Energy

You won’t see this in the stimulus package

Just announced:  A new UK program to give all homes an energy efficiency retrofit by 2030.  This from the Guardian: All UK households will have a green makeover by 2030 under government plans to reduce carbon emissions and cut energy bills. Cavity wall and loft insulation will be available for all suitable homes, with plans …

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Drill baby drill?

Remember last year when gas was at $4 a gallon, and candidates were falling all over themselves to explain how they would bring that price down? Two longstanding moratoria against oil and gas development in federal waters fell to that political pressure. In July, George W. Bush lifted an executive ban, initially issued by his …

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Legal Challenge to RGGI

The operator of a cogeneration plant in upstate New York, Indeck Corinth, has filed suit to challenge the Northeastern states’ carbon trading scheme, RGGI.  Apart from some state law claims, the most significant claims seem to be preemption under PURPA and Compact Clause violation.   For reasons, discussed in this article, I think the Compact Clause …

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Goodbye CCELP, Hello CLEE

Three years ago, the U.C. Berkeley Law School launched a new research center devoted to environmental law and policy: the California Center for Environmental Law & Policy (CCELP).  From its inception, CCELP has worked on a variety of energy matters.  However, since 2006 the intersection of energy and environmental policy has become both more obvious …

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More hot links

Piggy-backing on Dan’s post below, here are some more blogs that cover environmental issues. Of course everyone has their own spin, and most of these blogs make no pretense of neutrality. Browse at your own risk. And please let us know what additional sites you find useful.

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Hot Links to Cool Sites

The platform for this blog limits the number of links that we can list in the left margin.  Here are some blogs that cover environmental issues in a significant way: SF Green — the San Francisco Chronicle’s blog on environmental and energy issues in the Bay Area. RealClimate — an excellent source for reliable information …

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Ralph’s Pretty Good Stimulus: A Missed Opportunity

A Prairie Home Companion is sponsored by, among others, Ralph’s Pretty Good Grocery: “If you can’t find it at Ralph’s, you can probably get along without it.”That’s my initial and preliminary take on some of the energy and transportation provisions of the stimulus, although a lot that isn’t in there we probably can’t get along …

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A Victory for the California Team

AP reports that: The Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Overseas Private Investment Corp. agreed to provide a combined $500 million in financing for renewable energy projects and take into account greenhouse gas emissions associated with projects they support. The lawsuit was originally filed in San Francisco federal court in 2002 by Friends …

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The Bush Legacy

The New York Times has a story this morning that tries to summarize Bush’s environmental legacy.  As the story points out, there are positive notes, like the diesel regulations and the last-minute designation of marine sanctuaries.  Yet, the overall message is negative.  The Bush Administration will largely be remembered as a time of environmental setbacks …

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How Smart Can You Get?

It is said that it cost $3 million to air a 30 second advertisement during last weekend’s Superbowl. If that is the case, then General Electric chose to spend that much (plus change for production cost) to run a cute little musical piece based on the Scarecrow’s song from the Wizard of Oz — “If …

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