Energy
Business & Economics
Wayne Winegarden Quoted in Nor Cal Record Story on Covid-19 Stimulus Bill
New federal COVID stimulus package could help in short term; longer-term impact less clear By Sarah Downey As final agreements on the new COVID-19 stimulus package were negotiated last week, crucial help for businesses and families was approved alongside projects having less to do with economic recovery. “The new relief package reminds ...
Blackouts
Powering California With Wind – A utility’s perspective
Milton Friedman famously declared that “one of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” While California desperately needs to apply this wisdom across the policy spectrum, arguably, the gap between policy leaders’ intentions and the empirical results are the widest when ...
Agriculture
California’s Failed Climate Change Policy
As California burns, Governor Gavin Newsom fiddles – with California’s climate change goals. In response to record-breaking wildfires, the Governor announced that California must accelerate its goal of reaching 100 percent green electricity by 2045. And on September 23, as dark smoke infiltrated our lungs and millions of acres burned, ...
Blog
The Latest Buzz On Newsom’s Electric Car Mandate
To adequately cover all the angles, implications, and consequences of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order to rid the state of gasoline and diesel cars and trucks and replace them with electric vehicles would require a short book, or a long policy paper. We’ve already covered a few points, primarily the ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – October 2
Tim Anaya – Memorable Moments that Dominate Presidential Debates Are Almost Always Unexpected This week on PRI’s Next Round podcast, we break down the first presidential debate. Here’s a look at memorable moments from debates past. Rowena Itchon – Get to Know Judge Amy Coney Barrett Get to know Judge ...
Blackouts
Did California just admit its drive to decarbonize has a problem?
California was rushing toward what it thought was a fossil-fuel-free future when reality came rolling in like a solar eclipse, forcing officials to alter their plans a bit. On Sept. 1, the State Water Resources Control Board voted 4-0 to keep four natural gas power plants open beyond their planned ...
Blackouts
Wildfires, Global Climate Change, And The Policy Environment
California is suffering from raging wildfires that, as of September 10th, have burned over 3.1 million acres, caused 12 fatalities, and destroyed over 3,900 structures. Residents are also enduring rolling electricity blackouts and unaffordable energy, yet California’s greenhouse gas emissions are now rising while the long-term national decline in emissions continues unabated. Connecting ...
Blackouts
California is back in black due to going green
California was hit last month with rolling blackouts, for the first in nearly two decades. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he knows why. His answer is not politically popular. But it is correct. According to Politico, “the exact root” of the trouble “is still unclear as more power outages loom.” Unclear, that is, ...
Blackouts
Why Did California ISO Turn Off the Power?
In the banner year that is 2020, Californians did not expect to add power outages to their list of forgettable experiences, but that is what many in the state experienced starting Friday, Aug. 14, as the California Independent System Operators ordered utilities to voluntarily cut power due to triple-digit temperatures ...
California
CalPERS, Corruption And Cronyism
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has a history of making poor choices, plans to become a lending institution. A healthy pension fund wouldn’t be making such a risky decision. Still hurting from $100 billion in losses from the Great Recession, CalPERS was bruised again by the coronavirus pandemic. ...
Wayne Winegarden Quoted in Nor Cal Record Story on Covid-19 Stimulus Bill
New federal COVID stimulus package could help in short term; longer-term impact less clear By Sarah Downey As final agreements on the new COVID-19 stimulus package were negotiated last week, crucial help for businesses and families was approved alongside projects having less to do with economic recovery. “The new relief package reminds ...
Powering California With Wind – A utility’s perspective
Milton Friedman famously declared that “one of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” While California desperately needs to apply this wisdom across the policy spectrum, arguably, the gap between policy leaders’ intentions and the empirical results are the widest when ...
California’s Failed Climate Change Policy
As California burns, Governor Gavin Newsom fiddles – with California’s climate change goals. In response to record-breaking wildfires, the Governor announced that California must accelerate its goal of reaching 100 percent green electricity by 2045. And on September 23, as dark smoke infiltrated our lungs and millions of acres burned, ...
The Latest Buzz On Newsom’s Electric Car Mandate
To adequately cover all the angles, implications, and consequences of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order to rid the state of gasoline and diesel cars and trucks and replace them with electric vehicles would require a short book, or a long policy paper. We’ve already covered a few points, primarily the ...
What We’re Watching – October 2
Tim Anaya – Memorable Moments that Dominate Presidential Debates Are Almost Always Unexpected This week on PRI’s Next Round podcast, we break down the first presidential debate. Here’s a look at memorable moments from debates past. Rowena Itchon – Get to Know Judge Amy Coney Barrett Get to know Judge ...
Did California just admit its drive to decarbonize has a problem?
California was rushing toward what it thought was a fossil-fuel-free future when reality came rolling in like a solar eclipse, forcing officials to alter their plans a bit. On Sept. 1, the State Water Resources Control Board voted 4-0 to keep four natural gas power plants open beyond their planned ...
Wildfires, Global Climate Change, And The Policy Environment
California is suffering from raging wildfires that, as of September 10th, have burned over 3.1 million acres, caused 12 fatalities, and destroyed over 3,900 structures. Residents are also enduring rolling electricity blackouts and unaffordable energy, yet California’s greenhouse gas emissions are now rising while the long-term national decline in emissions continues unabated. Connecting ...
California is back in black due to going green
California was hit last month with rolling blackouts, for the first in nearly two decades. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he knows why. His answer is not politically popular. But it is correct. According to Politico, “the exact root” of the trouble “is still unclear as more power outages loom.” Unclear, that is, ...
Why Did California ISO Turn Off the Power?
In the banner year that is 2020, Californians did not expect to add power outages to their list of forgettable experiences, but that is what many in the state experienced starting Friday, Aug. 14, as the California Independent System Operators ordered utilities to voluntarily cut power due to triple-digit temperatures ...
CalPERS, Corruption And Cronyism
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has a history of making poor choices, plans to become a lending institution. A healthy pension fund wouldn’t be making such a risky decision. Still hurting from $100 billion in losses from the Great Recession, CalPERS was bruised again by the coronavirus pandemic. ...
