Politics
Climate Change and Tonight’s Debate
A key issue is missing from the list of topics for tonight’s debate. Climate change is a global problem with global impacts, ultimately requiring a global solution. Climate change is a threat multiplier from the point of view of national security, intensifying the risk of international conflict and terrorism. (See here for more.) It has …
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CONTINUE READINGReally, David Brooks?
I sat down at my computer this morning intending to blast away at an academic article I’m writing but only after peeking at the NY Times. I thought a little newspaper reading would be the end of my procrastination until I read David Brooks, something I don’t always do but couldn’t resist when I saw …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Happens When You Feed Garbage Data to a Nobel Prize Winner? — The Bizarre Story of the Phantom Job Gains from Romney’s Deregulation Plan
Deregulation is one of Romney’s five steps in his plan to add jobs. But how do we supposedly know that deregulation will add jobs? It’s a fascinating story, featuring a Nobel laureate’s economic model. The model is very fancy, lots of complex math, but it’s justified on the basis of data from a discredited study. …
CONTINUE READINGThe Truth About EPA’s Regulation of Coal
EPA has been accused of killing the coal industry by insanely over-regulating coal-fired power plants and factories. The facts are different. The Congressional Research Service is a reliable, non-partisan source of information. Here is what CRS says about the impact of the EPA rules: The primary impacts of many of the rules will largely be …
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CONTINUE READINGIs It Bad Politics To Talk About the Environment?
In response to my post expressing disappointment about the treatment of environmental issues in last night’s debate, Dan posted this comment: I agree that the lack of discussion of the environment was disappointing. But we have to remember that the debaters were primarily aiming their remarks at a small segment of the U.S. public whose …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Can’t the Presidential Candidates Even Acknowledge Environmental Harms?
I’m an Obama supporter. That’s probably no surprise. And I thought he bested Romney in last night’s debate and not just by a little. But I found myself pretty disheartened by two separate exchanges about energy last night. Here’s the first: ROMNEY: But that’s not what you’ve done in the last four years. That’s the …
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CONTINUE READING“I Will Fight for Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas”
That’s what Mitt Romney said tonight. Yes, this is the same man who also said, just a month ago, that he believes that humans are contributing to climate change. But his heart belongs to fossil fuels. According to Mr. Romney, maximal use of fossil fuels is also the key to economic recovery. Romney even seems …
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CONTINUE READINGPACE Court Ruling Now Final: So What’s the Future of PACE?
Federal Judge Claudia Wilken, who has been presiding over the West Coast lawsuit to overturn federal housing policy and restore residential PACE energy financing programs, made her August ruling final today. As you may recall, Judge Wilken ruled in August that the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) would have to pursue a notice-and-comment rulemaking on …
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CONTINUE READING“No Regrets” Isn’t a Real Climate Policy
Mitt Romney has called for a no-regrets climate policy: “I believe we should pursue what I call a ‘No Regrets’ policy — steps that will lead to lower emissions, but that will benefit America regardless of whether the risks of global warming materialize and regardless of whether other nations take effective action.” This sounds good. …
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CONTINUE READINGPreviewing 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 …
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