Energy
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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CONTINUE READINGImportant New IPCC Report on Renewable Energy: Good News
Yesterday the IPCC released its Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN). To the extent that such a heavily edited and negotiated report contains a bottom line, it seems to be this: As infrastructure and energy systems develop, in spite of the complexities, there are few, if any, fundamental technological limits to …
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CONTINUE READINGThe story of the Price-Anderson Act: how Congress made nuclear power financially viable in the U.S. by eliminating accountability for risk
Ever wonder how nuclear power plants have been able to get financial backing in the U.S. despite the huge, and largely uncertain, potential risks they pose? Or why there are nuclear plants within a few hours’ drive of major population centers such as Los Angeles and New York? Or who will pay the costs that …
CONTINUE READINGA Modest Proposal for Increasing Nuclear Safety
The N.Y. Times has a revealing, lengthy article about the NRC that raises disturbing questions about the agency’s oversight of the industry. Here are three points that are especially disturbing: First, the NRC has weakened requirements for relicensing to the point where the process involves expensive red-tape but the result is a forgone conclusion. For …
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CONTINUE READINGEvaluating the claim that future environmental regulations have already made California the nation’s worst place to do business
I’m reasonably sure that chiefexecutive.net’s annual listing of “Best/Worst States for Business“ isn’t most people’s go-to source for information comparing various states’ business climates. Nonetheless, the website’s annual survey just came out, and the Sacramento Bee is covering it as a story (with a promise of more coverage to come). California — as usual — …
CONTINUE READINGAnother victim of the budget deal: key US greenhouse gas data?
It was my wonderful law school professor Gary Blasi who first introduced me to the idea that “what gets measured, gets done.” I’m thinking of him and reading this news in some mixture of awe (at our seeming collective ability to ignore problems) and anger (at same): The final fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget provides $95.4 …
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CONTINUE READINGChris Christie: A Moron AND A Hypocrite!
The New York Times reports this morning: The Christie administration, lenders and a new developer have reached a deal to revive the vast Xanadu entertainment and retail complex, which sits forlorn and unfinished along a stretch of New Jersey highway after having burned through two owners and $1.9 billion, people involved in the negotiations said …
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CONTINUE READINGLegal Planet Hits the Top 50
LexisNexis Communities has named Legal Planet as one of the top fifty environmental and climate change blog sites for 2011. Legal Planet is one of four sites named in the Academic/Educational category. The judges had this to say about us: “A collaboration of academic giants, this blog draws upon the resources and expertise of the …
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CONTINUE READINGChanging Course on Consumption
We need to begin rethinking how much and what we consume, as well as how we produce the goods, services, and energy used by consumers.
CONTINUE READINGHome Solar Good for More Than a Guilty Conscience
Despite all of the tax breaks, utility rebates, and net metering potential, the common assumption is that rooftop residential photovoltaics are not economical for many customers. Some people figure that you install a solar system if you want to feel good about yourself, or make a statement about the environment, but you had better expect …
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