In an ad published Wednesday in The Sacramento Bee, the coalition directly addressed Brown again, saying he should “lead by announcing no new permits for oil and gas extraction, fossil fuel infrastructure or petrochemical projects in California,” and the state should “set a global precedent by becoming the first oil producing state to announce a […]
By the numbers, the home loan program PACE — or property assessed clean energy — is one of the most successful tools for helping property owners pay for otherwise expensive clean energy and environmental upgrades. PACE loans have shot up by more than one-third over the past year alone, to more than $4.6 billion. Despite […]
Adding all of these observations together, it is difficult to see BEVs displacing more than 10% of LDV fuel consumption (2% of oil consumption) without perpetual subsidies. Displacing 10% of oil consumption may be possible at a substantial subsidy cost, but pushing beyond that point really sounds increasingly wasteful. As mentioned earlier, substantially larger cuts […]
Liberals are claiming that the Trump Administration’s plans to roll back the Obama fuel-mileage rules will increase pollution. Perhaps they should read up on the latest scientific evidence about the sources of air pollution. A recent study in the journal Science traced and measured volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Los Angeles. In the presence of […]
The need for more storage has been evident for decades, and although Southern California’s water agencies, particularly the Metropolitan Water District, have been diligent about adding it, Northern California, where most of the rain falls, has been negligent. . . . The recent drought was by no means the first. Gov. Jerry Brown’s first governorship […]
California is an expensive place to live so many activists inside and outside government want the government to do something about it. Enter the price fixers. The newest price control effort is on health care in California but that occurs at the same time of an on-going attempt to establish rules for broader rent control. […]
A metal used in the rechargeable batteries that power iPhones and electric cars is one of this year’s best-performing assets, surging more than 20% and outpacing other commodities. Cobalt prices have extended a record run with demand forecasts holding steady and the supply outlook looking uncertain because of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s dominance […]
In the 1980s, the District of Columbia government shut down Ego Brown’s shoe-shining business, citing a 1905 ordinance forbidding shoeshine stands in public spaces. Mr. Brown employed homeless people, providing them not only with a job but a shower and a tuxedo uniform. Then-Mayor Marion Barry ignored repeated requests to reform the district’s shoeshine ordinance. […]
Under California’s Business and Professions Code, a shampooer (or anyone who does any sort of work on people’s hair, such as curling) needs to get a license. That only costs $125. But to get that license, you’ll need to spend 1,500 hours in training at a state-approved barbering school. That’s a year of part-time schooling. […]
In his study, Winegarden examines what local, state, and federal governments are spending on subsidies for electric car purchases and manufacturing, and the installation of charging stations. According to his research, 79 percent of electric vehicle plug-in tax credits were claimed by households with adjusted gross incomes of greater than $100,000 per year. Households with […]
Winning the case could save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. But continuing to fight it carries an expensive risk, too. The state must pay 10 percent annual interest on the back wages and benefits, meaning the bill is climbing by $4 million a year as the case drags on at the 2nd District Court […]
The Environmental Protection Agency moved to ease Obama-era vehicle emissions standards, siding with car makers who say the rules don’t work in an era of cheap gasoline, and setting up a fight with environmentalists and the state of California. The rules, finalized in the waning weeks of the Obama administration, would require auto makers to […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it will reconsider the federal government’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for passenger cars for model years 2022-25. The Obama administration set very stringent standards, peaking at 54.5 miles per gallon in 2025. After the EPA’s midterm review, it found these standards to be inappropriate. Automakers also warn […]
Second, the unintended consequences could be enormous. We already have a crisis of confidence in our governments, institutions, and scientists. Maybe this is my second soy latte talking, but why risk incurring the wrath of the nation to prove a nanoscale point? Why cast the country into even more confusion by overreacting about a beverage […]
A review of more than 1,000 studies found no consistent link between drinking coffee and more than 20 types of cancer, according to a working group of scientists who met in 2016 at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a World Health Organization group. These studies examined the epidemiological evidence, meaning they looked for […]