Politics
The Carbon Tax — More Attractive Than Ever
Due to the latest tax bill, a carbon tax look like a great strategy when the Dems take power again.
Sooner or later, the Democrats will take control of Congress and the White House, just like the Republicans right now. That’s not a political prediction so much as a recognition that the wheel is bound to turn around at some point. At that point, they should give very serious consideration to the possibility of a …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump vs. Obama: Comparing Their First-Year Records
What Trump accomplish in his first year? In terms of energy & environment, less than Obama.
There’s been a lot of sound and fury, and many proposals are in the works. But what have the concrete results been so far? And how does Trump’s effectiveness stack up again Obama’s? I was prompted to ask that question by a note from Jonathan Rosenbloom, an environmental law scholar at Drake University. I had …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump Administration to Hold California Hearing on Offshore Oil Drilling Proposal
Sacramento Hearing Likely to Be Both a Raucous and Fundamentally Flawed Affair
Legal Planet colleague Eric Biber this week has published a series of posts on the Trump Administration’s controversial–and deeply flawed–proposal to open most of the nation’s Outer Continental Shelf to offshore oil and gas development. I won’t attempt to retread the ground Eric has ably covered, but want to highlight a major upcoming and related event …
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CONTINUE READINGThe politics of Trump’s offshore leasing proposal
Widespread political opposition at the state level poses major obstacles to federal plans
This post is the second in a three-part series looking at the Trump Administration’s announcement of plans to vastly increase offshore oil and gas drilling. The first post, here, focused on the legal context for those announcements. In this post, I’ll discuss the political context. In my last post, I’ll conclude with an analysis of …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Legislature Contemplates Banning Internal Combustion Engines By 2040
AB 1745 by Assm. Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) would follow similar policies in Norway and the United Kingdom
Countries like China, Norway and the U.K. have made headlines recently with plans to ban the sale of internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by 2040 or soon thereafter. Is California next? Governor Brown expressed interest in the state following suit, to maintain its mantle as a global electric vehicle leader. And now Assemblymember Phil Ting …
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CONTINUE READINGSierra Club Opposes One Of The Most Important Climate Bills In California
Environmental group whiffs on proposed legislation to allow badly needed residential development near transit
Housing more Californians near transit and not in sprawl areas represents one of the most crucial ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Senate Bill 827 (Wiener) would help do just that, by preventing local governments from zoning people (and homes) out of these prime transit areas. So it was surprising to see an environmental organization …
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CONTINUE READINGInterior doubles down on contempt for government integrity
Newly appointed acting National Park Service chief improperly allowed removal of trees from NPS easement
We know that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has little regard for government rules — the Navy SEAL career he is so fond of touting was derailed because he misused government funds for personal travel; he has continued to flout travel regulations and restrictions on political activity by government employees in his present job; …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Story Behind a Political Breakthrough
Congress passed a 2017 law recognizing climate change as a serious threat. How did THAT happen?
Last month, Congress passed and Trump signed a provision in the Defense Authorization Act that designates climate change a serious threat to national security. That was a historic first. I blogged about the bill last month, but it seemed worthwhile to investigate this surprising development further. Although there’s no direct evidence, there are strong indications …
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CONTINUE READINGGeorgia: A Peach of an Energy Policy
Georgia’s energy policy is much better than you’d expect from its Southern location and politics.
Georgia is a bit of a surprise. It is a leader in solar energy in a region that generally has not been very friendly to renewables. It currently ranks 9th nationally in total solar installations (and even more surprisingly, ranked 3rd in 2016 in newly added solar). What’s also surprising is that Georgia has done this …
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CONTINUE READINGOne Year and Counting
He’s played his cards. Next year, we’ll see how well the other side plays theirs.
In September, Eric Biber and I released a report assessing the state of play in environmental issues 200 days into the Trump Administration, based on an earlier series of blog posts. As we end Trump’s first year, it’s time to bring that assessment up to date. It follows the same outline as the previous report …
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