Fossil Fuels
Blackouts
The problem with government-protected utility monopolies
Just a few months back it was noted that California was suffering through a resurgence of medieval diseases. Another plague of premodern times now threatens to visit the state this summer: darkness. Bloomberg News reported that “California may go dark this summer.” Pacific Gas & Electric plans to cut power ...
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS: Cracking Down on Fracking in California—Is it The Smart Thing to Do?
DOWNLOAD THE PDF Jerry Brown left office in January as one of the most popular governors in California history. He also left successor Gavin Newsom with a few headaches. Among the more prominent unresolved issues are the high-speed rail project, the housing and homeless crises, and runaway public-employee pension obligations. ...
Climate Change
Green New Deal would cause a new Depression
Democrat firebrands Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey just unveiled their “Green New Deal,” a multi-trillion-dollar effort to overhaul the energy industry and slash America’s net greenhouse gas emissions to zero within a decade. The legislation’s title is fitting. The original New Deal failed to create jobs and actually ...
California
California’s Doomsday Clock Getting Closer to Midnight
In 1947 a group of scientists unveiled the Doomsday Clock to show how near civilization was to a man-made catastrophic end. Maybe California should have its own doomsday clock, since it seems headed for a wreck. Today’s official Doomsday Clock reads 11:58 pm, two minutes before disaster. The Bulletin of ...
Blog
New Year’s Resolutions The California Legislature Should (But Probably Won’t) Make
Going into a new year, many of us use the occasion to start fresh, forget about the old, and resolve to improve our lives. If lawmakers are open to suggestions, here are some New Year’s resolutions the California Senate and Assembly should make: Abolish the California Environmental Quality Act. Why ...
Blog
The ESG Threat to California’s Pensions
California’s public pensions are in trouble. While the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that California’s current unfunded liabilities are nearly $170 billion, as I recently reported in my chartbook on California’s pension crisis, the crisis is much worse. Valuing the liabilities using a more realistic market rate, the total pension debt ...
Business & Economics
The Law of Unintended Consequences: The Case of Proxy Advisory Firms
The SEC requires all institutional investors to vote on all matters put forth in proxy statements, or the measures voted on during shareholder meetings. For most institutional investors, keeping up with all of these issues is not feasible, so they turn to proxy advisory firms. Proxy advisory firms help institutional ...
Blog
Only in California: Falling Oil Production, Gas Plant Closures Are Reasons to Party
We recently documented California’s sharp fall in oil production, noting that even though only two states have more proved reserves of crude, five are producing more oil. This is not due to an accident or bad luck. Or even poor management. It is by design. The state’s dominant political party ...
Blog
California Triggered by Weak, Minor Greenhouse Gas
Just days after signing legislation committing the state to 100 percent renewable sources for electricity, Gov. Jerry Brown hosted a grandiose climate summit in San Francisco. Noticeably absent from the conference was even the smallest dose of healthy skepticism. Of course, the self-important nags were there, emitting their usual industrial-grade ...
Agriculture
Shutting Down California Energy Production Would Be Foolish
Of the 50 states, only Texas and North Dakota have more proved oil reserves than California. The state should be capitalizing on the riches, shouldn’t it? But, no. That’s not the plan. California politicians want to leave crude in the ground where it doesn’t do anyone any good. And it’s ...
The problem with government-protected utility monopolies
Just a few months back it was noted that California was suffering through a resurgence of medieval diseases. Another plague of premodern times now threatens to visit the state this summer: darkness. Bloomberg News reported that “California may go dark this summer.” Pacific Gas & Electric plans to cut power ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Cracking Down on Fracking in California—Is it The Smart Thing to Do?
DOWNLOAD THE PDF Jerry Brown left office in January as one of the most popular governors in California history. He also left successor Gavin Newsom with a few headaches. Among the more prominent unresolved issues are the high-speed rail project, the housing and homeless crises, and runaway public-employee pension obligations. ...
Green New Deal would cause a new Depression
Democrat firebrands Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey just unveiled their “Green New Deal,” a multi-trillion-dollar effort to overhaul the energy industry and slash America’s net greenhouse gas emissions to zero within a decade. The legislation’s title is fitting. The original New Deal failed to create jobs and actually ...
California’s Doomsday Clock Getting Closer to Midnight
In 1947 a group of scientists unveiled the Doomsday Clock to show how near civilization was to a man-made catastrophic end. Maybe California should have its own doomsday clock, since it seems headed for a wreck. Today’s official Doomsday Clock reads 11:58 pm, two minutes before disaster. The Bulletin of ...
New Year’s Resolutions The California Legislature Should (But Probably Won’t) Make
Going into a new year, many of us use the occasion to start fresh, forget about the old, and resolve to improve our lives. If lawmakers are open to suggestions, here are some New Year’s resolutions the California Senate and Assembly should make: Abolish the California Environmental Quality Act. Why ...
The ESG Threat to California’s Pensions
California’s public pensions are in trouble. While the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that California’s current unfunded liabilities are nearly $170 billion, as I recently reported in my chartbook on California’s pension crisis, the crisis is much worse. Valuing the liabilities using a more realistic market rate, the total pension debt ...
The Law of Unintended Consequences: The Case of Proxy Advisory Firms
The SEC requires all institutional investors to vote on all matters put forth in proxy statements, or the measures voted on during shareholder meetings. For most institutional investors, keeping up with all of these issues is not feasible, so they turn to proxy advisory firms. Proxy advisory firms help institutional ...
Only in California: Falling Oil Production, Gas Plant Closures Are Reasons to Party
We recently documented California’s sharp fall in oil production, noting that even though only two states have more proved reserves of crude, five are producing more oil. This is not due to an accident or bad luck. Or even poor management. It is by design. The state’s dominant political party ...
California Triggered by Weak, Minor Greenhouse Gas
Just days after signing legislation committing the state to 100 percent renewable sources for electricity, Gov. Jerry Brown hosted a grandiose climate summit in San Francisco. Noticeably absent from the conference was even the smallest dose of healthy skepticism. Of course, the self-important nags were there, emitting their usual industrial-grade ...
Shutting Down California Energy Production Would Be Foolish
Of the 50 states, only Texas and North Dakota have more proved oil reserves than California. The state should be capitalizing on the riches, shouldn’t it? But, no. That’s not the plan. California politicians want to leave crude in the ground where it doesn’t do anyone any good. And it’s ...
