Regulation
What foie gras and low carbon fuels have in common
Many of you may have heard of California’s ban on foie gras. The ban was signed into law in 2004 by that notorious hippie, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but did not take effect until 2012. Fewer of you may be aware of the current litigation over California’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) program. Litigation concerning both …
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CONTINUE READINGRevisiting the Origin of the Administrative State — Not a 20th Century Invention After All
Every institution seems to have a creation myth of some kind. Many people think that the federal bureaucracy was a creation of the New Deal, which deviated from the Framers’ vision of small government. More sophisticated people realize that the administrative state began in the late 19th century with the creation of the Interstate Commerce …
CONTINUE READINGMayor Bloomberg and the Granny State, or: When is a Soda Ban Not a Ban?
Yes, that’s right: granny state, not — as conservatives are wont to call it — the nanny state. Dan’s thoughtful post the other day suggested but did not spell out an important theoretical implication of New York City’s prohibition on large servings of sugared soft drinks: it represents an almost-classic form of the “nudge,” the …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Developers Shouldn’t Blame Environmental Review for the Lack of Infill
Members of the business community are smelling blood when it comes to effectively dismantling environmental review statutes like the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). They now have a political opening with the high unemployment rate, some well-publicized bad outcomes of CEQA litigation, and examples of lawsuits by rival businesses abusing the process for competitive purposes …
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CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Finds Public Nuisance Lawsuit Unavailable to Address Climate Change Impacts on Threatened Native Alaskan Village
Today, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion affirming a federal district court decision to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Native Alaskan Village of Kivalina that sought damages from oil and electric power companies whose greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to climate change. Kivalina contended that the companies’ greenhouse gas emissions constituted a public …
CONTINUE READINGPrice Implications of the California 33% RPS as the Federal Government Cuts Green Subsidies
Frank Wolak is quoted in today’s LA Times about the electricity price implications of California’s pursuit of a 33% RPS by the year 2020. He argues that electricity prices will rise as a consequence of this regulation. At the same time that California is ratcheting up its RPS standard, the Federal Government is …
CONTINUE READINGFive Ideas for Regulatory Reformers
Duke is hosting a conference on Monday (10-4 ET) about conservative approaches to environmental protection. (livestream here). Here are a few ideas to throw into the mix:
CONTINUE READINGSupersized Drinks, Social Welfare, and Liberty
Obesity is an environmental issue because the food system (from farm to table) uses a lot of energy and produces significant water pollution. More food equals a bigger environmental footprint. Sweetened soft drinks are a good example: they use corn sweetener, and corn production has a large footprint because so much fertilizer is required. There …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Worried Are Small Businesses About Environmental Regulation?
We’re heard a lot recently about the supposedly dire effect of environmental regulations on small businesses. A recent poll of small business owners by George Washington University using the Thumbtack site has some interesting findings about this. One of the questions in the survey was, “How important are the following issues to the success of …
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CONTINUE READINGGolden Rules for Fracking
Well, this is embarrassing. Kevin Drum, one of the best bloggers out there, posted a few days ago on the issue of whether hydraulic fracturing is good or bad for the environment. Kevin covers the ground that we have here before, namely: Yes, natural gas is better than coal or other fossil fuels in terms …
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