Climate Change
GOP Will Filibuster the PACE Bill, Unless…
A prediction: the Republicans will filibuster Mike Thompson’s bill concerning PACE once it gets to the Senate. At this point, the Republicans (led by Senator Mitch McConnell, pictured right) are simply uninterested in principles or policy. That’s particular true in the shadow of the upcoming midterms: stopping the bill will simply be another way to …
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CONTINUE READINGCongress to Intervene in the PACE Saga?
California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s lawsuit against the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for its stance on the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program may be moot if Congress can act to force FHFA to back down. Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) has now introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would bar FHFA and …
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CONTINUE READINGHeat Waves? Get Used to Them.
Last week the east coast sweltered. Berlin reached 99 degrees and China experienced a heat wave through much of the country. This week it’s our turn in Southern California as temperatures reach triple digits. As I argued last week, when asked if these heat waves are related to climate change, the answer should be yes. …
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CONTINUE READINGIndia Puts US Climate Policy to Shame
While US policymakers — particularly Republicans and those in coal states — are busy complaining about developing countries not capping their carbon emissions, New Delhi is busy actually doing something about climate change. Two weeks ago, India instituted a tax on coal, instituting a form of carbon tax that talented advocates (such as the good …
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CONTINUE READINGUtilities-Only Carbon Cap
The proposed utilities-only cap-and-trade system could be a step in the right direction, although it’s far from ideal.
CONTINUE READINGBreaking News: Jerry Brown Sues FHFA and Fannie & Freddie over PACE
As I suspected, we’ve got a lawsuit over the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s position on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). (Background on PACE and the controversy here.) California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced today that his agency is suing these entities in federal court over their unwillingness to …
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CONTINUE READINGGood crisis, bad crisis
The Gulf oil spill illuminates two aspects of crisis response: the strength and the limits of its power to motivate reflexive, rapid action. Crisis can motivate too much or too little. Consider first the limits of crisis as a driver of action. It’s long been commonly thought that high-profile events were important in catalyzing the …
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CONTINUE READINGAre Heat Waves Related to Climate Change?
Andrew Leonard had a great post on Salon this week arguing — essentially — that liberal bloggers are wimps when it comes to connecting extreme climate events like heat waves to climate change. By contrast, he notes, conservatives eagerly throw barbs at Al Gore any time it snows in D.C.: climate denier James Inhofe’s grandchildren …
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CONTINUE READINGFHFA strangles PACE clean energy financing program
Yesterday, the Federal Housing Finance Administration, the agency that regulates bankrupt mortgage insurers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, issued a letter effectively destroying the promising energy efficiency and renewable energy financing program called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). I blogged about Fannie and Freddie’s lender letters on the PACE program a few weeks ago. PACE …
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CONTINUE READINGAnti-AB 32 Campaign Should Be Interesting
The ballot initiative to suspend the implementation of California’s landmark greenhouse gas legislation — which qualified for the ballot last week — should garner huge amounts of attention and spur job growth at least in the world of ballot campaigns. The California Public Policy Institute is predicting that proponents and opponents of the initiative (which …
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