Year: 2014

2014: Happy Endings & Promising Starts

In most ways, 2014 was a good year for environmental protection, with progress on several fronts.  True, there are warning signs for 2015 — primarily the Republican sweep of the mid-terms and the Supreme Court’s puzzling decision to review toxics regulations for coal-fired power plants.  And of course, there were losses as well as victories, …

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The GOP’s Puzzling Obsession with Keystone XL: A Case of Perseveration?

Republicans remain focused on a project that no longer makes much sense.

Perseveration is a psychological syndrome where you can’t stop doing something even if the original reason for doing it has vanished.  I’m beginning to wonder if the continuing fervor of Republican support for the project reflects an institutional equivalent of this syndrome.  The economic and political case for the project is fading, but Republicans just can’t …

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EPA Waters Down Final Rule for Coal Ash

EPA will improve new disposal sites for coal ash, but will have limited effect on old ones.

Exactly six years ago today, a dike ruptured near Kingston, Tennessee, dumping into the Clinch River some 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash slurry — or to use the more technical term, coal combustion residue. Last Friday, EPA issued a new regulation to deal with the issue.  The rule is intended to protect groundwater from leaching from the ponds, …

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An Administrative Overreach?

The White House has proposed new guidelines on how to treat greenhouse gas emissions in environmental impact statements.  Basically, the document recommends a quantitative analysis of carbon emissions whenever emissions exceed 25,000 tons per year.  The proposal goes beyond a previous one in targeting resource projects such as coal mines as well as direct emissions. …

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Can We Control Climate Change and Still Have Economic Growth? (Part II)

It’s all in the timing.

Yesterday’s post discussed economic growth and how it relates in principle to carbon emissions.  Basically, economic growth just means that people will be getting goods and services they prefer over today’s goods and service.  There’s no intrinsic reason why the “better” bundle necessarily has to involve more carbon.  In fact, it could involve a lot less carbon. …

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Looking Back at COP20: How Should We Feel?

The Lima Accord lets countries name their own price to address climate change. But that doesn’t mean it failed.

As you’ve probably heard by now, this year’s UN climate change conference has produced an agreement, the “Lima Accord.” The Accord invites each of the nearly 200 negotiating countries to develop an “intended nationally determined contribution” (INDC) to reduce its GHG emissions. INDCs represent some step forward from each country–in the words of the Accord, “a progression …

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Can We Control Climate Change and Still Have Economic Growth? (Part I)

What do we mean by “economic growth”? Does it always mean more carbon?

The Washington Post recently had a column arguing that even climate advocates and scientists are in denial, for thinking that we can have economic growth and still fight climate change.  is that true? It’s useful to take some time to think through what we mean by economic growth and how that relates to carbon emissions. …

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Giving Indigenous Peoples a Voice at COP20

Observations from the Lima UN Climate Conference – by Sarah Kozal

This post is by Sarah Kozal, UCLA School of Law Class of 2016, who participated in the Lima COP last week as part of UCLA’s delegation. One surprise of COP20 has been the large presence of indigenous peoples’ issues and voices. In particular, many of the side events at the conference have focused not only …

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The environment and marijuana legalization

In the wake of the successful marijuana legalization efforts in Colorado and Washington state, and the success of a number of legalization initiatives on the ballot in the prior mid-term elections, there is a renewed effort to get a legalization measure on the ballot here in California for the 2016 elections. A prior measure in …

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The Disturbing Legal Influence of the Fossil Fuel Industry

Coal and oil have found legal spokesmen in state houses and law schools.

The NY Times has a disturbing story this morning about the secret alliance between some state attorney generals and the fossil fuel industry.  Perhaps the most shocking is an example in which the Attorney General of Oklahoma had a draft by a coal company retyped on letterhead and submitted as his own opinion.  The industry …

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