The Fall Ballot Shows the Failure of California’s Direct Democracy
November’s slate of ballot measures is a miserable piece of work, which shows the failure of California’s direct democracy. Our system is not particularly direct or democratic. In fact, it is bringing narrow and trivial questions to the fore. It is dominated by wealthy interests. And it fails to give citizens an avenue to bring […]
100% Renewables will Fuel the Growth of Poverty and Homelessness
In pursuit of the emissions crusade, the Governor, Senate, and Assembly have demonstrated their lack of understanding of basic math, with Governor Brown signing Senate Bill 100 into law that now sets California on a path toward 100% renewables and “zero-carbon” sources in electricity by 2045. For wind farms that generate about 3 watts per […]
UC Riverside Says California Needs Renewable Gas, Not Just Renewable Electricity
Governor Brown signed SB 100 which tasks California to achieve 100% clean energy (or “zero carbon”), specifically requiring a 60% renewable electricity standard. Importantly, and to help understand what that other 40% “zero carbon” energy may actually be, the University of California at Riverside just released a study showing that a focus only on renewable […]
Public Relations Strategies For Public Health
Last week, the New York Times posted an opinion piece on the merits of public health initiatives. The authors, economist Austin Frakt and pediatrician Aaron E. Carroll, make the case that public health campaigns deliver outsized return on investment in term of broadly improving health in the U.S. in areas such as smoking and diabetes. Interestingly, a central point to […]