Energy
Hey Kids, It’s National Energy Dominance Month!
This October, we officially celebrate the coal and oil industries. Says President Trump.
People sometimes accuse Trump of lacking any consistent policy beliefs, but that’s certainly not true in the areas of energy and environment. He has one clear goal, maximizing fossil fuels. Everything revolves around that. And now we have a whole month officially set aside to celebrate his masterplan.
CONTINUE READINGBlue Leaders in Red States
What can we expect if Dems flip the governorships in red states?
Right now, the Democrats have 50/50 odds in Georgia and Ohio, and maybe better than 50/50 in Alaska and Iowa. Governors are only one branch of state government, which obviously limits their sway. Still, like Presidents, they have some real maneuvering room. To get some sense of the possibilities, I took a look at five states with Republican legislatures and Democratic governors.
CONTINUE READINGBlowing in the Wind
The Trump Administration once again proves shortsighted and spiteful.
Just as sponsors are making a push to get a bipartisan permit reform bill through the lame duck session of Congress, the Trump Administration has apparently decided to sabotage the process. Democrats have worried that it does no good to streamline permitting for clean energy projects if the government simply yanks the permits later. That’s exactly what the Administration is planning to do, yet again, in a case where it has repeatedly lost in court.
CONTINUE READINGWhen and How to Oppose Fossil Fuels
The answer is clear: “It depends.”
There’s been a lot of talk about whether climate policy should focus on promoting clean energy or should push hard to limit fossil fuels. To some extent, these are two side of the same coin. Yet, the politics could be very different. The debate has been too simplistic. What stance to take about opposing fossil fuels depends on who you are and where you sit, which fossil fuel is involved, and what kind of regulation is at issue. The nuances matter here, and the stakes are huge.
CONTINUE READINGWould You Believe That, by Law, Renewables are a National Defense Priority?
Support for Clean Energy from an Unexpected Direction
The National Defense Act was a Korean war measure. As behooves a wartime law, it seems to contemplate fairly heavy-handed economic control by the government. (If we were ever to get a truly socialist president, they’d do well to give the DPA a careful read.) Even though it’s been amended since then, it’s not a …
Continue reading “Would You Believe That, by Law, Renewables are a National Defense Priority?”
CONTINUE READINGDeregulatory Theater of the Absurd
The new CAFE standards are a master class in pretending you’re implementing a law while totally sabotaging it.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently issued CAFE standards — fuel efficiency standards for new cars. Rolling back more rigorous standards from Biden, DOT applied considerable ingenuity to ensuring that fuel efficiency will stagnate for the foreseeable future. Like an Escher drawing, you have to step back from all the intricate details to appreciate just how weird the overall design is.
CONTINUE READINGThree Cheers for Two Clean Energy Victories for California
Gov. Newsom signed SB 1359 and AB 2313, two bills that the UCLA Emmett Institute had identified as clear winners for ratepayers.
After a suspenseful few weeks, we’re excited to see that yesterday, Governor Newsom signed into law two key bills that will help reduce costly gas bills and help households transition to a cleaner energy future: SB 1359 and AB 2313. We’ve written about both of these bills before, in multiple reports and blog posts. It’s …
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CONTINUE READINGGorsuch is (Partly) Right
Justice Gorsuch is wrong about the cure, but delegation has gotten out of hand.
Justice Gorsuch has made it a personal crusade to revive the nondelegation doctrine, in part because of concerns about the rising tide of presidential power. The nondelegation doctrine tries to limit the ability of Congress to delegate authority to the executive branch. That’s an unworkable solution, but Gorsuch is right that Congress has put far too much trust in the good faith and sound judgment of the President and his subordinates. That’s especially true of national security and emergency powers.
CONTINUE READING‘Solar for All’ Victories and the Future of Grantee Litigation
Two courts vacated U.S. EPA’s termination of solar funds. Guest contributor Adam Earl King outlines what to watch for on appeal.
Guest contributor Adam Earl King is a student at The University of Texas School of Law (JD ’27) and a Summer ’26 Legal Research Assistant at UC Berkeley’s CLEE. This time last year, local-government and non-profit grantees’ hearts dropped when EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced via X that he’s ending the “boondoggle.” The so-called “boondoggle” …
Continue reading “‘Solar for All’ Victories and the Future of Grantee Litigation”
CONTINUE READINGWho Cares About Affordability and Gas Prices? Not DOT
The Trump administration’s new CAFE standards actually make cars LESS fuel efficient, defy Congressional intent, and increase air and climate pollution.
The Trump Administration today issued new fuel economy standards that require average fuel economy that will be LOWER by 2031 than what Congress mandated for 2020. While consumers are paying an average of $4.49 a gallon of gas, the Department of Transportation is setting standards that require only 34.9 miles per gallon (MPG) by 2031 …
Continue reading “Who Cares About Affordability and Gas Prices? Not DOT”
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