Climate Change
Trump’s 2009 Call for Serious Climate Action
No, I’m not making this up.
On the eve of the Copenhagen conference, business leaders published an open letter demanding urgent climate action. The letter was signed by Donald Trump along with Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. Here’s some of the language of the letter: “We support your effort to ensure meaningful and effective measures to control climate change, an immediate …
Continue reading “Trump’s 2009 Call for Serious Climate Action”
CONTINUE READINGBush, Nader, and the Lost Years of Climate Policy
Actions by these two very different men set climate policy back eight years.
From 2001 to 2009, the US sat on its hands while the atmosphere filled with carbon. Much of that carbon came from the US itself, at six billion tons per year up to the 2008 crash. The story of how this came to pass is yet to be fully written. It is, in part, a …
Continue reading “Bush, Nader, and the Lost Years of Climate Policy”
CONTINUE READINGThe Economic Impact of AB 32 on California
New study suggests that the economic impact of cutting carbon is modest.
What is the economic impact of California’s climate change regulations? Will they reduce actual emissions or just shift them out-of-state? A new study by Resources for the Future addresses an important part of the puzzle. Reasearchers at RFF modeled the effect of compliance costs of $10/ton or $22/ton of CO2 on highly energy-intensive industries such as …
Continue reading “The Economic Impact of AB 32 on California”
CONTINUE READINGTrump, Sanders Voters and Climate Change
If you need even one reason to vote for Clinton, climate change ought to suffice
I don’t pretend to understand the allure of Donald Trump. I am an unabashed supporter of Hillary Clinton. I appreciate that many people I know and respect are Bernie Sanders supporters. I am hoping that, once Clinton officially becomes the Democratic candidate for President, Sanders supporters will work hard to elect Clinton as President, even …
Continue reading “Trump, Sanders Voters and Climate Change”
CONTINUE READINGThis April Was the Cruelest Month (Or at Least the Hottest)
Once again, a global temperature record is broken.
For the seventh month in a row, the average global temperature set a new monthly record going back at least 136 years. Rutherford Hayes was President back then, the first electric street light was turned on, and Gladstone beat Disraeli. We’ve had 24 Presidents since then. In other words, that was a long time ago. As you …
Continue reading “This April Was the Cruelest Month (Or at Least the Hottest)”
CONTINUE READINGEnergy Justice and Sustainability
Over two billion people lack access to modern energy sources.
Energy justice is an unfamiliar concept to most people, but it addresses a crucial problem. A new book by Lakshman Guruswamy addresses some of the key facts: About a third of the world’s population — between 2 and 2.5 billion people — primarily rely on household burning of wood, coal, or other materials like dung for …
Continue reading “Energy Justice and Sustainability”
CONTINUE READINGAppointing Guardians to Represent Future Generations
Could an old property procedure be a model for climate-related litigation?
From time to time, there is talk about giving standing to future generations. Although this is an idea whose time may not have come in the U.S., it’s important to know that the law has for many, many years allowed appointment of lawyers to represent future individuals. Typically, this is a procedure that is used in …
Continue reading “Appointing Guardians to Represent Future Generations”
CONTINUE READINGShould California Recover More Energy From Municipal Solid Waste?
New Berkeley Law report explores policy options, with KALW radio show discussion tonight at 7pm
Every year, Californians send about 30 million tons of trash to landfills. While the state’s residents do their part to reduce, reuse and recycle, that’s still a whole lot of garbage. It’s not only a land use issue, it’s a climate change issue: as landfill waste decays, it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Many …
Continue reading “Should California Recover More Energy From Municipal Solid Waste?”
CONTINUE READINGThe Cap-and-Trade Auction: Still Not a Tax
Folks are talking again about whether California’s climate cap-and-trade auction is an unlawful tax, rather than a valid exercise of the state’s regulatory power to control pollution. The news hook for the revival of this conversation is a recent order, discussed below, from the California Court of Appeal to the parties in the court case where …
Continue reading “The Cap-and-Trade Auction: Still Not a Tax”
CONTINUE READINGNEWSFLASH: Kochs Cave on Climate
Humans are causing climate change after all. Who knew?
The Kochs believe in climate change, so it seems. Greenwire reports that a Koch spokesman said: “Charles has said the climate is changing. So, the climate is changing . . . I think he’s also said, and we believe, that humans have a part in that. I think what the real question is … what …
Continue reading “NEWSFLASH: Kochs Cave on Climate”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
