Politics
Not Enough “Green” to be Green?
The Washington Post has details about the budget proposal. Here’s the information on EPA: President Obama’s proposed budget provides $9 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, noting that that amount represents a $1.3 billion decrease from the previous budget year. But that’s unlikely to satisfy Republicans in the House who are sharpening their knives to …
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CONTINUE READINGMy Daughter Writes Her Presidential Campaign Statement
As Lincoln’s Birthday and Washington’s Birthday approach, my 6-year-old daughter Rose’s teacher told them to write their own three-sentence statement about what they would do if they were President. This was a somewhat frightening prospect for me: who knows what my daughter will write? And, of course, how will it reflect on me? Am I …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Redevelopment Wars
California’s political leaders are currently struggling with the monumental challenge of finding ways to eliminate the state’s $25 billion budget deficit. Somewhat surprisingly, one of the most controversial deficit reduction proposals offered by newly-installed Governor Jerry Brown involves elimination of California’s 425 redevelopment agencies. Estimated savings: $3 billion per year. Such a reduction in state …
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CONTINUE READINGREINS Act: An attack on environmental regulation and executive power
Representative Geoff Davis (R-KY) has once again sponsored a bill that would require Congressional approval of any regulatory rule that imposes compliance costs in excess of $100 million annually. The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 10) would require agencies to seek Congressional approval of such regulation. If Congress fails …
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CONTINUE READINGObama’s 80% “Clean” Energy Goal: Ambitious or Inevitable?
In a recent post on Grist, Keith Schneider found President Obama’s 80% “clean” energy goal rather incredible: Arguably the central provision of President Obama’s State of the Union address last night was the proposal to generate 80 percent of the nation’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2035 — including nuclear energy and “carbon capture and …
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CONTINUE READINGCan Obama’s Car Emissions Deal Work for Utilities?
Politico ran a little noticed article last week suggesting that the nation’s utilities are exploring whether they can cut a deal with the Obama Administration to regulate their greenhouse gas emissions. The idea is to model a deal after the plan the car companies entered into with the Obama Administration to extend California’s car …
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CONTINUE READINGThe State of the Union Address: Good on Energy, MIA on Climate
President Obama’s State of the Union address had good news for research universities and for renewable energy: We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology – an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people. Already, we are seeing the promise of …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Environmental Blueprint: Protect and Restore Funding
This post is part of an ongoing series on our Environmental Blueprint for California, released by UCLA Law last week. I’ll talk about the first–and, in many ways, most fundamental–recommendation in our paper: that Governor Brown do what he can to protect and restore stable, robust funding for our State’s core environmental initiatives. My coauthors and …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA Law releases new environmental blueprint for California
In the looming battle over California’s budget, will there be room for environmental protections? What should Governor Brown’s top-priority environmental initatives be? UCLA Law released today “An Environmental Blueprint for California,” giving our view of the priorities Governor Brown should focus on to ensure the state’s environmental health in ways consistent with its economic prosperity. California faces difficult choices ahead. …
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CONTINUE READINGGaming Out EPA, Congress, and Climate Change
The Republican Party is not going to sit still as EPA regulates greenhouse gas emissions. Oh yes, they and their assorted constituencies will file lawsuits, but there is a more direct way for them to go: simply attach a rider to a free-standing EPA appropriations bill forbidding it to spend any funds on regulating greenhouse gas emissions. …
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