California
The Yankees Already Beat the Dodgers at One Thing
The Yankees recently dropped Hess Oil from their outfield scoreboard. But in LA, the Dodgers’ Big Oil sponsorship with 76 gas is on full display in the 2024 World Series.
The Dodgers and the Yankees in the World Series. That’s the zenith of baseball rivalries and I’m rooting for the home team. Which is why I hate to say it, but the Yankees have already beaten the boys in blue at one thing: their climate commitment. As of this season, the Yankees dropped their most …
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CONTINUE READINGNew Environmental Laws Focus on Public Health
Many of the environmental-focused bills that the governor signed this year involve ways to alleviate the health disparities faced by frontline communities.
The California State Legislature is now finally in its off-season. Governor Newsom had until Monday, September 30th to sign or veto bills that the legislature passed and sent to his desk. In a final tally of bills, according to CalMatters, Governor Newsom vetoed approximately 18% of the nearly 1,000 bills that landed on his desk …
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CONTINUE READINGWe Need a Circular Economy for EV Batteries
California got close to making suppliers ensure EV batteries are managed responsibly at end of life. Here’s why 2025 should be the year California creates a circular economy for EV batteries.
California continues to make significant headway toward its target to eliminate in-state sales of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. About one in five new cars sold in California are battery-powered. And it’s not just California: Battery-powered car sales are up globally, with projections showing 17 million will be sold worldwide in 2024. As …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Election, Vehicle Emissions, and State Climate Plans
If the California car waiver survives a possible Trump presidency, we may have the overruling of Chevron to thank.
If one single thing about the election keeps state environmental regulators up at night, it’s how much a Trump victory would impact their ability to cut transportation emissions. As it turns out, Trump’s leverage would be reduced, ironically enough, because his conservative Supreme Court appointees helped overrule the Chevron doctrine. Trump can still cause a …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy You Should Read CA’s ExxonMobil Plastic Lawsuit
California’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil for lying about plastic recycling is the latest example of the state using old-fashioned legal tools to address more modern harms.
The media have moved on (understandably) from California’s recent lawsuit against Exxon over plastic recycling to other environmental stories like Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage and Hurricane Milton’s terrifying, rapid intensification. But anyone interested in the problem of plastic pollution—which should, frankly, be everyone—will appreciate digging deeper than the Day One headlines to read California’s 147-page …
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CONTINUE READINGA Small Win for Curbside EV Charging in California
AB 2427 marks progress for a key charging segment
Late last month, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2427, which represents a modest step in the effort to ensure all Californians have access to convenient electric vehicle (EV) charging, not just those who own their homes and have garages, by supporting efforts to invest in curbside EV charging. As CLEE described in a report issued …
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CONTINUE READINGA Good Day to Drop Big Oil
Major league sports teams like to talk about sustainability measures on Green Sports Day, which is Oct. 6. They should do something about their fossil fuel sponsors.
On Sunday, October 6, sports teams throughout the U.S. will participate in something called Green Sports Day, an annual event to promote sustainability in sports. Often, it’s a chance for a franchise to promote the recycling or energy conservation that goes on at its stadium. One thing these teams almost certainly will not be talking …
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CONTINUE READINGSB 1221 is Law. Time for Targeted Neighborhood Electrification.
This new California law will help build pilot programs for up to 30 neighborhood decarbonization zones to transition off gas.
Governor Newsom recently signed a bill (SB 1221) that lays the groundwork for a vital shift in California’s clean energy transition. The bill– by Senator Dave Min, with support from key decarbonization advocates–will create a pilot program at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to designate up to 30 “neighborhood decarbonization zone” projects. In these …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Policy After the 2024 Election
In this UCLA Emmett Institute webinar, panelists discussed the climate implications of the 2024 election from the state, national, and international perspective.
Climate certainty. Legislative action. Whipsaw regulations. An exodus of civil servants. Chinese leadership despite being the world’s largest emitter. Those are a few of the possible outcomes of the Nov. 5 presidential election, according to our panelists. More than in any previous election, the two major candidates’ track records on environmental policies are well-established and …
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CONTINUE READINGGovernor Newsom Should Veto These Four Bills
Four seemingly modest bills — AB 1122, AB 1296, AB 637 and AB 3179 — are sneaky legislative efforts to threaten California’s world-leading clean transportation investments.
This post was co-authored by Ruben Aronin, Principal of the Better World Group. With just weeks to go before November 5, all eyes are on the election, including what it means for environmental policy. And yet, one of the largest threats to California’s clean transportation leadership in recent history has materialized right under our noses …
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