Environment

Climate Change

Kenneth Green – Energy and the Environment

Kenneth Green, Ph.D., PRI Senior Fellow in Environment, discusses the recent California wildfires, the state’s climate change policies, what he thinks about presidential candidate Joe Biden’s environmental agenda, as well as Pres. Trump’s performance on energy and environmental issues.
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

Put a quarantine on California’s bad policy ideas

Los Angeles Times readers might think the first night of the Republican National Convention was nothing more than a non-stop attack on California. In its coverage of the first evening’s events, the paper posted the headline “RNC speakers paint California as a dangerous dystopia.” Missing from the report were rebuttals to ...
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

Newsom and Davis Have a Lot More in Common Than You Might Imagine

The images of mass power outages across the state during our recent run of extreme temperatures evoked images in many Californians of the last time the state faced mass power blackouts. The year was 2001, when then-Governor Gray Davis bungled the state’s controversial electricity restructuring plan and allowed the state’s ...
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 ...
Agriculture

What We’re Watching – August 7

Evan Harris – 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II It’s a somber anniversary, but 75 years ago this week, the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. As a fan of military history, American use of nuclear ...
California

Steven Greenhut – On the Most Unpredictable California Legislative Session in Recent Memory

R Street Institute’s Steven Greenhut returns for his annual look at the year’s legislative session in Sacramento.  We discuss how the Legislature and Governor have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising social unrest, a $54 billion budget deficit, and worsening homeless and housing crises.  He also looks ahead to ...
Energy Costs

Impact Magazine – Summer 2020

DOWNLOAD THE PDF .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom:56.25%; height:0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;} Letter from the President These are stressful times for our nation. Americans have faced shelter-in-place orders that lasted weeks. ...
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. ...
Climate Change

Kenneth Green – Energy and the Environment

Kenneth Green, Ph.D., PRI Senior Fellow in Environment, discusses the recent California wildfires, the state’s climate change policies, what he thinks about presidential candidate Joe Biden’s environmental agenda, as well as Pres. Trump’s performance on energy and environmental issues.
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

Put a quarantine on California’s bad policy ideas

Los Angeles Times readers might think the first night of the Republican National Convention was nothing more than a non-stop attack on California. In its coverage of the first evening’s events, the paper posted the headline “RNC speakers paint California as a dangerous dystopia.” Missing from the report were rebuttals to ...
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

Newsom and Davis Have a Lot More in Common Than You Might Imagine

The images of mass power outages across the state during our recent run of extreme temperatures evoked images in many Californians of the last time the state faced mass power blackouts. The year was 2001, when then-Governor Gray Davis bungled the state’s controversial electricity restructuring plan and allowed the state’s ...
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 ...
Agriculture

What We’re Watching – August 7

Evan Harris – 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II It’s a somber anniversary, but 75 years ago this week, the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. As a fan of military history, American use of nuclear ...
California

Steven Greenhut – On the Most Unpredictable California Legislative Session in Recent Memory

R Street Institute’s Steven Greenhut returns for his annual look at the year’s legislative session in Sacramento.  We discuss how the Legislature and Governor have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising social unrest, a $54 billion budget deficit, and worsening homeless and housing crises.  He also looks ahead to ...
Energy Costs

Impact Magazine – Summer 2020

DOWNLOAD THE PDF .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom:56.25%; height:0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;} Letter from the President These are stressful times for our nation. Americans have faced shelter-in-place orders that lasted weeks. ...
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. ...
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