Environment
Blog
A public bank in California would be costly, risky and unnecessary
But lawmakers were pushing forward anyway. AB 2243 would have established a taxpayer-funded commission to study the feasibility of a public bank and how it could act “as an additional financial tool to lower borrowing costs, strengthen local lending partnerships and help finance urgent public needs like affordable housing, infrastructure, ...
Blog
California’s ‘Scarcity Mindset’
The late, great comedian Sam Kinison once said that instead of sending food to starving nations, we should send U-Hauls because, he would scream, “there wouldn’t be world hunger if you people would live where the food is! You live in a desert, understand that?! Nothing grows out of here!” ...
Agriculture
Time to right size the Farm Bill
The first Farm Bill was passed in 1933 to stabilize food production and protect the land the U.S. food supply was grown on. The economic collapse of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl were hardships, in part, to be corrected by the New Deal and the Farm Bill. The ...
Blog
Higher Energy Prices Could Cost Families Over $1,100 in 2026
Californians face a $1,518 increase in energy costs – higher than the $1,120 increase faced by the average U.S. family and much higher than $809 increase New York residents will see.[1]The below map illustrates the estimated increase in annual energy expenditures between 2025 and 2026 should the current elevated prices ...
Agriculture
What’s in a label?
“Free range,” “cage free,” “organic,” “non-GMO,” “hormone free,” and now “ultra processed” are all food terms that can confuse even the most astute shopper. As consumers move farther from the farm but express deeper concern about where their food comes from and how it is produced, answering those concerns becomes ...
Blog
Trading Road Repairs For Green Jet Fuel — Is This A Deal That Californians Want To Make?
Only one state, Alaska, has worse roads than California. Tens of billions are needed to repair the crumbling, cracking and cratered infrastructure. Nearly a decade ago, legislators passed a $52 billion bill to fix the problems. So, what is Sacramento thinking about? Moving fuel tax revenue dollars that should be used for road repair to fund a scheme to ...
Agriculture
Farmer’s share of the grocery dollar shrinks again
Almost everything from the price of a dinner out to the cost to heat one’s home seems to take a bigger chunk out of the wallet lately. According to the Consumer Price Index, the overall cost of goods rose 2.4 percent in January. Even as grocery store prices rose, the ...
Commentary
Starving Coal of Capital Puts the Power Grid at Risk
Winter Storm Fern was a warning. When temperatures plunged into the single digits and heavy snow blanketed much of the country, the electric grid faced a serious stress test. For years, I have cautioned that rising electricity demand and the premature retirement of dependable power plants were putting the U.S. ...
Agriculture
Farming, actually … is all around
There is this movie – either you love it or you hate it. That is how I feel about National Agriculture Month. At the beginning of that movie, though, there is a monologue that is pretty good and ruminates on the meaning of, well, love, but it works for food ...
Agriculture
Farm Bill looks to save California, and everyone else, from Prop 12
While the controversial Prop 12 was passed by California voters in 2018, it was not fully implemented nationwide until January 2024. Under the requirements of Prop 12, veal calves must have at least 43 square feet of pen space, egg-laying hens must be housed in “cage-free” environments, and hogs must ...
A public bank in California would be costly, risky and unnecessary
But lawmakers were pushing forward anyway. AB 2243 would have established a taxpayer-funded commission to study the feasibility of a public bank and how it could act “as an additional financial tool to lower borrowing costs, strengthen local lending partnerships and help finance urgent public needs like affordable housing, infrastructure, ...
California’s ‘Scarcity Mindset’
The late, great comedian Sam Kinison once said that instead of sending food to starving nations, we should send U-Hauls because, he would scream, “there wouldn’t be world hunger if you people would live where the food is! You live in a desert, understand that?! Nothing grows out of here!” ...
Time to right size the Farm Bill
The first Farm Bill was passed in 1933 to stabilize food production and protect the land the U.S. food supply was grown on. The economic collapse of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl were hardships, in part, to be corrected by the New Deal and the Farm Bill. The ...
Higher Energy Prices Could Cost Families Over $1,100 in 2026
Californians face a $1,518 increase in energy costs – higher than the $1,120 increase faced by the average U.S. family and much higher than $809 increase New York residents will see.[1]The below map illustrates the estimated increase in annual energy expenditures between 2025 and 2026 should the current elevated prices ...
What’s in a label?
“Free range,” “cage free,” “organic,” “non-GMO,” “hormone free,” and now “ultra processed” are all food terms that can confuse even the most astute shopper. As consumers move farther from the farm but express deeper concern about where their food comes from and how it is produced, answering those concerns becomes ...
Trading Road Repairs For Green Jet Fuel — Is This A Deal That Californians Want To Make?
Only one state, Alaska, has worse roads than California. Tens of billions are needed to repair the crumbling, cracking and cratered infrastructure. Nearly a decade ago, legislators passed a $52 billion bill to fix the problems. So, what is Sacramento thinking about? Moving fuel tax revenue dollars that should be used for road repair to fund a scheme to ...
Farmer’s share of the grocery dollar shrinks again
Almost everything from the price of a dinner out to the cost to heat one’s home seems to take a bigger chunk out of the wallet lately. According to the Consumer Price Index, the overall cost of goods rose 2.4 percent in January. Even as grocery store prices rose, the ...
Starving Coal of Capital Puts the Power Grid at Risk
Winter Storm Fern was a warning. When temperatures plunged into the single digits and heavy snow blanketed much of the country, the electric grid faced a serious stress test. For years, I have cautioned that rising electricity demand and the premature retirement of dependable power plants were putting the U.S. ...
Farming, actually … is all around
There is this movie – either you love it or you hate it. That is how I feel about National Agriculture Month. At the beginning of that movie, though, there is a monologue that is pretty good and ruminates on the meaning of, well, love, but it works for food ...
Farm Bill looks to save California, and everyone else, from Prop 12
While the controversial Prop 12 was passed by California voters in 2018, it was not fully implemented nationwide until January 2024. Under the requirements of Prop 12, veal calves must have at least 43 square feet of pen space, egg-laying hens must be housed in “cage-free” environments, and hogs must ...