Culture & Ethics

New White Paper on Reducing Water Use to Save Energy

In California, we’re always talking about conserving water, usually because of a drought, and increasingly because of our growing population and likely future of water shortages due to climate change. But research shows another compelling reason: conserving water means conserving energy. Pumping and treating water is energy-intensive — the state water project, with its big …

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Scholastic drops industry-funded pro-coal 4th-grade curriculum, but still maintains other programs that threaten public health

Last week, I posted an item about Scholastic, Inc.’s partnership with the coal industry to produce “The United States of Energy,” an energy curriculum that promoted coal without disclosing its considerable public-health and environmental drawbacks.  The controversy over this partnership, publicized widely by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, went as far as a chiding …

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Scholastic, Inc. publishes pro-coal curriculum for fourth graders, apparently paid for by coal industry

Yesterday, I wrote about a satirical campaign in which anti-coal activists spoofed a Peabody Energy website in order to publicize the link between burning coal and childhood asthma.   The satirical campaign included fake child-oriented games and discounted asthma inhalers. But all satire aside, the coal industry really is marketing its product directly to children. The …

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Anti-coal satire (with My First Inhaler) punks Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy — last seen on this blog as the real party in interest whose proposal to mine more coal on Indian land in Arizona had to go back to the drawing board because of this UCLA environmental law clinic case , and immortalized in the John Prine song “Paradise”  — has been punked.  (I’ve …

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The High Speed Rail Sacramento Smack-Down

California has been going about planning high speed rail all wrong, and Sacramento appears to be taking notice. Yesterday, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released a report recommending major changes in the way California implements high speed rail. In addition to a complete reorganization of the governing structure of the High Speed Rail Authority, …

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The Official Produce of Legal Planet

  Wandering in my local supermarket the other day, I came across a special for “Local Organic Cara Cara Oranges.”  No misprint: two Caras are required.  Hmmm… local, organic, and Cara.  That’s it!  They named it after my co-blogger.  Obviously, it should have some official status. Note that I am making an admission against interest …

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Parking, Infill, and Affordable Housing

The Infill Builders’ parking bill that I blogged about this morning just passed unanimously out of the Assembly Local Government committee this afternoon, overcoming perhaps its biggest hurdle to ultimate passage. Although one would expect local governments to oppose a state bill that limits their ability to demand excessive parking for transit-oriented development, opposition to …

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Infill Builders at the State Capitol

Part of my work with UC Berkeley and UCLA involves gathering business leaders to discuss opportunities presented by climate change policies.  In the case of real estate development, the common refrain from sustainable developers seems to be to tell government to get out of their way and let them build more walkable, mixed-use communities around …

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Can Six-year-olds Understand the Tragedy of the Commons?

Maybe not.  But perhaps eight-year-olds can. Last Wednesday morning, I showed up for my weekly library volunteering at my daughter’s first grade class.  School cutbacks meant that the librarian wasn’t there, so the teacher, another parent and I had to make do.  The display was about Earth Day, since I had to find a book to read …

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John Muir’s Birthday

If environmentalism had saints John Muir, born on April 21, 1838, would surely be on the list.  He is best known for founding the Sierra Club and fighting to save Yosemite.

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