Politics
Battle For the Senate: Wisconsin
The candidates’ views on energy and environment are diametrically opposed.
Wisconsin is first up in a series of posts on key Senate races. My goal is to describe the candidates’ views on key policy issues, not to make a case for either side. The Wisconsin race is a rematch between the incumbent Ron Johnson and the previous incumbent, Russ Feingold, whom he had defeated in …
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CONTINUE READINGGary Johnson’s Hasty Retreat
He was for a carbon tax. For a few days. Until he was against it.
I posted a few weeks about Gary Johnson’s embrace of a carbon fee, which seemed like an appealing sign of new ideas. Apparently, however, stale ideas are more politically salable. As it turns out, under pressure from horrified conservatives, Johnson waved the white flag and surrendered only a few days later. Here’s his explanation: “If …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Battle for the Senate: Eight Key States
The outcome of these races will have a major impact on environmental policy.
As important as the presidential election is, the presidency isn’t the only important federal office at stake. This year, an unusual number of Senate races could go either way, and control of the Senate hangs in the balance. The Democrats need to pick up 4 seats (if Kaine is VP) or 5 (if Pence is VP). Over …
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CONTINUE READINGHow to Hedge Your Portfolio Against a Possible Trump Victory
Place your financial bets on having LESS renewable energy and MORE climate change.
If you’re worried about the economic impact of a Trump victory, you should be thinking of hedging your risk. One hedging strategy is to place a bet on climate change. By undoing Obama’s climate regulations and scuttling the Paris Agreement, Trump will set back climate policy, here and around the world by years, maybe decades, He’ll …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Downward Political Spiral of a Declining Industry
As the coal industry weakens economically, it also loses political clout.
Tighter regulation contributes to an environmentally dirty industry’s economic decline, which reduces its political clout, which allows more regulation, further weakening the industry. Coal is prime example. The coal industry’s economic plight is well-known. Coal production is the lowest since a major strike 35 years ago. In fact, my colleagues at the business school report that coal …
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CONTINUE READINGThe future politics of cap-and-trade in California
It doesn’t look so good for the oil and gas industry
As Ann and Ethan both noted, two major pieces of climate legislation were passed by the California legislature this week, and Governor Brown has promised to sign both bills. Overall, the legislation extends the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals (which were originally to reach 1990 levels of emissions by 2020) out to a 40% reduction …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Clinton Foundation and the Environment
There’s a lot of talk about where the money comes from. But where does it go?
We hear a lot about the Clinton Foundation these days, but it’s all about where the money comes from. That’s outside the scope of this blog, but it made me curious about what they do with the money. In particular, I wondered what they did for the environment. Since the only thing I really knew …
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CONTINUE READINGBREAKING NEWS: Final Hurdle For California’s 2030 Climate Bill Passes Assembly
Governor vows to sign AB 197, SB 32’s “conjoined twin”
There was a bit of added drama to the passing of SB 32 yesterday in the California Assembly, as the passage was dependent on the state enacting AB 197. The Assembly debated AB 197 this morning, and it passed out of the natural resources committee with six votes in favor and one opposed. It then …
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CONTINUE READINGBREAKING NEWS: California Assembly Passes SB 32, the 2030 Climate Bill
With governor’s signature, the state will retain its international leadership position on reducing greenhouse gas emissions
It was a rough year in 2015 for SB 32 (Pavley), California’s major climate bill to extend our greenhouse gas reduction efforts to 2030. The bill went down without a vote on the Assembly floor, due to opposition from “moderate” Democrats. But today, the Assembly passed the bill with 42 votes in favor, 29 opposed: …
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CONTINUE READINGLibertarian Candidate Endorses a Carbon Fee
Gary Johnson has put his weight behind
In an interview in Alaska, Gary Johnson endorsed the idea of a fee on carbon emissions. Here’s what he had to say, according to E&E News: “Johnson described his “free market approach” to global warming to the Juneau Empire in an interview published this weekend. He said his plan would include a fee, “not a …
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