Energy
Obama’s Science Advisor Speaks at Berkeley
On Earth Day, Presidential science advisor John Holdren delivered the ERG Annual Lecture at Berkeley. His topic was Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being: Priorities and Policies in the Obama Administration. He had many insights to offer on science and public policy, particularly with regard to energy and climate issues.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsMyTG4ZXcM&feature=channel]
CONTINUE READINGUS climate emissions down a whopping 7% in 2009
The arm of the US Dept of Energy that tracks GHG emissions has come out with final numbers for 2009 emissions. Turns out that last year saw the largest absolute and percentage drop in US CO2 emissions since we began tracking the numbers decades ago. The EIA’s report is here. Here’s a key graph illustrating the decrease: One …
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CONTINUE READINGAppeals to Conserve Energy May Backfire with Conservatives
UCLA economists Dora Costa and Matt Kahn just released this paper about whether “nudges” from a utility to conserve energy — in this case information about energy consumption relative to neighbors and relative to earlier time periods — succeed in lowering usage. Though the authors find that many factors contribute to lowered consumption, including whether a …
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CONTINUE READINGEPA dithers on coal ash
UPDATE: Over at CPRBlog, Rena Steinzor and James Goodwin have a nice analysis of the red-lined version of the proposal EPA has posted at regulations.gov, showing the difference between what it wanted to do and what OIRA was able to bully it into doing. Transparency really is a wonderful thing. Looks like EPA was ready …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Public Power Option: Birch Rod or Risky Business?
The election season approaches, and first up in California is a June primary laden with important choices – not the least of which is a ballot measure sponsored by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) designed to make it harder for local governments to exercise the public power option. Referred to as Proposition 16, …
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CONTINUE READINGHow bad? More than bad enough
Earlier today, Dan asked “How bad is the spill?” He quoted a New York Times story which suggested that concerns about the spill were overblown. Not so fast. Probably the only thing we can say with confidence right now is that it’s still too early to tell exactly how much environmental or economic damage the …
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CONTINUE READINGOf Electricity Deregulation, Financial Meltdown, and Spilled Oil
As we contemplate the implications of the BP oil spill, California approaches another ominous milestone: the tenth anniversary of the series of electric power price shocks that came to be known as the California Energy Crisis of 2000-2001. Meanwhile, many try to unravel the economic crisis that walloped the U.S. and world economies so decisively …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Bad is the Spill?
These comparisons may be a little misleading — a bit like saying that we shouldn’t worry about 9/11 because a a hundred times more people died in the Battle of the Somme in World War I.
CONTINUE READINGEverything You Ever Wanted to Know About Biofuels — And More!
Click here for videos of a conference at the University of Illinois Law School on the current state of play in the biofuels world.
CONTINUE READINGDeepwater Horizon and the Dark Side of the Stevens Legacy
If John Paul Stevens was the architect of modern environmental law, the Deepwater Horizon disaster shows the effects of one of his worst building projects.
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