Energy
The Changing Landscape of Climate Policy
Even under Trump, the U.S. was slowly lurching in the right direction. Biden needs to give the process a good strong push.
Barring a Democratic sweep in the Georgia runoffs, Biden will be facing a Republican Senate. But he also has a big advantage: The world has changed in some important ways that favor climate action. The importance of these positive changes may have been obscured by some negative developments. Since Barack Obama left office, climate change …
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CONTINUE READING“The Gaffe”
Will Democrats pay a price for Biden’s “inconvenient truth” about the future of oil?
Although no one seemed to notice it while the debate was underway, political commentators are now abuzz about a “gaffe” by Biden about the future of gas and oil. Other aspects of the final presidential debate were covered in Cara Horowitz’s insightful post on Friday. I want to hone in on “the gaffe” in this …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump and Fossil Fuels
How much has Trump helped fossil fuel production? Not as much as he probably thinks. But enough to make climate change worse.
Trump has a single energy policy: expand production and use of fossil fuels. That also dictates his environmental policy, which is to eliminate any regulation that might get in the way. How much effect has his love affair of fossil fuels had? Short answer: not as much he thinks, but more than environmentalists would like. …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat’s At Stake
Here’s a quick crib sheet on the climate change and the election
Here’s a quick reminder about the environmental stakes in the election. I’ve tried to stick with the facts here — you’re free to decide which way the cut. ISSUE TRUMP BIDEN Problem of climate change ” I don’t know that it’s man-made… I don’t wanna give trillions and trillions of dollars.” Biden “has long appreciated …
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CONTINUE READINGDriving Sustainable Energy Storage Technology
Maximizing the Environmental Utility of Battery Storage: Building a Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Battery energy storage is recognized as a key element of making our energy infrastructure more sustainable and resilient. Battery storage, however, encompasses many technologies–how should sustainability-minded agencies, utilities and storage developers choose among these options? UCLA’s Emmett Institute and the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability is hosting an interactive workshop on that question …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump’s ACE Rule Hits a Judicial Speed Bump
The judges seemed skeptical of Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy rule last week
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments about Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule last week. The ACE rule is a feeble substitute for Obama’s Clean Power Rule, which was Obama’s signature climate action regulating power plants. The argument went badly for the Trump folks. Even Judge Justin Walker, a 38-year-old whose main …
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CONTINUE READINGFor U.S. Climate Policy, It’s Oct. 2016 All Over Again
We knew Trump would wreck U.S. climate policy. He told us so.
Four years ago this week, I wrote about environmental stakes in the presidential election. The environmental stakes are equally high this time. If anything, Trump’s rollbacks of environmental regulations have been more thorough and severe than anticipated. He has also worked hard to open up federal lands and waters to more drilling and mining. One …
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CONTINUE READINGElection 2020: The NC Governor’s race
A tight race pits a moderate Democrat against an anti-regulatory Republican.
Because of North Carolina’s unusual electoral scheme, it has a Democratic Governor (Roy Cooper) and a Republican Lieutenant Governor (Dan Forest). The two are now battling for the governorship. One of the big dividing lines is offshore drilling. Cooper is against oil drilling off the North Carolina coast, while Forest is in favor. Roy Cooper. …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Contributor Samantha Zurcher: The Current State of Wildfire Liability in California
Wildfires Are Ravaging California. Can Electric Utilities Take the Heat?
In recent years, California has experienced its largest and deadliest wildfires in history, resulting in hundreds of fatalities and more than $50 billion in damage. The confluence of rising temperatures, less rainfall, and strong winds signal that the annual “wildfire season” is here to stay, and will continue to proliferate. Every year, thousands of Californians …
CONTINUE READINGElection 2020: The Montana Governor’s Race
The two candidates are neck-in-neck. But their environmental views aren’t close.
Last week, I posted about the Montana Senate race. Montana also has a tight race for governor. The candidates are the current Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mike Coney and House Republican Greg Gianforte. Coney is a long-time figure in state politics. Gianforte founded a “customer relationship software company.” He got national attention in 2017 when he …
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