The low-slung apartment buildings that line the streets of Houston, Fort Worth, and other Lone Star cities are some of the cheapest affordable housing projects to build anywhere. Two-story jobbers in Texas cost a whole lot less to build with housing tax credits than affordable mid-rises in California or New England. Where land prices are […]
California’s biggest electric utility wants the U.S. government to keep its current auto emission standards, which it says is critical to advance the adoption of electric cars. PG&E Corp. plans to invest $360 million to support electric car charging infrastructure and “we want a stable environment for our investors and customers,” Anna Brooks, senior manager […]
U.S. Energy Information Administration releases its online analysis of 2017 energy-related carbon dioxide emissions today. It indicates U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels were 5,142 million metric tons carbon dioxide in 2017, a decrease of 0.9 percent from the 2016 level. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions have declined in seven of the […]
The taste for tiny EVs has become a quirky subplot in China’s push to become a world leader in electric cars. Roughly 1.75 million micro-EVs were sold in China last year, more than twice the sales of regular EVs, of around 777,000, industry executives estimate. Most of the tiny ones were sold in a handful […]
The Chinese automobile market is the largest in the world with annual sales exceeding 20 million vehicles. The tremendous growth in sales – over 200 percent from 2008 to 2015 – and concerns over local air quality have prompted China’s policy makers to incentivize the adoption of more fuel efficient vehicles. We examine the response […]
Even before SB 100 passed, though, California’s leaders were already facing a legal backlash from minority leaders over the high cost of the state’s climate policies. On April 27, The Two Hundred, a coalition of civil-rights leaders, filed a lawsuit in state court against the California Air Resources Board, seeking an injunction against some of […]
The technology to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electric power doesn’t yet exist because the main sources, solar panels and windmills, require the sun to shine and the wind to blow. Making them dependable would require enormous banks of batteries or some other form of reliable storage. The legislation slyly backtracks on previous policy by, in […]
By the middle of this century, Gov. Jerry Brown wants California to pull more greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere every year than it puts in. That vision will almost certainly cost Californians. No one can say how much, however, because no one quite knows how we’ll achieve it. California has years of experience ramping […]
Using calculations from think tank Third Way, Amy puts forth the CO2 emissions saved by each Tesla electric car to the CO2 savings of other sources of energy, as seen below. The conclusion is that “electric cars, and one company in that category (Tesla), are but one highly dependent piece of the puzzle in addressing […]
The California Chamber of Commerce did even better than usual in sidetracking the liberal measures that it placed on its notorious “job killer” list. Over the last two decades, ever since the annual list was first published, the chamber and allied business groups have rung up about a 90 percent kill ratio. But in 2018, […]
“California is committed to doing whatever is necessary to meet the existential threat of climate change,” the Governor declared. “California has been doing stuff that the rest of the world is hoping to get to one day.” That “stuff” is costing Californians dearly. See the nearby chart tracking residential electricity rates since 2011. Plunging natural […]
Ahead of a summit this week meant to galvanize regional action on climate change, Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed legislation that would put California on the path to eliminating fossil fuels from its energy sector. Senate Bill 100 speeds up the state’s timeline for moving to renewable energy sources like solar and wind, and […]
California officials have been pushing for more natural water storage since the last large-scale facility was built in 1979. Now they’re finally going to get it, thanks to political pressure, President Donald Trump and some congressional creativity. The House approved several provisions Thursday that help fund water storage projects. The Senate is expected to concur […]
Apple Inc., Volkswagen AG and about 20 other global manufacturers found themselves on the defense when Amnesty International reported two years ago that the cobalt in some of their batteries was dug up by Congolese miners and children under inhumane conditions. Many of the companies said they would audit their suppliers and send teams to […]
A group of bills now on the governor’s desk could help change Californians’ relationship with plastic. If they become law, the five bills are designed to interrupt the lifecycle of plastic in the environment. Under one bill, people will have to ask for straws at full-service restaurants. There will also be a funding increase for […]