Energy Costs

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Read about Canada's recent wildfires

Bad Policy Could Make Canada’s Recent Fires Regular Occurrence in California

When California is on fire, the rest of the country looks on with the same morbid curiosity it has when yet any of the many Old Testament plagues that shake, rattle, parch, blister and sometimes flood the Golden State. But tables do sometimes turn.  Canada’s recent wildfires meant that for ...
Blog

Read about CA's war on suburbs

To reduce costs, California also needs to build new suburbs

The three myths that have led to this predicament are the following: Nuclear power and natural gas power causes unacceptable harm to the environment; reservoirs and desalination plants cause unacceptable harm to the environment; and single-family homes nestled in sprawling suburbs cause unacceptable harm to the environment. These are myths. ...
Commentary

CA wants to assess residential utility bills by household income.

From Each According to His Means

Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric have asked the California Public Utilities Commission for approval to charge customers a flat rate based on household income. The flat fees would be in addition to charges based on consumption, which, for San Diego Gas & ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS–California’s Green Energy Transition: Is the State Getting Ahead of Itself?

No state is rushing toward a zero-carbon power grid faster than California. By 2045, every watt of electricity used in this state has to be produced by a source that emits no carbon dioxide. Sacramento is convinced it will happen because it has said so. Reality is likely to have ...
Blog

Future cities could be beacons of innovation and hope

Futurist imaginings of what sort of world awaits humanity often embrace extreme scenarios, ranging from George Jetson’s utopia to George Orwell’s nightmare. They also tend to be wildly inaccurate. With that in mind – and not to stray too far into the territory of unrealistic optimism or excessive pessimism – ...
Blog

Solving Two Problems At Once: Desalination And Nuclear Go Hand In Hand

Two of California’s most pressing problems are a growing scarcity of both water and power. Solving them does not require two separate efforts, though. They can be done together. Declaring atomic energy to be a renewable source of energy and then embarking on a building campaign would relieve the strain ...
Business & Economics

Wayne Winegarden – A To Do List for the Next Congress

Our guest this week is Wayne Winegarden, PRI senior fellow in business and economics.  The new members of Congress will take office in January in the midst of high inflation and economic uncertainty.  PRI has developed a To Do List of reforms for both Washington and Sacramento.  Wayne discusses some ...
Blog

Congress Needs to Look Beyond Green Energy

Current U.S. energy policy continues to subsidize uneconomical and inefficient sources of politically preferred energy while punishing the production and generation of reliable and cheap energy sources. As taxpayers, workers, and consumers we are paying a steep price for these irrational policies. Starting with the policies that punish domestic energy ...
Commentary

Columnist Has a Nuclear Meltdown

Even for a news outlet whose analyses of cutting-edge technologies are often flawed, a recent New York Times article by columnist Farhad Manjoo was exceptionally misguided. Titled “Nuclear Power Still Doesn’t Make Sense,” it is, in fact, the article that doesn’t make sense. Manjoo does recognize that nuclear power is important now, citing ...
Blackouts

Are Europe’s Energy Problems A Preview of Things to Come in California?

As Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of climate bills that supercharge the rush to renewable energy, much of Europe was preparing for a winter shivering in the dark. Why does California think that the problems created by a reckless commitment to green energy elsewhere will bypass this state?   ...
Blog

Read about Canada's recent wildfires

Bad Policy Could Make Canada’s Recent Fires Regular Occurrence in California

When California is on fire, the rest of the country looks on with the same morbid curiosity it has when yet any of the many Old Testament plagues that shake, rattle, parch, blister and sometimes flood the Golden State. But tables do sometimes turn.  Canada’s recent wildfires meant that for ...
Blog

Read about CA's war on suburbs

To reduce costs, California also needs to build new suburbs

The three myths that have led to this predicament are the following: Nuclear power and natural gas power causes unacceptable harm to the environment; reservoirs and desalination plants cause unacceptable harm to the environment; and single-family homes nestled in sprawling suburbs cause unacceptable harm to the environment. These are myths. ...
Commentary

CA wants to assess residential utility bills by household income.

From Each According to His Means

Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric have asked the California Public Utilities Commission for approval to charge customers a flat rate based on household income. The flat fees would be in addition to charges based on consumption, which, for San Diego Gas & ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS–California’s Green Energy Transition: Is the State Getting Ahead of Itself?

No state is rushing toward a zero-carbon power grid faster than California. By 2045, every watt of electricity used in this state has to be produced by a source that emits no carbon dioxide. Sacramento is convinced it will happen because it has said so. Reality is likely to have ...
Blog

Future cities could be beacons of innovation and hope

Futurist imaginings of what sort of world awaits humanity often embrace extreme scenarios, ranging from George Jetson’s utopia to George Orwell’s nightmare. They also tend to be wildly inaccurate. With that in mind – and not to stray too far into the territory of unrealistic optimism or excessive pessimism – ...
Blog

Solving Two Problems At Once: Desalination And Nuclear Go Hand In Hand

Two of California’s most pressing problems are a growing scarcity of both water and power. Solving them does not require two separate efforts, though. They can be done together. Declaring atomic energy to be a renewable source of energy and then embarking on a building campaign would relieve the strain ...
Business & Economics

Wayne Winegarden – A To Do List for the Next Congress

Our guest this week is Wayne Winegarden, PRI senior fellow in business and economics.  The new members of Congress will take office in January in the midst of high inflation and economic uncertainty.  PRI has developed a To Do List of reforms for both Washington and Sacramento.  Wayne discusses some ...
Blog

Congress Needs to Look Beyond Green Energy

Current U.S. energy policy continues to subsidize uneconomical and inefficient sources of politically preferred energy while punishing the production and generation of reliable and cheap energy sources. As taxpayers, workers, and consumers we are paying a steep price for these irrational policies. Starting with the policies that punish domestic energy ...
Commentary

Columnist Has a Nuclear Meltdown

Even for a news outlet whose analyses of cutting-edge technologies are often flawed, a recent New York Times article by columnist Farhad Manjoo was exceptionally misguided. Titled “Nuclear Power Still Doesn’t Make Sense,” it is, in fact, the article that doesn’t make sense. Manjoo does recognize that nuclear power is important now, citing ...
Blackouts

Are Europe’s Energy Problems A Preview of Things to Come in California?

As Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of climate bills that supercharge the rush to renewable energy, much of Europe was preparing for a winter shivering in the dark. Why does California think that the problems created by a reckless commitment to green energy elsewhere will bypass this state?   ...
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