Climate Change

Another One Bites The Dust

New Peer-Reviewed Study Shows That “Global Warming Hiatus” Is Bogus

One of the most annoying climate-denial memes has been the supposed “global warming hiatus.” It goes something like this: 1998 was a spectacularly hot year. It has not been as hot since then, thus global warming has stopped. Anyone with a passing familiarity with variance should see right through that one, but now we have …

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BREAKING: SB 32 and SB 350 both pass in the Senate

Key elements of California’s new climate legislation package clear major hurdle

For those following the fate of this year’s suite of California climate legislation, Senator Pavley’s SB 32 and Senator De Leon’s SB 350 were brought to a vote in the Senate this morning and both passed easily.  I wrote about these bills here.  SB 32 would enshrine California’s goal, already set forth in executive orders, of reducing …

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Lindsey Graham: Defining Environmentalism Down

Voters Elect Parties, Not Individuals

The New Republic’s breathless headline this morning announces that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who today became the one millionth Republican to announce a Presidential bid, is “A Republican That Environmentalists Can Love.” Right on cue, The Christian Science Monitor just as breathlessly called Graham “The Republican Who Wants to Tackle Climate Change.” Obviously, Graham’s people …

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Jeb, the Pope and Climate Change

Maybe we need to pay more attention to the link between religion and environmentalism.

Jeb Bush’s environmental views seem to be evolving.  At a recent speech at Liberty University, he had this to say about environmental protection: “America’s environmental debates, likewise, can be too coldly economical, too sterile of life . . . Christians see in nature and all God’s creatures designs grander than any of man’s own devising, the …

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Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transport Fuels

The Performance and Prospects of California’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard

Transportation is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in California, responsible for about 37 percent of the state’s total emissions. This distinction makes the sector a prime target for regulation. But with tens of millions of emitting tailpipes, fuels sourced from out of state and around the world, decades-long vehicle lifespans, and many other …

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Germany-California Climate Cooperation?

Lecture By Winfried Kretschmann, Baden-Württemberg Minister-President, tonight at UC Berkeley, could be a start

Germany and California represent two global leaders when it comes to addressing climate change. For example, Germany has been on a renewable energy spree, despite its relatively minimal solar insolation, while California has committed to reducing greenhouse gases and incubating emerging clean technology industries, like energy storage, electric vehicles, and renewables. But at the sub-national …

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What Will Driverless Cars Do To The Climate?

A Formidable Challenge for Policymakers and Modelers

It’s no longer a question of whether driverless cars will appear on the market; it’s when and how many. The answers so far seem to be: 1) soon; and 2) lots. German automakers are so confident of this that they are already negotiating with Nokia to compete to Google’s self-driving cars. For Legal Planet, that means we …

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The Climate Rides Again

Support the Emmett Institute in the California Coast Climate Ride!

Regular readers may remember  Ted Parson’s Legal Planet post about his experience on last year’s NYC-DC Climate Ride. Ted described the ride as “beautiful, hard, and moving.” (Pun possibly intended.) Along with fellow riders Andy Sabin and Dan Emmett, Ted raised a ton of money for our program and brought attention to the work of …

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California Sets 2030 Climate Emissions Target

And it looks like the right goal

Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order setting a statewide greenhouse gas emissions target to be achieved by 2030, at 40% below 1990 levels.  It’s an historic announcement that puts California in the vanguard of jurisdictions who have committed to goals in this 2030 timeframe (it matches the E.U.’s). California’s new 2030 target takes its place alongside, …

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