Energy
More Trouble at Fukushima
According to the Washington Post, the situation inside the reactors is grim. Tuesday’s examination with an industrial endoscope detected radiation levels up to 10 times the fatal dose inside the chamber. Plant officials previously said more than half of melted fuel has breached the core and dropped to the floor of the primary containment vessel, …
Continue reading “More Trouble at Fukushima”
CONTINUE READINGEPA Unveils Carbon Standard for New Power Plants
This morning, U.S. EPA released its anticipated rule limiting carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants. The proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act purports to set national limits on the amount of carbon pollution new power plants can emit. Today we’re taking a common-sense step …
Continue reading “EPA Unveils Carbon Standard for New Power Plants”
CONTINUE READINGDavid Owens Overstates the Rebound Effect’s Relevance
Here is an impressive blog post. I didn’t write it! Shakeb Afsah and Kendyl Salcito present a data filled post that takes David Owen’s Rebound Effect quite seriously. I respect hypothesis testing! Owen’s sexy hypothesis is that the Prius actually contributes to climate change! How could this happen? The Prius has such a high MPG that it effective …
Continue reading “David Owens Overstates the Rebound Effect’s Relevance”
CONTINUE READINGThe Commerce Department Undercuts Clean Energy
The Commerce Department’s decision to levy tariffs on Chinese solar panel imports has been in the news for a couple of days, but should receive more attention for envir0nmental policy wonks than it has so far. The Obama Administration has basically decided to impair clean energy production with its decision, even if the tariffs are …
Continue reading “The Commerce Department Undercuts Clean Energy”
CONTINUE READINGAttack of the Dim Bulbs (A Dismayingly On-Going Series)
And the government would have banned Thomas Edison’s light bulb. Oh yeah, Obama’s regulators actually did just that. That was Governor Romney on March 19. I hope he was more careful with the facts when he worked for Bain. If not, he would have cost lost a lot of money, not to mention the liability …
Continue reading “Attack of the Dim Bulbs (A Dismayingly On-Going Series)”
CONTINUE READINGEnergy Scholarship Symposium in the Journal of Economic Perspectives
As I argued about three months ago, the Journal of Economic Perspectives ought to be on the regular reading for anyone interested in environmental law and policy. The most recent quarter’s issue shows why: it features a fascinating symposium on “Energy Challenges”. Not all of the articles will be music to environmentalists’ ears: for example, …
Continue reading “Energy Scholarship Symposium in the Journal of Economic Perspectives”
CONTINUE READINGA Post Script to Steve’s Post about the Nuclear Renaissance
This just in from the NY Times: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said a June breaker fire at the 478-megawatt Fort Calhoun nuclear plant was of “high safety significance,” increasing work the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) must complete before the troubled unit can restart. The NRC’s preliminary “red” safety violation, the agency’s most serious classification, …
Continue reading “A Post Script to Steve’s Post about the Nuclear Renaissance”
CONTINUE READINGBetting on the Nuclear Renaissance
For many years, there has been a healthy debate in the United States about the role nuclear power should play in our future energy plans. In the energy law courses that I teach, I have been struck with the consistent support among students for expanding our reliance on nuclear power as part of a comprehensive …
Continue reading “Betting on the Nuclear Renaissance”
CONTINUE READINGGoing Beyond the “Design-Basis Event”
A conventional approach to safety is based on the concept of design events. A building code might say, for example, that a building should be able to survive a 7.0 earthquake. This approach has been basic to the regulation of nuclear reactors. As the interim report of the post-Fukushima NRC task force explains: [The regulation[ …
Continue reading “Going Beyond the “Design-Basis Event””
CONTINUE READINGHeat Waves, Droughts, and the Energy System
According to the IPCC, it “is very likely that hot extremes, heat waves, and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent.” For instance, by midcentury, the number of heat wave days in Los Angeles is expected to at least double over the late twentieth century, and quadrupling is expected by the end of …
Continue reading “Heat Waves, Droughts, and the Energy System”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
