Politics
The CEQA Streamlining “Slippery Slope” May Help Rail Transit
Whenever proposals come along to exempt or streamline environmental review for certain projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), CEQA defenders fear the slippery slope. Even if the target projects are environmentally benign, the concern is that once the CEQA armor has been pierced, special interests will be able to exploit the opening to …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Bain-ality of Romney’s Capitalism
Trying to be fair and balanced, Dan says that we should be at least a little heartened by Bain Capital’s environmental posture. I try to be fair, but in modern politics that rarely means being balanced (cue joke here), and I am somewhat less impressed. Look, I like recycling as much as the next guy …
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CONTINUE READINGBain and the Environment
We’ve been hearing a lot about Bain Capital because of the Romney connection. I thought it would be interesting to see what I could find about Bain and the environment. I thought I might find that Bain shared Romney’s (current) anti-environmental views, but apparently not. Here’s what it says on Bain’s webpage: We have worked …
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CONTINUE READINGWhere does NOAA belong?
Cross-posted at CPRBlog. Clearly I need to slow down Rick’s internet connection to get him to stop scooping me. Rick reported earlier today that the President has floated a proposal to reorganize the Commerce Department and related agencies which would apparently include moving NOAA (all of NOAA, according to OMB’s Jeffrey Zeints, not just its …
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CONTINUE READINGObama Administration Proposes Merging NOAA’s Endangered Species Act Functions Into Department of the Interior
As reported in today’s Wall Street Journal, President Obama has proposed a major government reorganization merging into a single, cabinet-level agency federal trade and commerce responsibilities currently dispersed among a number of different agencies and departments. These reforms, which would require the consent of Congress to implement, would increase government efficiency and reduced federal expenditures. …
CONTINUE READINGWill Expanded Federal Transit Financing Result In More Toll Roads?
In a time of infrastructure needs and scaled-back public sector budgets, finding dollars for public transit projects can be a challenge. Transit advocates hit on a great formula, however, starting in Los Angeles with the “30/10” Plan. 30/10 would allow Los Angeles to build 30 years worth of sales tax-funded transit projects in 10 years, …
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CONTINUE READINGU.S. Supreme Court Justices Are on USEPA’s Case
You can’t blame the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of late for feeling it’s under siege. All of the current Republican presidential candidates are regularly excoriating EPA on the campaign trail, and Congress has conducted oversight hearings and threatened all sorts of legislative action designed to clip EPA’s regulatory wings. Now the U.S. Supreme Court appears …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest blogger Vera Pardee: Clearing the Runway for Carbon Pollution Reduction — a Better Way to Fly
This post, by Vera Pardee of the Center for Biological Diversity, is part of an occasional series by guest bloggers. In the absence of international agreements on climate change, important state, regional and national efforts are forging ahead on their own to tackle greenhouse gas pollution. Despite the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, the business-as-usual …
CONTINUE READINGRick Santorum: The Second-Most Anti-Environmental Candidate
This is one of a series of posts describing presidential candidate’s views. I didn’t cover Santorum earlier because his poll numbers were so low, but that has obviously changed. Santorum’s website does not have a page dedicated to energy or environment but does make a number of pledges: Rick Santorum is committed to reviving our …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Insanity Behind Urban Parking Requirements
Los Angeles Magazine ran a nice profile of UCLA Professor Don Shoup, pioneer of the parking reform movement to eliminate off-street parking requirements and modernize parking meters to charge performance-based prices. In Shoup’s vision, local governments would dedicate any parking revenue increases to improving the neighborhood from which they came. Few other reforms could do …
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