Electric Vehicles
Blackouts
The Greener California Becomes, The More Energy Problems It Creates
The phrase “going green” is supposed to evoke images of bright, clear and clean skies; lush vegetation; the efficient and effective use of resources; and cheap, non-polluting energy. Yet it produces more darkness than light. With the arrival of intense summer heat came a reminder from the California Independent System ...
Climate Change
The SEC Risks Misinformation If Standardized And Detailed Climate Risks Disclosures Are Adopted
Based on the well-established materiality standard, public companies must disclose any potential financial risks from global climate change. The SEC is questioning whether these disclosures are inadequate, and is considering additional more detailed and standardized disclosure standards. Imposing such standards would be costly for public companies and will lessen investors ...
Business & Economics
Replace gas tax with more efficient, fairer mileage fee
California policymakers have spent years debating how to pay for road and highway repairs. President Biden’s current infrastructure plan brings that debate to the national stage. Like its peers, California relies on a gas tax and registration fees to pay for infrastructure. But policymakers should cut registration fees and replace ...
Climate Change
President Biden’s 50% Emissions Reduction Target Is Political Theater, Not Serious Policy
At the 2021 global climate summit, President Biden committed the U.S. to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Cutting emissions in half is a great talking point and a satisfying sounding goal. Unfortunately, the 50% – 52% reduction goal is more of a political statement than an achievable policy. ...
Blog
New Caltrans Report Latest Reminders That Sacramento Continues to Shortchange Congestion Relief
Caltrans last week released a draft of its 2021 “State Highway System Maintenance Plan,” which is a biannual report estimating the state’s highway repair needs, available funding, and strategies for keeping the state’s roadways running efficiently over the next decade. The Sacramento Bee’s headline on the report’s release says it ...
Blog
Corrupting Infrastructure in Order to Expand the Federal Government’s Size and Scope
Allusions to George Orwell’s 1984 are often overdone, but the applicability is simply too great to ignore. After all, how else do you refer to a proposed $2.7 trillion infrastructure package that spends only 16-cents on the dollar for infrastructure? Having reviewed the President’s proposed package based on the White ...
Blackouts
California’s Energy Policy Risks Tilting at Windmills as Electric Car Sales Grow
A cosmic policy convergence is brewing a nasty storm that will hit California hard in a few years. With deadlines for an all-renewable electricity grid as well as the end of sales of new gasoline-powered cars bearing down on the state, we’re facing a future of commonplace blackouts and energy ...
Blog
Why the Senate Parliamentarian Budget Reconciliation Approval is a Big Deal
Any comedy lovers and fans of stand-up comedians know that the number one rule of improv, or “improvisation,” is to say yes. The United States Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is doing her best improv impersonation by saying yes (again) to Senate Democrats in their quest to use the budget reconciliation ...
Blog
California’s War On Gas(oline)
It was just a matter of time. With cities around the state banning natural gas connections in new homes and commercial buildings, outlawing gas stations was bound to happen. And it has. Members of the Petaluma City Council have said there will be no new gas stations in their town. ...
Blog
No More Streets Of San Francisco, And Other Fronts On The War On Cars
New research found that” increased parking causes more car ownership and more driving while reducing transit use.” So if the goal is fewer cars on the roads, the solution is to reduce parking. Please, no one tell California policymakers. If they find out, a year from now there won’t be ...
The Greener California Becomes, The More Energy Problems It Creates
The phrase “going green” is supposed to evoke images of bright, clear and clean skies; lush vegetation; the efficient and effective use of resources; and cheap, non-polluting energy. Yet it produces more darkness than light. With the arrival of intense summer heat came a reminder from the California Independent System ...
The SEC Risks Misinformation If Standardized And Detailed Climate Risks Disclosures Are Adopted
Based on the well-established materiality standard, public companies must disclose any potential financial risks from global climate change. The SEC is questioning whether these disclosures are inadequate, and is considering additional more detailed and standardized disclosure standards. Imposing such standards would be costly for public companies and will lessen investors ...
Replace gas tax with more efficient, fairer mileage fee
California policymakers have spent years debating how to pay for road and highway repairs. President Biden’s current infrastructure plan brings that debate to the national stage. Like its peers, California relies on a gas tax and registration fees to pay for infrastructure. But policymakers should cut registration fees and replace ...
President Biden’s 50% Emissions Reduction Target Is Political Theater, Not Serious Policy
At the 2021 global climate summit, President Biden committed the U.S. to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Cutting emissions in half is a great talking point and a satisfying sounding goal. Unfortunately, the 50% – 52% reduction goal is more of a political statement than an achievable policy. ...
New Caltrans Report Latest Reminders That Sacramento Continues to Shortchange Congestion Relief
Caltrans last week released a draft of its 2021 “State Highway System Maintenance Plan,” which is a biannual report estimating the state’s highway repair needs, available funding, and strategies for keeping the state’s roadways running efficiently over the next decade. The Sacramento Bee’s headline on the report’s release says it ...
Corrupting Infrastructure in Order to Expand the Federal Government’s Size and Scope
Allusions to George Orwell’s 1984 are often overdone, but the applicability is simply too great to ignore. After all, how else do you refer to a proposed $2.7 trillion infrastructure package that spends only 16-cents on the dollar for infrastructure? Having reviewed the President’s proposed package based on the White ...
California’s Energy Policy Risks Tilting at Windmills as Electric Car Sales Grow
A cosmic policy convergence is brewing a nasty storm that will hit California hard in a few years. With deadlines for an all-renewable electricity grid as well as the end of sales of new gasoline-powered cars bearing down on the state, we’re facing a future of commonplace blackouts and energy ...
Why the Senate Parliamentarian Budget Reconciliation Approval is a Big Deal
Any comedy lovers and fans of stand-up comedians know that the number one rule of improv, or “improvisation,” is to say yes. The United States Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough is doing her best improv impersonation by saying yes (again) to Senate Democrats in their quest to use the budget reconciliation ...
California’s War On Gas(oline)
It was just a matter of time. With cities around the state banning natural gas connections in new homes and commercial buildings, outlawing gas stations was bound to happen. And it has. Members of the Petaluma City Council have said there will be no new gas stations in their town. ...
No More Streets Of San Francisco, And Other Fronts On The War On Cars
New research found that” increased parking causes more car ownership and more driving while reducing transit use.” So if the goal is fewer cars on the roads, the solution is to reduce parking. Please, no one tell California policymakers. If they find out, a year from now there won’t be ...
