Infrastructure
Back to homepageOnly farmers, not fish, can pay for the Central Valley Water Project
July 20, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi For some time environmentalists and have been telling fish stories that Central Valley farmers are dodging timely repayment of the costs to build the massive Central Valley Project. But it is the fish, not
Read MoreNIMBYism slams CA economy
July 19, 2013 By Joseph Perkins Chris Thornberg is one of the most astute analysts of the California housing market. Back in 2005, when he was senior economist for Anderson UCLA Forecast, he appeared on a San Francisco radio show
Read MoreCorporate pirates gaming CA cap-and-trade system
Fictional pirate Jack Sparrow seems to be taking his tricky ways outside the lucrative “Pirates of the Caribbean” Disney movie franchise and into real life. The Walt Disney Company joined forces on July 17 with Pacific Gas and Electric Co.,
Read MoreCA’s legendary energy efficiency is statistical myth
By now many of you have seen the legendary chart nearby. It shows that California energy use per person has remained relatively flat, while the trend for the other states has risen significantly during the last 50 years. It has
Read MoreWill ‘maquila-solar’ zone form just outside CA state line?
July 10, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Political borders create economic fault lines. For example, property rights might promote growth in one area, while lower wage rates might benefit another. A good example is the “maquiladora” free-trade zone flourishing just across
Read MoreCalifornia Solar Initiative: overhyped and underperforming
Now that the $2.167 billion California Solar Initiative is winding down, electricity ratepayers might ask: What was it and what did it accomplish? Was it: 1.) A cutting edge solar energy project to bring about a “self-sustaining” solar power industry,
Read MoreGovernment incompetence behind Bay Bridge fiasco
July 9, 2013 By Chris Reed The latest revelations about the Bay Bridge’s construction shortcomings point straight to incompetence as the big issue. This is from the Mercury-News: “OAKLAND — When very large, high-strength steel rods on the new Bay
Read MoreCA ratepayers fleeced for green power line in Canada
July 2, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Public, municipal and private power companies throughout California buy hydropower from the Western Power Administration. This means ratepayers across California are paying for a wind farm transmission line that benefits only those who live
Read MoreCalifornians like sprawl far more than ‘smart growth’
June 25, 2013 By Chris Reed California’s official embrace of trendy “smart growth” — the policy/religion that assumes it’s best for individuals, communities and Gaia for most people to live in densely packed areas near transportation hubs, so they don’t
Read MoreSan Onofre gets nuked
June 14, 2013 By Joseph Perkins “VICTORY!” So reads the giddy headline on the Friends of the Earth website. The anti-nuke environmental group is celebrating the surrender of Southern California Edison, which announced last week it will permanently shutter its
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