Politics
That Warm Fuzzy Cap-And-Trade Feeling
Cara asks if cap-and-trade skeptics like me still get excited at California’s Mini-Me version. The short answer (for me, at least) is yes. I’m all in favor of California rolling out its own version, and my hope has always been that the California Air Resources Board could develop a successful program that EPA could eventually …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Are Conservatives So Hostile to Climate Policy?
Dan wants to know why conservatives would oppose market-based solutions to climate change that avoid greater government intervention down the road. I asked last week why traditional conservatives, who make much of preserving traditions through different generations and respecting institutions through time, would also oppose such policies. The answer to both questions lie in their …
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CONTINUE READINGDoes Proposition 26 Undermine California’s Climate Change Law?
No. Not at all. Legally, we are still all systems go for AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act. First, take a look at the careful analysis that Cara, Sean, and Rhead produced a couple of weeks ago. It notes one extremely important fact about Proposition 26: its retroactive provisions only go back to January 2010, and AB 32 was …
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CONTINUE READINGElection review: what message did voters send about the environment, and how will politicians react?
It’s natural, in reflecting on the recent election, to ask whether and to what extent the results reflect public values about protection of the environment. (Well, at least for me, since I spend my time thinking about these things.) My answer: not much. But the election’s impacts on environmental issues will still be significant. While …
CONTINUE READINGFunny, It Doesn’t Look Bluish
The initial results in California last night make it seem like a sane drop of blue in the country. Jerry Brown won for Governor; Barbara Boxer was re-elected; and Proposition 23, which would have reversed the state’s landmark climate change law, was resoundingly defeated. Voters also approved Proposition 25, which allows the state budget to be …
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CONTINUE READINGTop Ten Reasons To Vote Against Proposition 23
10. To send the nasty Koch brothers a message to stay out of California politics. 9. To send the nasty Texas-based Valero oil company a message to stay out of California politics. 8. To send the nasty Texas-based Tessoro oil company a message to stay out of California politics. 7. To send Meg Whitman a …
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CONTINUE READINGThe California Attorney General race and the environment
This New York Times article notes why the California Attorney General’s race is very important for our state and national environmental and energy policies. As a close observer of that office’s work on environmental issues and as a former California deputy attorney general myself, I believe the reporter is surely correct. This race will matter from …
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CONTINUE READINGRepublicans vow to attack federal climate change efforts
The New York Times reports that senior Republicans are saying they will aggressively attack our administration’s environmental and climate change initiatives if their party wins a majority in the House of Representatives. EPA will be on the defensive, using its resources to defend against these attacks rather than move forward with regulatory initiatives that both …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Maureen Gorsen is wrong: Prop 26 will undermine environmental regulation
Followers of this blog know that, yesterday, UCLA Law released an analysis of Proposition 26’s impacts on state funding for environmental and public health programs. Today, the Yes on 26 campaign struck back with a press release in which Maureen Gorsen suggested that we failed to understand Prop 26 and ignored facts. (The Yes on …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA releases new analysis of Proposition 26’s impacts to state environmental programs
As Sean has written, Proposition 26 hasn’t been getting as much attention in the media as other anti-environmental measures on next Tuesday’s California ballot, but it has the potential to be a real sleeper threat. UCLA Law just released a careful analysis of Proposition 26’s impacts to state funding for environmental and public health programs, concluding …
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