Ethan Elkind is the primary organizer and researcher for the workshops and policy papers. He has a joint appointment at UCLA School of Law and the UC Berkeley School of Law, and has taught in the UCLA Law School’s Frank Wells Environmental Law Clinic. His background is in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), climate change law, environmental justice, and other environmental law topics.

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Our eighth paper of this series looks to how expansion of public transit could benefit California's environment, economy, and quality of life.  It identifies three barriers to such expansion: legal barriers to raising transit revenue, negative perceptions of transit, and unsupportive land use policies.  The paper recommends expansion of existing transit revenue schemes, a reduction to 55% for voter approval of transit funding, publication of data on the economic benefits of public transit, and development of supportive land use policies.​

The Power of Energy Storage: How to Increase Deployment in California to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (July 2010)

In this report, we look at policies that California and other decision-makers can develop to expand the amount of energy storage capacity in the state in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through cleaner electricity production. Energy storage faces challenges in regulation, cost, scale and lack of awareness. Yet California must invest in energy storage technology, in order to take advantage of the ability of energy storage to even out electricity supply, ensure stability and quality of electricity, and time-shift the use of energy to reduce reliance on "peaker" plants.

Plan for the Future: How Local Governments Can Help Implement California's New Land Use and Climate Change Legislation (July 2010)

Plan for the Future looks how California can improve land-use planning to meet the increasing demand for sustainable development and the state's greenhouse gas reduction goals. Three key barriers to local government action are discussed—lack of political will, scarce fiscal resources devoted to planning sustainable development, and lack of technical assistance—and solutions are proposed. Solutions include: public outreach campaigns; better use of available funding sources; and use of expertise and best practices from other planning jurisdictions.

Saving Energy: How California Can Launch a Statewide Retrofit Program for Existing Residences and Small Businesses (May 2010)

Saving Energy addresses the critical need to provide incentives to make existing buildings more energy-efficient. Retrofitting existing buildings could provide residential households with $400 to $500 in annual savings, while creating new construction jobs and benefitting businesses even more. Small businesses and residences present the best opportunities for retrofits. Local and state financing programs, such as PACE, along with strong licensing standards and consumer awareness campaigns, will provide the necessary incentives.

Room to Grow: How California Agriculture Can Help Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Mar. 2010)

We recommend best practices for our agricultural industry to remain sustainable and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years. Four barriers to such reductions are identified: lack of research into reduction technologies and best practices; insufficient financing; regulatory conflicts; and lack of awareness of existing opportunities for reduction of emissions. Both short- and long-term solutions are proposed that will assist farmers, ranchers, and agricultural industry leaders, as well as local, state and federal governments.

In Our Backyard: How to Increase Renewable Energy Production on Big Buildings and Other Local Spaces (Dec. 2009)

In Our Backyard provides recommendations for overcoming obstacles to widespread adoption of distributed renewable energy generation. We identify four barriers to decentralized renewable energy production: lack of predictable and adequate financing; uncertain permitting and regulatory programs; lack of education and outreach; and split incentives of landlords versus tenants. We propose short and long-term solutions at multiple policy levels, from federal and state governments to local utilities and industry leaders. 

Removing the Roadblocks: How to Make Sustainable Development Happen Now (Aug. 2009)

This report provides recommendations designed to encourage infill development that will improve quality of life and make our cities more sustainable and less dependent on fossil fuels. We offer a comprehensive blueprint for sustainable development that policy makers and industry leaders can reference for immediate and longer-term actions. Most critically, we recommend that local governments develop comprehensive neighborhood plans for sustainable development, with the support of state and federal leaders.

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