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Tag: #Environmental Policy
Weathering the Storm: How California Needs to Adapt to Sea Level Rise
The classic postcard image of beautiful wide, sandy beaches in California is under threat by climate change. Climate change is irrevocably changing the California coastline and will soon have a resounding impact on local economies, housing, and quality of life. Clashes between municipal governments and state governments have led to a stalemate over what beach […]
Cash v. Climate Change: A Dangerous Mix for CA Politics
In recent years, the world has been focusing its collective policy making efforts towards combating climate change. This is largely because scientists tell us that we have until about 2030 to make enormous changes before climate change starts gravely impacting us as a species. Although the United States does not seem to be united in […]
It’s Time to Move On from Fracking
The conversation around fracking has long been present in political circles and is an issue on which even candidates from the same party seldom agree upon. It was a contentious and topical issue in the democratic primary, and we saw its return in both the vice-presidential debate on October 7th and the presidential debate on […]
California is burning wrong — listen to native tribes and burn it right
“You have to understand fire. You have to respect fire. You can’t be afraid of it.” – Ron W. Goode, Tribal Chairman, North Fork Mono Tribe Fires have long been a fixture of California, but over time they have become increasingly intense and disruptful, with “megafires” becoming more and more frequent. While fires are key […]
Indonesia’s Rainforests: Smothered by Fire and Indifference
While the Amazon forest fires take center stage in environmental reporting, the fires that annually engulf the Southeast Asian rainforest have drawn little attention. As of mid-September this year, more than 320,000 hectares burned primarily in the Kalimantan region of Indonesia. The fires will continue until the wet season, beginning between late October and mid-November. […]
El Salvador’s Mining Ban: Land Rights, Development, and Democracy in Latin America
The landmark decision in El Salvador to ban all metal mining came as a surprise to many. It passed with multiple parties’ support, with none opposing, and is considered a huge win for environmental activism in the region. El Salvador’s water sources are especially vulnerable to pollution by practices of the mining industry, and existing […]
Don’t Cap Cap and Trade
California’s signature environmental program is in jeopardy, creating a ripple effect that places the state’s entire climate plan at risk Since the passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), California has implemented a number of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the most ambitious being cap and trade. Heavily influenced by a similar […]
Politicians, Capitalism, and the Dying Earth: Why the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement Became a Roadblock
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson When the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement was finalized on December 12th, 2015, politicians, the media, and various non-profit groups from around the world heralded the agreement as a momentous occasion for international cooperation. U.S. Secretary of State […]