Agriculture
Agriculture
Gov. Brown exceeds his authority on greenhouse gas limits
When Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order last year mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, he said he did it for California’s future. But his motives were irrelevant. He broke the law, says the state’s legislative counsel. “We think the determination ...
Agriculture
CAPITAL IDEAS: Market-Driven Solutions to Relieve Drought
This legislative session, California could take an important step toward creating a true water market to meet the needs of cities, farmers and the environment with the Open and Transparent Water Data Act (Assembly Bill 1755). It’s hard to solve a problem when we don’t have all the facts and ...
Agriculture
Market-driven solution to relieve drought
Drought-weary Californians breathed a sigh of relief because another “March Miracle” series of storms soaked much of the northern half of the state. Sadly for the people of the Golden State, their relief is mostly misplaced. The state reported that the statewide snowpack is only 87 percent of normal and ...
Agriculture
CAPITAL IDEAS: Water Markets Would Alleviate Shortages
We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. Read Report
Agriculture
Water markets would alleviate shortages
We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. California faces ...
Agriculture
Capital Ideas: California’s Water “Shortage”
KEY POINTS IN THIS BRIEF: Many commentators incorrectly identify California’s historic draught, melting of its snow caps, or a handful of misguided policies as the cause of the state’s current water crisis. The cause of California’s current water crisis is the absence of scarcity pricing based on the supply and ...
Agriculture
The Honeybees Are Just Fine
Is a relatively new class of insecticides, known as neonicotinoids or “neonics,” harming bees and other wildlife? That’s what the International Union for the Conservation of Nature claimed in a recent press release announcing the results of a meta-study the organization conducted earlier this year. One might have expected the ...
Agriculture
Today’s Energy Crisis: Too Much, Not Too Little, Fossil Fuel
Back in April 1977, President Carter warned that “the oil and natural gas we rely on for 75% of our energy are running out.” In response to the perceived energy supply shortages, he wanted to limit the annual growth in overall U.S. energy usage, force American consumers to lower their ...
Agriculture
Uncle Sam likes his sugar
The federal government continues to envision itself as Saint Michael, whose role is to save failing industries from the horrors of the market’s cruel discipline. At least it would seem so from its recent actions. Government bailouts for investment banks, insurance companies, large banks, small banks and the automobile companies ...
Agriculture
Environmentalists Try to Squash a Bug Killer
Green groups blame a widely-used insecticide for bee ‘die-offs,’ but the evidence is weak. In January, the European Commission advised the EU not to use neonicotinoids, a relatively new class of agricultural insecticides. Now the member countries are considering whether to ban the chemical. The Commission’s warning came after heavy ...
Gov. Brown exceeds his authority on greenhouse gas limits
When Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order last year mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, he said he did it for California’s future. But his motives were irrelevant. He broke the law, says the state’s legislative counsel. “We think the determination ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Market-Driven Solutions to Relieve Drought
This legislative session, California could take an important step toward creating a true water market to meet the needs of cities, farmers and the environment with the Open and Transparent Water Data Act (Assembly Bill 1755). It’s hard to solve a problem when we don’t have all the facts and ...
Market-driven solution to relieve drought
Drought-weary Californians breathed a sigh of relief because another “March Miracle” series of storms soaked much of the northern half of the state. Sadly for the people of the Golden State, their relief is mostly misplaced. The state reported that the statewide snowpack is only 87 percent of normal and ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Water Markets Would Alleviate Shortages
We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. Read Report
Water markets would alleviate shortages
We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. California faces ...
Capital Ideas: California’s Water “Shortage”
KEY POINTS IN THIS BRIEF: Many commentators incorrectly identify California’s historic draught, melting of its snow caps, or a handful of misguided policies as the cause of the state’s current water crisis. The cause of California’s current water crisis is the absence of scarcity pricing based on the supply and ...
The Honeybees Are Just Fine
Is a relatively new class of insecticides, known as neonicotinoids or “neonics,” harming bees and other wildlife? That’s what the International Union for the Conservation of Nature claimed in a recent press release announcing the results of a meta-study the organization conducted earlier this year. One might have expected the ...
Today’s Energy Crisis: Too Much, Not Too Little, Fossil Fuel
Back in April 1977, President Carter warned that “the oil and natural gas we rely on for 75% of our energy are running out.” In response to the perceived energy supply shortages, he wanted to limit the annual growth in overall U.S. energy usage, force American consumers to lower their ...
Uncle Sam likes his sugar
The federal government continues to envision itself as Saint Michael, whose role is to save failing industries from the horrors of the market’s cruel discipline. At least it would seem so from its recent actions. Government bailouts for investment banks, insurance companies, large banks, small banks and the automobile companies ...
Environmentalists Try to Squash a Bug Killer
Green groups blame a widely-used insecticide for bee ‘die-offs,’ but the evidence is weak. In January, the European Commission advised the EU not to use neonicotinoids, a relatively new class of agricultural insecticides. Now the member countries are considering whether to ban the chemical. The Commission’s warning came after heavy ...
