Climate Change
Undermining Science in the Name of Ideology
There’s no room in MAGA for free scientific inquiry.
The Trump Administration seemingly views scientific research as a threat. The result has been a wave of censorship and a general effort to undermine the scientific enterprise. This article compiles examples of anti-science actions.
CONTINUE READINGDissecting the Attacks on the Endangerment Finding
EPA has identified four different arguments against the endangerment finding. None have merit.
In late 2009, EPA made a formal finding — often called the Endangerment Finding —that greenhouse gases may endanger human health and welfare. Undaunted by the overwhelming scientific evidence in favor of that finding, the Trump EPA plans to reconsider that finding. Few independent observers believe EPA will succeed, but the issue is important enough to warrant a close look. Here’s a deep dive.
CONTINUE READINGWhy Stand Up for Science? Ask Kim Stanley Robinson
The acclaimed science fiction author says at a UCLA talk that Trump’s attack on science is “a murder suicide” that won’t work because “you cannot kill the future.”
One day before thousands of Americans took to the streets to protest cuts to scientific research, Kim Stanley Robinson gave a barn burner of a defense of science in the “Optimist Room” of a UCLA conference center. The author of “The Ministry for the Future,” “The Mars Trilogy,” and other books with scientists and climate …
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CONTINUE READINGState-Level Actions To Decarbonize Aviation
New CLEE report explores the risks of federal preemption.
Aviation is a significant and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. But the federal government in the United States has failed to address it so far. In response, some state policy makers and advocates are now considering legal avenues to effectively require the use of sustainable aviation fuels, which emit less carbon than traditional jet …
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CONTINUE READINGEPA Jumps the Shark
Just as a past dictator rejected modern genetics, Trump rejects climate science. For both, evidence was no match for ideology and ego.
Honestly, EPA’s embrace of climate denial is just plain embarrassing. And the rest of the world will justifiably view it as one more sign that the U.S. has taken leave of its senses. Trump can change the name of a water body on maps, but he can’t change scientific reality. The scientific evidence about the reality of climate change, its causes, and its harms is incredibly well-established. It’s based on many different types of data and models, which have been tested and retested.
CONTINUE READINGMake America’s Environment Filthy Again
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has launched a full-scale attack on climate, air and water pollution.
In what is one of the most mind-boggling press releases ever to come out of the Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator Lee Zeldin today declared that he wants to make America’s air and water dirty again and to make the planet still warmer. He announced 31 actions that will obliterate protections for cleaner air, cleaner water, …
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CONTINUE READINGU.S. Resistance to Trump is Alive and Well
Thousands of people rallied at more than 100 Stand Up for Science events from Missouri to France. Where will the movement go from here?
Several thousands of people took to the streets this past weekend in more than 100 cities to protest the Trump administration’s wide-ranging attacks on vital scientific research, including its attempts to slash funding to the National Institutes of Health and hence local universities and research labs across the country. The result was small but potent …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Legal Complexities of Deregulating Power Plant Carbon Emissions
The Supreme Court struck down Obama’s powerplant regulation. but it didn’t endorse Trump’s first try either.
We are likely to end up with a Trump rule for powerplant emissions that is much weaker than the Biden rule, but not as weak as EPA’s effort in the first Trump Administration. And the process will take Trump longer this time, with a greater litigation risk.This matters because even a very weak rule may require significant investments in improving powerplant efficiency, which could result in some plant closures.
CONTINUE READINGShould Blue States Punish Tesla?
The political economy implications of how EV tax credits are distributed
In the wake of Elon Musk’s role in the new administration and its efforts to fire large numbers of federal employees, some Democratic state elected officials have called for rethinking EV subsidies to cut out Tesla. There is also evidence that Democratic state legislators have become much more hostile to Tesla lobbying. Matthew Yglesias, a …
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CONTINUE READINGBanking and Exchange Programs to Mitigate Vehicle Miles Traveled
The 1950s has been called the decade of the American Dream. The United States economy grew by 37 percent, and homeownership surged as suburban houses—equipped with their white picket fences—“sold like hotcakes.” But this American Dream has come at a steep cost. Let’s fast forward to today; more than half a century of government housing …
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