Federal Climate Policy
Climate Backlash
Vicious attacks on climate progress are on the rise.
Presumably, no one actually wants rising seas, dangerous heat waves, severe droughts, runaway wildfires, and floods. Nor, I assume, are there many who want those climate disasters for their children and grandchildren. Still, there are all too many politicians and public figures who act as if their goal was to foment climate change. No doubt the …
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CONTINUE READINGFour EV Trends
One of these things is not like the others.
The automotive world is changing quickly. Most of the trends are mutually reinforcing. But one points in the opposite direction. The first and most obvious trend is the rise of EVs. In the twenty years since Tesla arrived, EVs have gone from 0.2% of new cars to 13%, and Bloomberg predicts that this figure will …
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CONTINUE READINGHave We Begun the Third Age of Climate Law?
Some thoughts for Environmental History Week.
An international agreement in 1992 committed the world’s nations to addressing climate change but contained few specifics. The US ratified that agreement, but there was little concrete action here through the end of the 20th Century. As this century began, things looked optimistic, with both presidential candidates favoring reductions in carbon emissions. Promptly after taking …
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CONTINUE READINGSpeaker Mike Johnson Could Be Disaster in the Making
Johnson’s selection as Speaker signals trouble ahead— but could be political good news for Democrats.
So, the Republicans finally settled on a Speaker: Religious Right activist Mike Johnson. Johnson is a climate denier. In 2017, he said: “The climate is changing, but the question is, is it being caused by natural cycles over the span of the Earth’s history? Or is it changing because we drive SUVs? I don’t believe …
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CONTINUE READINGThe New Speaker Nominee and the Environment –Whoops, Never Mind!
Who is Tom Emmer and what are his environmental views?
[First posted at 10:18, revised at 2:10] The revolving door for Republican GOP nominees continues. Tom Emmer, who was briefly the [ newly picked] Republican nominee for Speaker of the House on Tuesday, is a relative unknown despite having been part of the House Republicans’ leadership team. Emmer, who grew up in an affluent suburb of …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Speaker Race and the Environment
No, it’s not a pretty picture. Scalise was bad. Jordan is worse.
In what felt like one of the few times I’ve actually been right about a political prediction, I told my wife that Steve Scalise would probably be the GOP’s pick to replace Kevin McCarthy. Sadly, I was only right for about 24 hours. Then Scalise, supposedly the more moderate candidate, dropped out. That left Jim …
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CONTINUE READINGNikki Haley & Climate Policy
She’s a departure from the GOP’s white male establishment. But on climate issues? Not so much.
Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign has gained a following. According to the NY Times, Haley’s performance “in front of crowds and in the first two Republican debates — during which she successfully fended off interruptions and delivered pithy, memorable one-liners — has delivered buzz, attention and money.” Unlike Trump, she’s not actively hostile to the very …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat’s Been Killing U.S. Coal?
No, it’s not Biden. Or EPA. The culprits are supply and demand.
From 1960 to 2005, coal use grew more or less steadily by 18 million tons per year. It then tread water for a few years and began a steep decline in 2008, going from half of U.S. electricity to about one-fifth today. What happened in the middle of the Bush Administration to halt growth? And …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Climate Crisis, the Tribes, and the IRA
Biden’s signature climate law spotlighted the need to support tribal responses to climate change.
Five hundred and thirty-one years ago today, Christopher Columbus went ashore at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas. That date marked the beginning of an era of European settlement and colonialism, accompanied by widespread destruction of existing American societies. Today, Native Americans communities face another crisis: climate change. Many tribes are at high risk from …
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CONTINUE READINGReading the Tea Leaves: Biden’s and California’s Vehicle Regs at the D.C. Circuit
A leading environmental lawyer gives his perspective.
Transportation is now the source of 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, more than the electric power sector. The transportation sector is also a substantial source of nitrogen oxides and particulates, both of which are dangerous to human health. The Biden Administration has taken important regulatory actions bearing on these problems, with others in the …
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