Energy
Environmental Hypocrisy
Recently, CBS’s 60 Minutes ran a story on the current environmental damages litigation 30,000 Ecuadorians are bringing in that country’s courts against Chevron. The case arises out the toxic oil wastes a Chevron subsidiary left behind in the Ecuadorian rain forest following decades of oil production deep in the headwaters of the Amazon. The plaintiffs, …
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CONTINUE READINGDitching cap and trade (the phrase, not the proposal)
Looks like the White House is taking note of the same polling data Dan blogs about here on the public’s antipathy toward, or misunderstanding of, the phrase “cap and trade”. This from the LA Times, in a story generally chronicling the administration’s efforts to figure out the best language and framing for its climate policies: …
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CONTINUE READINGThe virtual carbon footprint
Is your computer saving the environment or destroying it? Computer use has become a major energy sink both in the U.S. and worldwide. And it’s not just the computer on your desk. Duncan Graham-Rowe reports in New Scientist that the internet, including data centers as well as computers and peripherals linked to those centers “could …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Great Yucca Mountain Debacle
Over twenty years ago, the Supreme Court accepted the Nuclear Regulatory Agency’s assurances that it would find a safe method for long-term disposal of nuclear waste. Consequently, the NRC was allowed to assign a zero to the risk of any radioactive discharge. As it turns out, this was an empty promise. The solution that the …
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CONTINUE READINGPublic Policy is Spurring Enormous Growth in the Windpower Industry – Don’t Stop Now
Worldwatch Institute reports that windpower capacity worldwide increased by 27,051 megawatts in 2008, bringing total installed capacity over 120,000 megawatts. The United States showed the greatest growth, adding 8,358 megawatts to make a current total of 25,170 megawatts. That’s a 50% increase in one year! The contribution that the U.S. windpower makes to overall domestic …
CONTINUE READINGSharing the Burden of New Transmission Lines to The Sun and the Wind
The sense of urgency for building new electric transmission lines to transport large quantities of solar and wind power has spurred a national debate about the proper role for the federal government and the states in siting those lines. Although land use decisions such as these usually reside in the states, many worry that states …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard–& a Paean to Applied Scholarship
Jonathan Zasloff has previously written about the California Air Resources Board’s pioneering decision last week to mandate carbon-based reductions in state transportation fuels. These regulations, known as California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), are the first of their kind in the United States. More importantly, the LCFS is an integral part of CARB’s ambitious plan …
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CONTINUE READINGA framework for offshore renewable energy
Cymie posted here about the hearings Interior recently held in on both coasts on offshore energy development of all stripes. True to the President’s commitment to making renewable energy development a priority, shortly after those hearings Interior’s Minerals Management Service finalized regulations governing renewable energy development on the outer continental shelf. The regulations, developed under …
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CONTINUE READINGInterior to pull mountaintop mining rule
UPDATE 4/29: AP reports that the Justice Department’s filing requests that the rule be vacated and remanded on the grounds that it was not preceded by ESA consultation. (Hat tip: PLF on ESA). Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that his department would ask the court hearing a challenge to a key Bush-era rule on …
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CONTINUE READINGMore Free On-Line Courses
These classes are very popular with Berkeley students. They’ve had thousands of downloads already. Law 270.7 – Renewable Energy & Alternative Fuels – Steve Weissman (Fall 2008): http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=214AD3BA0B8D3FBA Law 270.6 – Energy Regulations and the Environment – Steve Weissman (Spring 2008): http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8256AD22B9C1CE53 Law 271 – Environmental Law and Policy – Holly Doremus (Spring 2008): http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=4A26CE52D23C831D
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