California
Major Policy Attacks on California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Why They’re Off-Target
Second in a Series About California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program
[Post co-authored by Ted Parson and Sean Hecht] In this post, we continue our discussion of California’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which we introduced in our post on October 4, 2018. Because it’s a prominent and ambitious policy that will reduce California’s reliance on petroleum-based transport fuels, it is unsurprising the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard has …
CONTINUE READINGTear Up the Dodger Stadium Parking Lot
It’s not just the Dodgers’ bullpen that needs revision
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ second consecutive World Series flameout has management considering a number of important off-season questions. What is Clayton Kershaw’s future at the club? Will Manny Machado, who reportedly left the stadium after Game 4 wearing a “Villains” backwards cap, get the boot? Here at the Emmett Institute, we have been pondering another …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Proposition 6: Bad Policy & Nefarious Politics
Proposed Repeal of California’s Landmark “Gas Tax” Legislation Would Be Disastrous for State
Politicians don’t like to focus on infrastructure maintenance. It’s not sexy, doesn’t command media headlines, and captures little public attention. But maintaining a functioning, safe public infrastructure system is vital to ensuring a strong economy, protecting public safety and promoting long-term environmental goals. That’s why Proposition 6, a measure on California’s November 6th general election …
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CONTINUE READINGU.C. Davis Law’s Environmental Law Center Releases Proposition 3 White Paper
Report Analyzes California’s Newest, Multi-Billion Dollar Water Bond Initiative
The U.C. Davis School of Law’s California Environmental Law & Policy Center has published a detailed analysis of one of the most controversial initiative measures facing California voters on the November 6, 2018 general election ballot: Proposition 3. California’s Proposition 3: A Policy Analysis provides a detailed summary and analysis of the proposed “Water Supply …
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CONTINUE READINGA Global Standard for a Global Problem
Emmett Institute Submits Comment in Support of CARB’s Proposed Tropical Forest Standard
The Emmett Institute submitted a comment to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) yesterday in support of its proposed Tropical Forest Standard (“Standard”). If approved, this Standard would provide CARB a set of criteria to follow when determining whether to trade tropical forest offsets between California’s Cap and Trade Program and a foreign emissions trading …
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CONTINUE READINGHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Scooter
Criticism of electric scooters misses the climate change and pedestrian safety benefits
If you live in a major city on the West Coast or in handful of cities on the East Coast, you probably have an opinion on the electric scooters that have been dropped haphazardly onto your local streets and sidewalks. And it’s probably not a positive one. But I’m here to tell you why scooters …
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CONTINUE READINGCEQA and Local Land Use Regulations: Shakedown Street
Local Government Discretion Has Powerful Political Support
Eric’s post the other day about CEQA and local land use regulation states an important and often-overlooked truth: environmental review can only hold up a project if it is discretionary. If local land use regulations state clearly what a developer can and cannot do, then no amount of environmental review could change a decision, and …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Wild & Scenic Rivers Act Turns 50
Celebrating a Half Century of Protecting America’s Rivers–& Hoping for More River Conservation Ahead
1968 was an especially tumultuous year in modern American history. The nation endured the assassinations of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy; then-President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek reelection due to growing public dissatisfaction with the government’s conduct of the Vietnam War; and protests and riots consumed Chicago, Detroit, Washington, …
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CONTINUE READINGCEQA and Local Land-Use Regulations
California gubernatorial candidates debate the role of CEQA and local land-use regulations in the state’s housing crisis
The first (and probably only) debate in the California governor’s race happened earlier this week between Democratic nominee Gavin Newsom and Republican nominee John Cox. Appropriately enough both candidates were asked how they were going to address the state’s housing crisis. Newsom’s response was an ambitious target of 500,000 new homes/year through 2025 (far higher …
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CONTINUE READINGWhere Does California Stand On Managing Vehicle Pollution?
4 stories to watch as policymakers aim for cleaner air and safer streets
While California has been a decades-long leader in technologies and policies to reduce smog from cars, the state has in recent years been seriously ramping up efforts to simultaneously deliver cuts to vehicle carbon emissions, one of the state’s most stubborn climate policy challenges. Vehicle pollution poses both long-term risks for climate change and immediate …
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