Climate Change
Trump Administration Attempts to Eviscerate the Endangered Species Act
Rather Than “Improve” ESA, Newly-Adopted Regulations Dramatically Erode Its Historic Protections
The Endangered Species Act, enacted in 1973, has for most of its history been the most controversial and politically-charged of all the foundational environmental laws adopted by Congress in the 1970’s. But despite its contentious history, opponents of the ESA have been unsuccessful in their efforts to weaken the law, either through significant Congressional amendments …
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CONTINUE READINGThe LA County Sustainability Plan
An innovative approach to ambitious goals
Last week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the LA Countywide Sustainability Plan. Along with my colleagues Sean Hecht and Nat Logar and other faculty across UCLA, I assisted in the drafting process and witnessed the shaping of the Plan from the ground up. The final Plan provides a best practices model …
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CONTINUE READINGElections Matter – Even More Than You Thought.
Three ultra-close elections put us a dozen years behind in climate policy.
I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it hard to keep focused on November 3, 2020, given the confusing welter of candidates on one side and the daily bombshells issuing from the other. So maybe this is a good time for a reminder of a why elections matter. In fact, they not only matter, …
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CONTINUE READINGRisky Business
Risky Business
Last week, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis issued a report criticizing BlackRock, the world’s largest fund, for making bad bets on the fossil fuel industry that cost the firm billions of dollars. What I found significant was less the plight of Blackstone’s shareholders than the fact that the energy firms weren’t doing …
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CONTINUE READINGGet Ready for Phase 2 of the Deregulation Wars
Air quality standards are next on the chopping block.
The first phase of Trump’s regulatory rollbacks has been directed against Obama’s climate change regulations. Those deregulatory actions will be finalized soon. What happens next will be in the hands of the courts. But the Trump EPA is now beginning a new phase in its attack on environmental regulation. Having tried to eliminate climate rregulation, …
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CONTINUE READINGPerfection – Public Enemy Number One, or Straw Man?
We don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Is that always a good thing?
“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” How many times do you think you have heard that phrase? Many people attribute the concept to Voltaire, so as advice goes, how bad could it be? It’s darn good advice in many situations – such as selecting a checkout line to stand in at …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Expanding Gap Between Business and Trump
Big business was happily married to the GOP. But there’s trouble in paradise.
The GOP used to be synonymous with big business. But there seem to be growing divisions – divisions that may open the way to new environmental initiatives. In April, the Washington Post ran a story about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s decision to loosen its ties to the GOP and move toward a more bipartisan …
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CONTINUE READINGACE or Joker? Trump’s Self-Defeating Climate Rule
The ACE rule adds costs, achieves little, and disempowers the states. Nice job.
The Trump ACE rule violates all the Administration’s own deregulatory principles.To hear Trump talk, the point of deregulation is to reduce the burden of regulation on industry. But weirdly enough, that doesn’t turn out to be true of Trump’s effort to repeal Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) and replace it with his own Affordable Clean …
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CONTINUE READINGNew York’s Big Move
The Empire State has jumped into the first tier of state climate action.
Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a breakthrough climate change law, the “New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.” What every state does to address climate change is worthwhile, of course, but New York is particularly significant in terms of the national picture. It’s the nation’s third-most populous state and also …
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CONTINUE READINGResolving Interconnection Disputes to Speed Clean Technology Deployment
New California agency dispute resolution process in need of expert panelists
When a homeowner or business wants to install clean technology like renewable electricity generation or energy storage either for on-site usage or as a grid service, they occasionally run into problems obtaining approvals from the local electric utility to connect that resource to the electrical grid. The owner must enter into an interconnection agreement with …
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