Environment
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 ...
Commentary
Newsom oversees years of failed California water policy
2026 began in California with two atmospheric rivers and storms, which resulted in precipitation that was 119% of average rainfall for January. However, much of it flowed into the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, by the end of February our statewide snowpack was only 66% of average for this date, constituting a ...
Agriculture
SCOTUS’s rollback of tariffs is a win for farms
When the Trump Administration announced “Liberation Day” in April 2025 and told farmers to “have fun,” it was with the expectation that food producers would be able to market their product domestically rather than relying on the global market. It was a far-fetched expectation. Farmers and ranchers in the United ...
Blog
Valero Out, Gas Prices Up
California’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $4.34 on Feb. 1, the day after Valero began to unwind its refinery. By Feb. 8, consumers were paying on average $4.46 a gallon, the steepest price in the country. Correlation without causation? Possibly. Last year California’s average price increased by 3 cents a gallon from the last ...
Agriculture
Wolf plan needs to develop more quickly
While wolves decide beef is what’s for dinner, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is slow to address the urgent need for ranch rescue plans. A New Year’s Day wolf attack at a ranch in Lassen County highlights that, perhaps, the state is moving too slowly in its approach ...
Agriculture
Chocolate cake is real food, too
All food is “real” food. The implication of using phrases like “real food” suggests there are food that are “fake,” “dishonest,” “artificial,” or in some other way harmful. The colloquialism “the dose makes the poison” is as applicable to food as it is to its toxicological origins. More specifically, one ...
Blog
Energy Markets Still Punish Policy Weakness
Venezuela illustrates how quickly political dysfunction can translate into market risk. Once one of the world’s largest oil producers, the country has spent years constrained by mismanagement, corruption, and chronic instability. The consequence is not just lower output. It is persistent uncertainty that markets price in long before any formal ...
Agriculture
New paper on predator management looks at wolves in the western U.S.
The answer is nuanced and differs based on what each state hopes to achieve by having wolves living within the state’s borders. Each state in the western United States has either developed its own map for success or seems to be grappling with how to address a way forward now. ...
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 ...
Newsom oversees years of failed California water policy
2026 began in California with two atmospheric rivers and storms, which resulted in precipitation that was 119% of average rainfall for January. However, much of it flowed into the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, by the end of February our statewide snowpack was only 66% of average for this date, constituting a ...
SCOTUS’s rollback of tariffs is a win for farms
When the Trump Administration announced “Liberation Day” in April 2025 and told farmers to “have fun,” it was with the expectation that food producers would be able to market their product domestically rather than relying on the global market. It was a far-fetched expectation. Farmers and ranchers in the United ...
Valero Out, Gas Prices Up
California’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $4.34 on Feb. 1, the day after Valero began to unwind its refinery. By Feb. 8, consumers were paying on average $4.46 a gallon, the steepest price in the country. Correlation without causation? Possibly. Last year California’s average price increased by 3 cents a gallon from the last ...
Wolf plan needs to develop more quickly
While wolves decide beef is what’s for dinner, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is slow to address the urgent need for ranch rescue plans. A New Year’s Day wolf attack at a ranch in Lassen County highlights that, perhaps, the state is moving too slowly in its approach ...
Chocolate cake is real food, too
All food is “real” food. The implication of using phrases like “real food” suggests there are food that are “fake,” “dishonest,” “artificial,” or in some other way harmful. The colloquialism “the dose makes the poison” is as applicable to food as it is to its toxicological origins. More specifically, one ...
Energy Markets Still Punish Policy Weakness
Venezuela illustrates how quickly political dysfunction can translate into market risk. Once one of the world’s largest oil producers, the country has spent years constrained by mismanagement, corruption, and chronic instability. The consequence is not just lower output. It is persistent uncertainty that markets price in long before any formal ...
New paper on predator management looks at wolves in the western U.S.
The answer is nuanced and differs based on what each state hopes to achieve by having wolves living within the state’s borders. Each state in the western United States has either developed its own map for success or seems to be grappling with how to address a way forward now. ...