Federal Climate Policy
Coal Takes a Nosedive
Despite Trump’s efforts to save it, the most environmentally destructive fuel is fading quickly.
In the 2016 election, Trump pledged to save coal. Since then, his Administration has pulled out all the stops in this effort, including repeal of dozens of environmental regulations. All for naught. In 2021, U.S. coal use will be 30% below what it is when Trump took office. Coal’s immediate situation is even worse, due …
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CONTINUE READINGAutomakers Love to Use the Great Outdoors to Sell Cars That Pollute National Parks
Auto companies continue campaign against progress on vehicle pollution
At the top of Franklin Pass last week, 11,710 ft above sea level and deep in Sequoia National Park, I stopped to catch my breath. There’s no doubt the altitude was affecting me, but looking back towards the thick inversion layer sitting over the western San Joaquin Valley, I had to wonder to whether pollution …
CONTINUE READINGThe Draft Democratic Platform and the Environment
The Democrats are promising bold climate action but not committing to details.
The Republicans have decided not to update their 2016 platform, but the Democrats now have a draft of their 2020 platform. The platform essentially calls for aggressively moving beyond Obama’s actions (and eliminating Trump’s). For those who are in a rush, I’ll start with the takeaways. Key Points Here are some of the most important aspects …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Will Harris’s Nomination Mean for the Environment?
She’s been outspoken on climate and EJ issues, but her core interests may be elsewhere.
Kamala Harris has taken some strong positions on climate change and environmental justice. Her nomination signals the extent to which the Democratic party now embraces those issues. However, to the extent one can judge from her public record, her highest priority interests have been elsewhere during her time in the Senate. While campaigning for the …
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CONTINUE READINGElection 2020: Three Months till Election Day
The environmental are high: Trump has axed one regulation every two weeks for four years.
Since taking office, Trump has waffled on some issues and shuffled personnel, but on one thing he has held firm: eradicating legal protection of the environment. His motto seems to be: No Regulation Left Standing. Something to keep in mind, as we head toward Election Day. That’s three months away, but some states begin early …
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CONTINUE READINGElection 2020: Update on the Senate
Senate control will matter a lot, regardless of who’s in the White House.
Control of the Senate will determine the environmental views of new judges and whether any environmental legislation can pass. In August, I’ll start looking at the environmental stakes in specific Senate races. Here’s why Senate control is so important and where things stand right now. Basically, the question is whether Mitch McConnell retains his grip …
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CONTINUE READINGPlanning a Green Recovery
Don’t let the opportunity for a green stimulus go to waste.
The economy crashed during the lockdown. Although a recovery has begun, government action will probably be needed to sustain it. We should seize this opportunity to make progress on sustainability. It’s hard to know the long-term economic impact of the pandemic. As Nobel-prize winning economist Robert Schiller has said, “Big events like a pandemic have …
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CONTINUE READINGWasting Away in Methaneville
Another Trump rollback gets slapped down in court.
A week ago, a federal district court overturned yet another ill-conceived rollback by the Trump Administration. The case, California v. Bernhardt, involved releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The legal flaws in the rollback by the Bureau of Land Management, are all too typical of the Administration’s work product. The Administration has repeatedly lost …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Did We Know and When Did We Know It?
Nothing about Trump’s environmental policies has been a surprise. He won anyway.
One thing you can say about Donald Trump is that he didn’t hide the ball. He told us exactly what he would do about the environment. Many people who say they care about climate change or the environment apparently didn’t care enough to come to the polls and vote for his opponent. People who liked …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Kudlow Inversion
Trump’s key advisor on the economy, the coronavirus, and regulation, with a gift for getting everything wrong.
“Only the best people,” Trump said. Let’s talk about his chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow. Kudlow seems to live in an inverted, upside-down world. He somehow manages to be wrong about everything — wrong about the economy, wrong about deregulation, wrong about climate change, wrong about the coronavirus. A full sweep, in other words. It’s …
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