Do Environmental Regulations Stop Clean Energy and Affordable Housing?

The transition from a fossil-fuel economy to a clean-energy economy is going to require the United States to build a lot of solar, wind, geothermal, energy storage and transmission and distribution systems as soon as possible. We also must consider the infrastructure necessary for building resilience and adaptation to climate change, such as sea walls, flood protection systems, and water storage systems.
Some argue one of the biggest barriers to building all this is the time and costs associated with obtaining the necessary permits and approvals from regulatory agencies. The complexity of the process gives motivated individuals the ability to drag out the approval process, which can be a significant hurdle for energy companies looking to invest in renewable energy projects.
Further, some assert we should repeal/reform the National Environmental Policy Act (called NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These laws require federal and state/local agencies to assess the potential environmental effects of development projects, public works, and other major government actions, and involve the public at important steps in the process. On this show, we talk with Dustin Mulvaney, Professor, Environmental Studies Department, San José State University [http://dustinmulvaney.com/], and Lydia Poncé, Indigenous Activist, Water Protector, and Coordinator of Earth Justice.
We also discuss the issue of housing advocacy and protection of neighborhoods and promotion of a sustainable form of urbanism. Do environmental regulations that encourage - or even mandate - public participation for environmental justice the problem in preventing us from building a better society with Housing and Clean Energy for all?
Dustin Mulvaney is a Professor in the Environmental Studies Department at San José State University and a Fellow with the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. His research includes work on just transitions, solar energy commodity chains, and natural resource development. He is the author of Solar Power: Innovation, Sustainability, Environmental Justice published by the University California Press in 2019, and Sustainable Energy Transition: Socio-Ecological Dimensions of Decarbonization out with Palgrave-MacMillan in 2020.
Lydia Poncé is an Indigenous Activist, Water Protector, co-founder of Idle No More SoCal and Coordinator of Earth Justice. She hosts a show called Be a Better Relative, Tuesdays on KPFK Los Angeles.
Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.
More info: https://thebulletin.org/2023/02/want-clean-energy-fast-streamlining-environmental-reviews-could-have-the-opposite-effect/#post-heading
Mulvaney, D. 2022. Battle over the sun in the Golden State. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. June 3, 2022. https://thebulletin.org/2022/06/battle-over-solar-power-in-the-golden-state/ Stephanie Dashiell, Mark Buckley, Dustin Mulvaney. (2019). Green Light Study: Economic and Conservation Benefits of Low-Impact Solar Siting in California. The Nature Conservancy. November 2019. https://www.scienceforconservation.org/products/green-light-study
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Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt
Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats
Episode 172