Climate Change

Who Took the “Think” Out of Think Tanks?

The American Enterprise Institute is an interesting organization, often shrilly ideological but also scholarly from time to time.  I was curious to find out what kind of research they were doing on climate change. I did find some interesting policy papers on their webpage on the topic of climate policy. But here’s the surprising part: …

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Is Environmentalism Bad for Fighting Climate Change?

Sure, it sounds like a paradox.  The environmental movement has done a lot of good for the planet and for pollution.  But in the face of the greatest environmental threat of our time, the movement may be fundamentally ill-suited to tackle the climate crisis. For most of its history, environmentalism has essentially been about stopping …

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It’s All Greek to Me

Via E&E News, here’s a leading climate skeptic’s explanation of his qualifications to pass judgment on climate science: While he acknowledged he had no scientific credentials that would allow him to speak with authority on climate science, Monckton said he was uniquely qualified to explain the various logical fallacies that supporters of man-made climate change …

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Carbon Auctions & Prop 13

California is planning to auction some of the carbon allowances in its new cap-and-trade system.  There’s an interesting question about whether  the auctions should be considered a “tax” under state law, which may turn in part on what the money is used for.  If the auctions are considered a tax, they would run into trouble …

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Using a Carbon Tax to Decrease the Deficit

A carbon tax would provide an incentive to reduce the use of fossil fuels, fostering the growth of clean energy.  But it would have another benefit as well: providing revenue to help cut the deficit. Much the same effect could be produced by auctioning allowances within a cap-and-trade system. According to Resources for the Future, …

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The Climate Misinformation Nation

Scientists are more confident than ever that climate change is happening and is largely caused by human activities.  Yet, according to a recent poll, the American public is less likely to believe that climate change is caused by humans than they were even last year. When it comes to climate science, are we a misinformation …

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May 17th Sacramento Lunch on California Infill Policies, Featuring State Sen. pro Tem Darrell Steinberg

For those planning to be in the Sacramento area next Thursday, May 17th, please join us for a lunch event on California’s land use policies, featuring a keynote address by State Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. Here are the details: The Future of Infill:  How CEQA Reform and the End of Redevelopment Will Affect …

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Carbon as Commodity and Currency

As a number of writers have suggested, it’s intriguing to think about the ways in which carbon functions like money to an increasing extent as a medium of exchange, and a measure and storehouse of value. Thus, alongside (and intertwined with) the existing money-based economy, we can envision the emergence of a carbon-based system of …

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Murderers, Tyrants, Global Warming and the Heartland Institute

The image to the left is not a joke.  It’s instead part of a just-cancelled Heartland Institute campaign — cancelled after howls of protests, including from a climate skeptic who refused to participate in a Heartland event if it went forward.  The Unabomber billboard showed up on the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago (home of the …

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Hard and Easy Environmental Questions: A Talk With Ikal Angelei

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IOw9tsS-aI] Ikal Angelei is one of the world’s pre-eminent environmental justice activists: she is the founder of Friends of Lake Turkana, which (as the name suggests) seeks to preserve Lake Turkana from the massive Gibe III Dam planned by the Ethiopian government and World Bank.  As the name does not suggest, the issue is …

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