Energy
Californians and the Environment: PPIC’s New Survey Results
The Public Policy Institute of California this week released the results of its 12th annual “Californians and the Environment” survey. PPIC, a non-partisan think tank, always seems to be generating thought-provoking and cutting-edge scholarship focusing on the nation-state of California. Its latest environmental survey, based on recent polling of 2500 Californians, continues that tradition. The …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Dark Subcontinent
Chaos has reigned over massive swathes of India during the last few days, as much of the northern part of the country outside of major urban centers has been without power. The New York Times has excellent spot coverage, but a deeper analysis comes from John Elliott’s invaluable blog, Riding the Elephant. The government has …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney’s Views About Climate Policy: A Detailed Timeline
Updated Sept. 4, 2012. There has been considerable discussion of Governor Romney’s views about the causes of climate change and about policies such as cap and trade. It’s not easy, however, to find detailed documentation. For that reason, I’ve assembled as much information as I could find about what Romney has said and done over …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Politics of State Energy Deregulation: A Hypothesis
If you are interested in environmental policy, state public utility commissions might be the important agencies you’ve never heard of. PUCs determine how much power capacity there will be and even more importantly, what the mix of energy sources will generate it. Sometimes pundits will speak of “national energy policy”, but that is essentially a null set: …
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CONTINUE READINGChristie Goes Solar
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation a few days ago to strengthen the state’s solar industry. Utilities will be required to 2.05% of their power from solar in 2014, rising to 4.1% in 2028. The law also sets a price cap of $339 for each megawatt-hour short of the goal in 2014. According to …
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CONTINUE READINGPicking Up the PACE: FHFA Releases Proposed Property-Assessed Clean Energy Rule
It has been a long road for supporters of Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs. With the recent release of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Proposed Rule on enterprise underwriting standards and mortgage assets affected by PACE programs, some residential PACE supporters may be reasonably fatigued. But while the agency’s Proposed Rule maintains its position that …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Economist on Natural Gas: Slouching Toward Mediocrity
I was quite interested in finding last week that The Economist’s most recent major survey is about natural gas. Given the explosion of natural gas resources (uh…so to speak) and the world’s growing reliance on it, I needed to get up to speed. Besides, from a climate perspective, getting the fracking issue right is crucial. …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney’s Advisers
As I’ve posted earlier, Romney’s website is staunchly anti-regulatory and pro-fossil fuel. That’s also the position of his foremost energy advisrr, Harold Hamm. Hamm is the 66-year-old founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc. (CLR). CLR is an oil producer which is leading the charge for fracking. Not surprisingly, Hamm loves “Mitt’s …
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CONTINUE READINGHigh Speed Rail’s A-Coming to California
With the California Legislature’s recent approval of the sale of voter-approved state bonds to fund high speed rail, it looks like the bullet train is actually coming to the state. Since voters approved the bonds in 2008, the economy has collapsed, and the details of the proposed route has made enemies out of many communities …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Strategies: “One Step at a Time” or “Don’t Jump the Gun”??
In some situations, voluntary efforts leads other people to join in, whereas in others, it encourages them to hold back. There’s a similar issue about climate mitigation efforts at the national, regional, or state level. Do these efforts really move the ball forward? Or are they counterproductive, because other places increase their own carbon emissions …
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