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A Tale of Two Grids: Texas and California

Expert BlogCalifornia, TexasRalph Cavanagh

Although both California and Texas recently faced traumatic weather events, the consequences for electric system reliability were dramatically different. 

What Texas Teaches Us About Good Governance

Expert BlogTexasMitchell Bernard

The extreme cold snap and the disaster it brought to the state is a reminder of the importance of good governance in a modern society—and the danger we court when we pursue policies untethered to the public interest.

Texas Needs a Smarter, More Resilient Electric Grid

Expert BlogTexasJohn Moore

Freezing cold temperatures put the Texas electric grid into distress this week, with likely dozens of deaths and other human suffering, more than 4 million losing power, and more than 40% of the state’s gas, coal, and nuclear fleet offline…

Liane Randolph Appointed to CARB Chair

Expert BlogCalifornia, United States, InternationalDavid Pettit
CARB is a world-leading agency that has led the fight nationally and internationally to prevent climate change and to reduce air pollution that harms the health of our children and communities.

Raising Shasta Dam Is an Even Worse Idea Than We Knew

Expert BlogCaliforniaDoug Obegi
The Trump Administration’s efforts to enlarge Shasta Dam was always a bad idea. In addition to being illegal under California law, it’s been clear for years that raising the height of the dam would destroy Native American sacred sites, harm…

California-Chile Water Nexus 1: Urban Drought Solutions

Expert BlogCaliforniaAmanda Maxwell, Tracy Quinn
Though the two places are separated by thousands of miles, a quick glance at California and central Chile reveals striking similarities. Both share a long Pacific coastline, large agriculture economies, and similar Mediterranean climates perfect for wine growing, leading to…

California Makes History with Clean Trucks Rule

Expert BlogCaliforniaPatricio Portillo
In a groundbreaking win, CARB adopted the world’s first zero-emission commercial truck requirement, the Advanced Clean Trucks rule. The rule, which requires truck makers to sell an increasing number of clean, zero-emission trucks in California in place of dirty diesel…

AB 345: Please Keep Off the Astroturf

Expert BlogCaliforniaAnn Alexander
AB 345, which passed the California Assembly and is now pending in the Senate, would require regulators to establish setback buffers to keep drilling operations away from homes, schools, playgrounds, and hospitals. 

Toledo’s Blooming Algae Crisis

DispatchToledoJodi Helmer

A toxic algae outbreak that left Toledo without drinking water for several days in 2014 served as a wakeup call for responsible farming in the region. Efforts have been made to prevent algae blooms in Lake Erie, but a changing…