California
Driving Sustainable Energy Storage Technology
Maximizing the Environmental Utility of Battery Storage: Building a Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Battery energy storage is recognized as a key element of making our energy infrastructure more sustainable and resilient. Battery storage, however, encompasses many technologies–how should sustainability-minded agencies, utilities and storage developers choose among these options? UCLA’s Emmett Institute and the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability is hosting an interactive workshop on that question …
Continue reading “Driving Sustainable Energy Storage Technology”
CONTINUE READINGGuest Contributor Samantha Zurcher: The Current State of Wildfire Liability in California
Wildfires Are Ravaging California. Can Electric Utilities Take the Heat?
In recent years, California has experienced its largest and deadliest wildfires in history, resulting in hundreds of fatalities and more than $50 billion in damage. The confluence of rising temperatures, less rainfall, and strong winds signal that the annual “wildfire season” is here to stay, and will continue to proliferate. Every year, thousands of Californians …
CONTINUE READINGNewsom’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 …
Continue reading “Newsom’s Gas Car Phaseout is a Big Step Forward for California”
CONTINUE READINGChina’s New 2060 Carbon Neutrality Target
New climate pledges from China and the EU make the U.S. the only jurisdiction among the top three emitters without a carbon neutrality target
The biggest climate policy announcement of the week was not California Gov. Newsom’s Executive Order to ban the in-state sale of gas-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035, although this move is a major advance for climate policy. Rather, the most important climate news was China’s announcement of an “aim” of achieving carbon neutrality by …
Continue reading “China’s New 2060 Carbon Neutrality Target”
CONTINUE READING“Knocking on Our Door”: Wildfires Threaten Mt. Wilson Observatory and San Gabriel Foothill Communities
On Sept. 15, Angeles National Forest reported the Bobcat Fire was within 500 ft. of historic observatory in San Gabriel Mountains
The Bobcat fire blazing in the San Gabriel Mountains is threatening lives and homes, forcing evacuation of communities in foothills clogged with acres of brush dried out by the hottest August ever recorded in California. For flatland Angelenos like me, the fires are both omnipresent and distant, sensed only by the hazy skies and smell …
CONTINUE READINGHow can California make water data work for decision makers?
by Alida Cantor and Michael Kiparsky
California produces immense amounts of water-related data. Yet, California also struggles to adapt its water systems to pressures such as climate change and population growth. To meet these challenges in an informed way, decision makers need data that supports their needs. In 2018, spurred by the Open and Transparent Water Data Act of 2016 (AB …
Continue reading “How can California make water data work for decision makers?”
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Burning. What’s the Link to Climate Change?
Answering your denialist friends
It’s a hard day to work in California, what with all the burning. Those closest to the fires and smoke are evacuating (or being rescued), or are among the brave men and women fighting in inferno-like conditions to increase fire containment. But even those of us far away and physically safe from the fires are …
Continue reading “California’s Burning. What’s the Link to Climate Change?”
CONTINUE READINGHousing Solutions Fizzle In California’s Legislature
A rundown on the failures (and few successes) this session
Housing policy is at the center of all of our major societal problems in the United States: Care about racial justice? Restrictive housing and land use policies are responsible for our deeply segregated towns and cities. Climate change? Bad housing policies are the reason why so many people are forced into long, emission-spewing commutes, because …
Continue reading “Housing Solutions Fizzle In California’s Legislature”
CONTINUE READINGRed Paint Will Curb Public Access to Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, One of Los Angeles County’s Most Significant Open Spaces
Rancho Palos Verdes City Council votes to eliminate public street parking near Portuguese Bend Reserve
See a full set of photos illustrating parking restrictions at Portuguese Bend Reserve on the Emmett Institute Flickr page. Update: Responding to public concern about its new parking restrictions, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council voted unanimously at its meeting on Sept. 1 to move away from a full parking prohibition. The council voted …
CONTINUE READINGGuest Contributor Naomi Wheeler: States and Cities Should Prioritize Equity While Building Grid Resilience
Learning from Grid Resilience Threats and Opportunities in California and New York
Electrical grids across the country face a complex series of overlapping threats to grid resilience in 2020. Wildfires and hurricanes have become the new normal as climate change intensifies the magnitude of extreme weather events. These destructive events create widespread systemic shocks for electrical grids already facing several underlying vulnerabilities. In a recent research report, …
CONTINUE READING