Politics
Previewing This Week’s Constitutional Battle Over California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
On Tuesday morning, October 16th, attorneys will gather at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s majestic courthouse in downtown San Francisco to argue one of the nation’s most important, currently-pending environmental cases. The case is Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Goldstene, and the issue is the constitutionality of California’s Low Carbon Fuel …
CONTINUE READINGKey Senate Races, Energy Policy and the Environment
In a series of posts, I’ve surveyed the key Senate races — meaning those that don’t seem to be “locks” for either candidate. These races will probably determine control of the Senate. The candidates differ greatly in their positions on the environment and on energy policy. Here is a quick summary of what is at …
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CONTINUE READINGSo Much for THAT Excuse: China Starts a Cap-and-Trade Program
If there is a somewhat credible reason for the United States not to embark on climate legislation, it is that other major emitters — particularly China — are not doing the same. I don’t buy it, because China is a much poorer country than the United States is and because the West has received the …
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CONTINUE READINGBob Schieffer Fails the American Public
Bob Schieffer of CBS News will moderate the final Presidential debate, which is supposed to focus on foreign policy and global issues. The Commission on Presidential Debates recently announced Schieffer’s topic list: * America’s role in the world * Our longest war – Afghanistan and Pakistan * Red Lines – Israel and Iran * The Changing …
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CONTINUE READINGGreen versus Anti-Green in the Big Sky State
The Montana Senate race features Democrat Jon Tester against Republican Dennis Rehberg. The difference between the candidates doesn’t require any elaborate explanation. Rehberg has a 6% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters (quite a bit lower than Paul Ryan’s). Tester has a 87% LCV rating. That’s about all you have to know. It’s …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney versus Truth, Future Generations – And His Own Past
My post earlier this morning about Romney’s embrace of anti-environmentalism was more timely than I knew. According to Climate Wire, he told farmers yesterday: “And then there’s pushing cap and trade, I understand if they push cap and trade it will not only massively impact the income of farms, it will take millions of acres …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney’s Embrace of the House Republicans’ Anti-Environmental Agenda
A lot of Romney’s views about energy and regulation seem familiar. There’s a reason for that. Driven by the Tea Party, the House has passed numerous deregulatory laws, some of them multiple times. On average, the House Republicans averaged more than one anti-environmental vote for every day the House was in session in 2011. Romney …
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CONTINUE READINGTwo Cheers for a Hybrid Sales + Carbon Tax
Dan’s thoughtful post on the Hybrid Sales + Carbon Tax is worth careful consideration. My initial thought is that Dan underestimates it one way, but might overestimate it in two ways. I think he underestimates its political viability. He argues that “voters don’t like taxes, and sales taxes are especially easy for them to notice …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Possible Merits of a Hybrid Sales+Carbon Tax
There’s been a lot of discussion of carbon taxes, which economists virtually all love. Proposed carbon taxes would generally be imposed at the level of fossil-fuel sellers or importers, or when producers use carbon. Imposing the carbon tax on consumers would have some significant advantages. This could be done with some fancy VAT-type mechanism, but …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change Politics: Calling Junior Appropriators!
“Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting over.” At least that’s the old saying (incorrectly attributed to Twain), and it is true. You can’t study water law for more than a moment without seeing conflict. In the west, water law is particularly conflictual due to the system of prior appropriation: rivers are divided into …
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