’ve actually been right about a political prediction, I told my wife that Steve Scalise would probably be the GOP’s pick to replace Kevin McCarthy.  Sadly,  I was only right for about 24 hours. Then Scalise, supposedly the more moderate candidate, dropped out. That left Jim …

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What Next for the Climate Tort Cases?

Cases against the oil companies are back to state court. It’s time to map out the next steps.

With the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the issue, the lawsuits against the oil industry are heading back to state court. That’s where the plaintiffs wanted those cases from the beginning, but it’s by no means the last of the issues they will confront.  The oil companies will fight a scorched earth campaign, spending …

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The Debt Ceiling and the Environment

An image of the U.S. Capitol Building in the evening.

GOP demands would devastate environmental protection

Kevin McCarthy  sketched the outlines of his opening demand to raise the debt limit last week, and the bill has now been released.  If adopted, it would have a devastating impact on environmental protection and climate action.  One impact would be budgetary – repealing much of the Inflation Reduction Act while kneecapping EPA’s ability to …

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Washington State Steps Up

A new law is the latest sign that the future is electrical, not oil.

On the weekend weekend, Governor Jay Inslee signed a major transportation bill. The most dramatic feature of the bill is that it will mostly ban new gas cars in Washington as of 2030. That puts Washington ahead of California, Massachusetts and New York, as well as Canada and Japan. Washington’s deadline is tied with Israel, …

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California Legislators Call for More Stringent Requirements for Oil and Gas

Drill site on Jefferson Blvd. in south Los Angeles. Photo credit: Faces of Fracking, Flickr

Students in UCLA’s California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic partner with State Senator Sydney Kamlager to draft letter to CalGEM on proposed public health rule

This post is co-authored by Julia Stein and Beth Kent. Neighborhood oil and gas extraction poses serious public health and environmental risks to communities across California – and campaigns by local advocates and political leaders over the last decade have pressed state agencies and local governments, including the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles …

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Creating New Jobs in Coal Country and the Oil Patch

How can we help carbon-dependent communities transition economically?

One of the goals of Biden’s clean energy and infrastructure proposals is to provide an economic boost to people who will otherwise lose out in the transition to a sustainable economy.  He has similar plans for “environmental justice” communities.  This is a great goal, but it may be more difficult than it seems. In a …

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Three of Yesterday’s Stories of Climate Progress

There was Biden’s Executive Order, of course. And two other things. Or maybe three.

Yesterday, I read three encouraging stories about the U.S. and climate change.  One was about action by the federal government, one about action by the states, and one about action by the private sector.  The biggest news was from the federal government, in the form of Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at …

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“The Gaffe”

Will Democrats pay a price for Biden’s “inconvenient truth” about the future of oil?

Although no one seemed to notice it while the debate was underway, political commentators are now abuzz about a “gaffe” by Biden about the future of gas and oil. Other aspects of the final presidential debate were covered in Cara Horowitz’s insightful post on Friday.  I want to hone in on “the gaffe” in this …

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Newsom’s Gas Car Phaseout is a Big Step Forward for California

A long road ahead, but undoubtedly moving in the right direction

On Wednesday, Governor Newsom issued an executive order that, among other things, directed the California Air Resources Board to develop regulations moving the state to 100 percent zero-emission passenger vehicles by 2035. The order is a long way from taking effect–at a minimum, ARB’s rulemaking process will take many months, any regulations would involve a …

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Roadmap For California To Phase Out Oil & Gas Production

New CLEE report released today with legal options for state policy makers & free May 12th webinar

California is the seventh-largest oil producing state in the country, with a fossil fuel industry that is responsible for billions of dollars in state and local revenue and other economic activity each year. Yet continued oil and gas production contrasts with the state’s aggressive climate mitigation policies, while creating significant air and water pollution, particularly …

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