Climate Change
The question of triage
The latest Delta report issued by the Public Policy Institute of California goes well beyond the Delta. Titled Managing California’s Water: From Conflict to Resolution, the report takes on the entire water management structure set up by state and federal law. There’s a lot in the report, which should be required reading for anyone interested …
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CONTINUE READINGIndia Coal Tax to be Used for Carbon Sinks and Clean Energy Technology
This is how you are supposed to do it. Via the Hindu, Indian Finance Minister Mukherjee’s Budget uses carbon charges to combat climate change: The [tax] slapped on coal in last year’s budget will help pay for schemes to protect and regenerate forests and clean up polluted sites announced in this year’s Budget. Finance Minister Pranab …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change and the Pope
Obviously, I need to pay more attention to news from the Vatican, since this story is a year old: Pope Benedict XVI focused his annual address to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican on the environment and the protection of creation. He denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty …
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CONTINUE READINGWho is John Collins Rudolf? And why is he questioning the shape of the earth?
Apparently, he’s a free-lancer for the New York Times, a generally straight-up environmental reporter – and today, he is Ken Cuccinelli’s publicist. Cuccinelli is Virginia’s wingnut attorney general, who has decided to make a name for himself by filing baseless lawsuits against climate scientists, running to the courthouse before the ink was even dry on …
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CONTINUE READINGA New Thought on Smart Growth
The Public Policy Institute of California just released its new report on SB 375, California’s smart growth law. I’m still working my way through it, and at the beginning, it seems pretty boilerplate. For example, it notes that three things California can do to reduce emissions are “Higher-density development, particularly in areas well-served by transit; …
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CONTINUE READINGPreview of Coming Attractions: American Electric Power v. State of Connecticut
The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced the scheduling of oral arguments in the biggest (actually, the only) environmental case of its current Term: American Electric Power v. State of Connecticut. The justices will hear arguments on April 19th, and render their decision in this major climate change case by the end of June. Already, however, …
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CONTINUE READINGNot Enough “Green” to be Green?
The Washington Post has details about the budget proposal. Here’s the information on EPA: President Obama’s proposed budget provides $9 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, noting that that amount represents a $1.3 billion decrease from the previous budget year. But that’s unlikely to satisfy Republicans in the House who are sharpening their knives to …
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CONTINUE READINGThree Obstacles To California Climate Progress
California’s AB 32 — the Global Warming Solutions Act — is the biggest and best thing going on the domestic climate change front. The bill is sweeping in its application and the agency charged with implementing the Act, the California Air Resources Board, has moved aggressively to chart out the path the state will need …
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CONTINUE READINGThe World in 2050: Economics and Resources
This is a second post on Laurence Smith’s new book, The World in 2050. I posted previously about demographic projections, but the economic and resource projections are also notable. Here are some important ones: Conventional oil is at or near its peak. Remaining oil will be increasingly expensive to obtain. Even with improved efficiency, India …
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CONTINUE READINGThe N.Y. Times Clears the Air
The Times as a forceful editorial today about pending legislative efforts to block EPA’s climate regulations and other air pollution regulations: Congress’s failure to enact a climate bill means that the E.P.A.’s authority to regulate these gases — an authority conferred by a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2007 — is, for now, the only …
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