Politics

Energy & Environment in the Indiana Governor’s Race

Whither the Hoosier State?

Governors’ races don’t get as much publicity as the national contests. Most governors’ races are off-year elections, giving them even less visibility, but a minority of states do hold these elections in presidential election years. Despite their lack of national visibility, the outcomes matter. We live in a federalist system, and states have a significant ability …

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Battle for the Senate: A Ten State Roundup

The stakes for environment and energy policy are high in this year’s Senate elections.

Control of the Senate is important for many reasons, including the majority party’s control over the agenda and its power to launch investigations. Given that the Republicans are in such a strong position in the House, it matters even more than usual which party controls the other chamber. The parties are far apart on many …

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What’s The Future Of California’s High Speed Rail System?

Join My KALW Radio Conversation Tonight With Authority Chair Dan Richard At 7pm

California’s high speed rail system has been moving at a low speed since voters approved a bond issue to launch it in 2008. That ballot measure authorized a bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles and eventually Anaheim, at speeds of 220 miles per hour and stops in Central Valley cities like Fresno and …

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Battle for the Senate: North Carolina

An unexpectedly close Senate race in the Tar Heel State.

The North Carolina case features Deborah Ross (D) against incumbent Richard Burr (R). Neither is a well-known figure nationally. Ross was a lawyer and state representative. More surprisingly for a candidate in a Southern swing state, she served as executive director for the state ACLU. Her website reports that she had a 94 percent lifetime score from …

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Of Initiative Wars, Plastic Bags and Poison Pills

Deciphering California’s (Intentionally) Confusing Plastic Bag Propositions

California’s longstanding efforts to eliminate single-use plastic bags from the marketplace and the environment have finally reached California voters. The November 8th general election ballot contains a breathtaking 17 separate propositions–16 proposed initiative measures and one referendum measure.   Propositions 65 and 67 both deal with the same subject–a proposed ban on single-use plastic bags.  Those dueling measures …

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Global Climate Cabal Revealed!!

Now it can told! Exclusive interview with cabal leader.

My eyes were opened at last.Last week, one Presidential candidate accused the other of meeting “in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers.”  The candidate also spoke of a global conspiracy of multinational corporations and media. Inspired by this speech, I was able …

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Battle for the Senate: Missouri

The Missouri Senate seat is unexpectedly in play.

Missouri, the “Show Me” state, wasn’t on my original list of states with close Senate races. But the race has tightened since then, rather surprisingly. It pits incumbent Republican Roy Blunt against Jason Kander, an Afghanistan War veteran who is currently Secretary of State. Kander doesn’t have much of a track record on environmental issues. …

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Battle for the Senate: Florida

Failed presidential candidate Mark Rubio fights to keep his Senate seat in the Everglade State.

Anyone over 30 probably remembers Florida’s role in the 2000 election, when a few hundred votes (and five Supreme Court Justices) swung the election to Bush.  Florida remains a swing state today.  This race will be closely watched for that reason, as well as the strong contrasts between the candidates’ policy views. Compared to most …

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Battle for the Senate: Illinois

This race features an environmentally leaning Republican versus a Democratic war hero.

Mark Kirk is an outlier among his fellow GOP Senators.  His lifetime score from the League of Conservation voters is 57% — compare that with many republicans who are at 3% or lower.  His opponent, Tammy Duckworth, is a war hero with a lifetime score of 85%, still comfortably above Kirk’s.  So there’s a difference …

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A Stark Contrast: Clinton v. Trump on Climate Policy

Clinton wants to cut carbon emissions, Trump wants to raise them.

Forty percent of millennials don’t see a difference between Clinton and Trump on environment, energy, or climate policy.  That’s just wrong — so wrong that it’s hard to believe anyone is that misinformed.  The candidates are as different as day and night on those issues.  As Paul Krugman said on Friday, “there is a huge, …

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