Ethan Elkind

The Bay Area Considers the Unthinkable: Life Without BART

The Bay Area Considers the Unthinkable: Life Without BART—BART’s struggles amount to a “post-Covid keyboard economy story,” said Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at
@ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social and an expert… www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/u... @heatherknightsf.bsky.social @nytimes.com

The Bay Area Considers the Unthinkable: Life Without BART

What would the Bay Area be like without BART?

@heatherknightsf.bsky.social & Soumya Karlamangla @nytimes.com cover potential impacts & why the system struggles in the post-Covid economy, ahead of a potential ballot measure to save it in November:

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/u...

If gas prices remain high, consumers will shift more to EVs. But at the moment, many legacy automakers are throttling their supply to produce more gas guzzlers, potentially missing the market opportunity.

Construction Starts on 23-Story UC Berkeley Dorms, Will Become City’s Tallest - San Francisco YIMBY Construction is now underway for the 23-story Bancroft-Fulton Student Housing complex at 2200 Bancroft Way in Southside, Berkeley...

While Berkeley's market-rate steel high-rises near campus are stalled, the UC's dorms keep chugging along, probably pulling more students out of the market. The tallest building in the city begins construction!
sfyimby.com/2026/03/cons...

“A Force in California Scholarship and Policy”: Attorney Martin Mattes on His Partnership With CLEE By Keemia Zhang and Judith Katz CLEE Emeritus Advisory Board member Martin “Marty” Mattes was first admitted to Berkeley Law in 1968, but it was his determined journey to secure […]

CLEE Donor Martin Mattes went from editing Berkeley Law's Ecology Law Quarterly in the 1970s to shaping California’s energy, water & telecom policy. More recently, he annotated 900+ pages of #Project2025 for our monograph series. Read more about Marty here: 🔗https://tinyurl.com/4kvtrrjh

Yesssssss

The Rise and Fall of the Bay Area Streetcar Transit System | KQED All nine counties of the Bay Area had robust streetcar systems at the start of the 20th century. In the East Bay, rumors swirl about how and why the Key System failed.

Curious about the history of the San Francisco Bay Area's now defunct electric streetcar system?

Check out this deep dive by @danbrekke.bsky.social, where I try to dispel the conspiracy theory about their demise:

www.kqed.org/news/12073762

Screenshot of flight tracking app showing a dense line of aircraft flying between Iran and Ukraine

Check out the density of this line of aircraft threading the needle between Iran and Ukraine

DUI Reform Push / California's Billionaire Tax Proposal / Bohemian Women of San Francisco State of the Bay examines California’s bipartisan push to overhaul DUI laws, breaks down the debate over a proposed billionaire wealth tax, and explores the legacy of the unconventional women who shap...

Tonight @stateofthebay.bsky.social:

-new CA proposals to increase DUI penalties w/Lauren Hepler @calmatters.org

-billionaire's tax proposal w/@bdgesq.bsky.social & @xianleonard.bsky.social @sfchronicle.com.

-Cathie Staley on SF women

Stream live 6pm PT @kalwradio.bsky.social!
shorturl.at/xpAdf

Bohemians And Other Unconventional Women Join this short, fascinating walk about Bohemian women through a small slice of Russian Hill. Enjoy spectacular views while listening to amazing stories of non-conventional women who rejected societal...

3/2 6pm @kalwradio.bsky.social
How can CA manage DUI offenders? w Lauren Hepler of CalMatters @calmatters
We unpack the "wealth tax" w Brian Galle
@bdgesq.bsky.social @berkeleylaw.bsky.social prof & Christian Leonard @sfchronicle.com
The women who shaped SF cultural identity w Cathie Staley

Take the subway from #BeverlyHills to #DTLA in 20 minutes, starting Friday May 8!! 4 new miles, 3 new stations!

California needs to step up on clean trucks to counter federal rollbacks | Opinion Even though state-level transportation policy faces federal headwinds, California still retains significant autonomy to make progress.

After federal rollbacks hit California’s clean truck rules and EV incentives, state leaders are weighing next steps. CLEE’s Ethan Elkind and Marie Grimm say the state must advance without waiting for federal change.

Read more in The Sacramento Bee: www.sacbee.com/opinion/arti...

BART tax? / Tariff ruling impact / The book "Why Fly" The impact of the Supreme Court tariff ruling on California; a proposed new sales tax to save for public transit; Caroline Paul's book Why Fly ; the News Quiz!

Should the Bay Area approve a new BART tax? Tonight @stateofthebay.bsky.social 6pm PT w/Laura Tolkoff @spur-urbanist.bsky.social & Jay Donde

+ Susanne Stirling w/@calchamber.bsky.social on tariffs

+ @carolinembpaul.bsky.social book "Why Fly"

Stream live @kalwradio.bsky.social! shorturl.at/V8D5P

2/23 6p @kalwradio.bsky.social

Susanne Stirling with the CA @calchamber.bsky.social on the SCOTUS tariff decision

Should voters support a new tax to shore up BART? Jay Donde of Briones Society & Laura Tolkoff of SPUR discuss the pros and cons

@carolinembpaul.bsky.social on her new book Why Fly

Enter the ballot billionaires

Looks like the statewide initiative that would chop Los Angeles' ULA "mansion tax" is going to qualify for the November ballot per @politico Playbook PM. Backers are turning in 1.2m signatures and need 874k valid ones www.politico.com/newsletters/...

What Happens to State Regulation if the Endangerment Findings are Gone? - Legal Planet Trump's repeal of the Endangerment Finding will leave state climate policy intact and might even strengthen the state's hand.

If upheld by the courts, EPA's repeal of the endangerment finding would virtually end federal climate regulation. But what about state climate action? The answer is complicated but mostly positive.
legal-planet.org/2026/02/23/w...

Alysa Liu wins the Olympic gold medal for the United States YouTube video by Olympics

I urge you to stop what you're doing and watch Alysa Liu's free skate from yesterday. I have never seen anything like this. I understand why sports writers are born now. I have never seen anyone as free from the burdens of this world as this pierced Oakland girl spinning to Donna Summers.

The Rise and Fall of Bay Area Streetcar Transit System | KQED All nine counties of the Bay Area had robust streetcar systems at the start of the 20th century. In the East Bay, rumors swirl about how and why the Key System failed.

“What happened to the streetcars that used to be around Oakland and the East Bay?”

“It’s really a story of technology change,” says @ethanelkind.bsky.social, climate program director at @cleeberkeley.bsky.social www.kqed.org/news/1207376... via @kqednews.kqed.org @danbrekke.bsky.social #BayCurious

The Oakland Ballers are a great example of grassroots community revitalization, and the quality of baseball play is surprisingly good. Great write up here on the team’s future vision.

California needs to step up on clean trucks to counter federal rollbacks | Opinion Even though state-level transportation policy faces federal headwinds, California still retains significant autonomy to make progress.

California needs to step up on clean trucks to counter federal rollbacks | #Opinion by @ethanelkind.bsky.social & Marie Grimm @cleeberkeley.bsky.social via @sacbee.com

🧵 THREAD: Energy Empire — The Podcast Clean Energy Needs

1/ For most of my career, people asked why I stuck with solar when it was fringe. My uncle said it was a career mistake. Turns out it wasn’t.

Among the key ideas, California needs:

- a "clean miles standard" for shippers, which would push them to buy/lease clean trucks
- a statewide "indirect source rule" limiting emissions from big facilities that attract truck traffic
- more fiscal tools to support clean truck purchases/leases

California needs to step up on clean trucks to counter federal rollbacks | Opinion Even though state-level transportation policy faces federal headwinds, California still retains significant autonomy to make progress.

How can California counter federal rollbacks and maintain momentum on clean trucks?

My op-ed w/ Marie Grimm in today's @sacbee.com has some recommendiations, based on our recent @cleeberkeley.bsky.social & @uclalawemmett.bsky.social report:

www.sacbee.com/opinion/arti...

Electric Vehicle Sales Boom as Ethiopia Bans Fossil-Fuel Car Imports The East African country is making use of cheap hydropower and Chinese electric vehicles to ditch the internal combustion engine.

Ethiopia banned ICE vehicle imports 2 years ago & now 6% of all vehicles there are EVs, up from 1%. They have cheap hydroelectricity for fuel and are reducing oil imports. Plus they're assembling many EVs in country now due to incentives, boosting local jobs:

financialpost.com/pmn/business...

"...China’s developmental drive toward green growth is ultimately a positive force for the planet. Decarbonization is more likely to succeed when tied to economic self-interest than when driven solely by moral obligation or foreign pressure."

Heat pump sales dipped in 2025. They still beat gas furnaces. Yet again, heat pumps were the most-shipped heating appliance in the U.S. And experts say the factors behind last year’s sales slide are temporary.

"Heat pumps outsold fossil gas–fired furnaces in the U.S. yet again last year. That’s the fourth year in a row," reports @alisontakemura.bsky.social: www.canarymedia.com/articles/hea... 🔌💡

Hotel guests are fleeing early because of the snowstorm. Traffic to the Bay Area and Reno is jammed due to gridlock, plows and crashes. Drivers are clearing snow off windshields and having to buy tire chains.

But not us. Our Amtrak is on time. We'll relax in the dining car. The smart way to go.

LA City Council: serving hyper local special interests over the greater good since 1850

Opinion | Something Surprising Happens When Bus Rides Are Free

Sorry, but this @nytimes.com op-ed on free fares in New York City, by @galvinalmanza.bsky.social, is deeply ignorant of the issues.

It proposes that pretty social justice vibes and some careless citations will change facts of math. Thread: 1/

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/o...

Can California Set Its Own Car Emissions Standards? Trump's Climate Reversal May Force the Issue Withdrawal of federal climate authority could ironically give California broader power to regulate emissions and sue oil companies.

“California is struggling with wildfire costs ... which are linked strongly to a warming climate. I think that opens up a lot of legal avenues for states like California,” @ethanelkind.bsky.social, director of the @cleeberkeley.bsky.social Climate Program to @calmatters.org: https://bit.ly/4rIYUZI