The need for active management of western forests has a new champion: The Los Angeles Times. Hayley Smith reports that a third of the forests in California’s southern Sierra Nevada Mountains have been devastated over the past decade. And she recognizes that to prevent further incursions by fire and blight, active management is needed, including prescribed…
Tag: California
The Water Problem in the West Is Not Just Drought, It’s Policy
Western water policies going back to 1922 are making it difficult or impossible to deal with drought in California, Arizona, and Nevada, says Shawn Regan, writing in National Review (behind a paywall). Regan is vice president of research at PERC (the Property and Environment Research Center). To begin with, says Regan, the Colorado River Compact…
What? California to Ban Gas Cars, Fine Automakers $20,000 a Car for Missing EV Targets
Update: California is warning residents not to use electrical charging because of heat wave. What kind of world are we living in? From the New York Times: “The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board, will require that all new cars sold in the state by 2035 be free of greenhouse gas emissions like…
Raising Water Prices in California Will Not Just Cut Demand. It Will Supply More Water!
California’s extreme drought will force rationing of water or higher prices, say John McKenzie and Richard McKenzie. Raising water prices has a great advantage: “Higher water prices can increase the state’s available water supply—without additional rainfall or the construction of desalination plants. California is annually losing a massive amount of accessed water in its distribution systems…
California Clamps Down on Waste, Again
California governor Gavin Newsom has signed a raft of new state laws tightening up the rules on waste recycling, strengthening policies it adopted in 2019. (That year it stopped hotels from giving out small plastic bottles for amenities, created a state recycling commission, and extended a recycling loan program till 2031). Some highlights from Megan…
Trouble in EV Paradise
Nearly twenty percent of Californians who bought electric vehicles have replaced them with gasoline-powered vehicles, reports the Business Insider. (H-T Benny Peiser.) The reason: It took too long to charge their cars at home. Writes Dominick Reuter: “Standard home outlets generally put out about 120 volts of power at what electric vehicle aficionados call ‘Level…