Energy
Take a Hike!
Walking is a sufficiently novel idea to be the subject of newspaper stories — as if our ancestors hadn’t been doing it since long before Homo sapiens evolved. Anyway, walking is the hot new thing in D.C., according to the Washington Post: “Walkable” is a feature sparking sales and energizing future development and redevelopment, according …
Continue reading “Take a Hike!”
CONTINUE READINGTime for a California Oil Severance Tax
California’s new Democratic supermajority will be sorely tempted to raise taxes and fees across the board, which I have earlier suggested is a bad idea politically. But that hardly means that it should reject new revenues altogether, and the easiest place to start would be an oil severance tax. The oil severance tax works exactly …
Continue reading “Time for a California Oil Severance Tax”
CONTINUE READINGWhy the GOP Should Embrace Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
There’s a lot of discussion these days about how the Republican Party should reposition itself in light of last week’s election results. Support for renewables and energy efficiency would make sense as part of a package of policy adjustments — it would strengthen the Party’s appeal to swing voters, women, and younger voters, with only …
Continue reading “Why the GOP Should Embrace Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency”
CONTINUE READINGNate Silver Denialism & Climate Change Denialism
It’s perhaps unsurprising that some of the same people that deny the overwhelming data on climate change also happened to deny the overwhelming data presented by Nate Silver of the New York Times about the likely outcome of the election yesterday. Silver, the sports-statistician-turned-poll-analyzer, used aggregate poll data and analysis to show that Obama had …
Continue reading “Nate Silver Denialism & Climate Change Denialism”
CONTINUE READINGThe Election Results and National Energy Policy
In trying to read the effect of the 2012 elections on national energy policy, there are at least five places to look: 1. Continuity at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission One of the more dramatic changes that occurred during the first Obama term was a shift in the mission of the Federal Regulatory Commission. FERC …
Continue reading “The Election Results and National Energy Policy”
CONTINUE READINGDraining Hetch Hetchy — Some History for San Francisco’s “Measure F”
San Franciscans will be voting next week on Measure F to study the draining of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. Hetch Hetchy, for those who don’t know, is a spectacular, glacier-formed valley of equal proportion to its neighbor Yosemite Valley. Congress authorized a dam in 1913 to provide public hydroelectric power and a …
Continue reading “Draining Hetch Hetchy — Some History for San Francisco’s “Measure F””
CONTINUE READINGFrom Green Governor to Conservative Candidate: The Amazing Transformation of Mitt Romney
“EPA New England applauds Governor Romney for his strong environmental leadership.” That quote from EPA’s regional director in 2004 shows the extent of Romney’s transformation in the past eight years. It’s no secret that Mitt Romney’s current views on many issues differ from his actions as Governor of Massachusetts. Still, it’s a bit shocking to …
CONTINUE READINGHow Did Alaska Avoid the Resource Curse? Can Anyone Else Do So?
Dan made a useful point the other day about the possibility that increased energy production could yield a resource curse, i.e. an increase in unproductive and oligarchical rent-seeking when an economy becomes based upon resource extraction. One might add that this rent-seeking also tends to underdevelop a country’s human capital, as it has in Saudi …
Continue reading “How Did Alaska Avoid the Resource Curse? Can Anyone Else Do So?”
CONTINUE READINGThe Unintended Consequences of an Oil Boom
The idea of booming oil production sounds great, at least if you put aside environmental issues. For instance, in the current presidential race, one of the candidates has touted the advantages of becoming another Saudi Arabia. But economists seem to delight in telling us why something that sounds terrific will actually come back to bite …
Continue reading “The Unintended Consequences of an Oil Boom”
CONTINUE READINGHow to Act Like a Windmill: Spin Quickly While Standing in One Place
1. Shawn McCoy, a spokesman for Romney’s Iowa campaign, told The Des Moines Register, “He will allow the wind credit to expire, end the stimulus boondoggles, and create a level playing field on which all sources of energy can compete on their merits. “ (July 31,2012 Wall Street Journal) 2. “We will support nuclear and renewables, but …
Continue reading “How to Act Like a Windmill: Spin Quickly While Standing in One Place”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
