Academia

When Paid Consultants Attack

In today’s Sacramento Bee, Andrew Chang has some tough things to say about California’s AB32 and about Bo Cutter and myself.  He omits some details that are worth mentioning.   First, some background.  Last week, Bo Cutter and I published this OP-Ed in the Sac Bee.  Chang’s response was published today. Point #1:  We were not paid to …

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Law Schools Searching for Environmental Faculty

[Updated 8/26] I’ve been assembling a preliminary list of faculty searches. I’ll update and correct the list periodically. FSU is looking to hire an environmental/natural resources person. We are looking for either entry or lateral. Contact person, Jeff Kahn [email protected] ) Hebrew University Faculty of Law. Lecturer in Environmental Law, preferably Israel Environmental Law. Contact: …

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The ADB’s New Essay on “Green Urbanization in Asia”

Over the last few months, I’ve been working with economists at the ADB on the annual Key Indicators Special Chapter.   “Green Urbanization in Asia” was recently published.   This chapter covers a lot of ground but I think it does a very good job in presenting the core issues and challenges and discussing a …

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A Friendly Debate with a Conservative Colleague About Climate

My friend and colleague Steve Bainbridge is out with a new article on “Corporate Lawyers as Gatekeepers,” which, if you are interested in corporate law, you should read (Steve is one of the country’s most distinguished scholars in the field).  But what piqued my interest when he sent it to me was his offhand remark …

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Law School News: Sunstein Returns to Harvard

The White House announced that Cass Sunstein will be leaving OMB at the end of the month to return to Harvard Law School.  Sunstein was not popular with environmentalists– I have heard people say that he was worse than some of the OMB heads who served under Republican presidents.  He also doesn’t seem to have …

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Do “Green Homes” Sell for a Price Premium?

Yes.   Nils Kok and I estimate a large 9% price premium for “Energy Star” certified California homes relative to similar homes that are not certified.   If you like to read about the “green economy”, here is  a free copy.   This study builds on my recent work estimating the price premium for solar …

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A Surprising Consequence of Suburban Sprawl?

Environmentalists continue to measure the GHG consequences of suburban sprawl.  This is an important topic with relevant policy implications as cities in the developing world decentralize but I want to mention a funny consequence of sprawl.  According to the NY Times, it determines your skills in basketball.    Urban kids are better dribblers while suburban …

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UCLA and City of Los Angeles Publish First-Ever Detailed Long-Term Climate Forecast for a City’s Neighborhoods

A team led by UCLA researcher Dr. Alex Hall has released a study that projects temperature trends by neighborhood within the Los Angeles region for the mid-21st century.  The report is the most sophisticated regional study of climate trends that has ever been developed, and is based on climate modeling two orders of magnitude higher …

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How much of the grid can be renewable?

How far can we go in converting our power supply to renewable sources?  On June 15th, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory provided a partial answer when it released a “Renewable Energy Futures Study.”  The team undertaking this analysis was comprised of experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as from various national labs, …

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Learning About Renewable Energy in Dialogue with Al Gore and Steve Chu

Two of my colleagues, Jennifer Granholm and Steve Weissman, offered an exciting new course this semester, culminating in a visit with the chair of FERC and with Energy Secretary Chu. Each student examined the renewable energy programs and opportunities in one particular state and then worked as part of a regional team to design an …

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