Academia
Does the Unitary Executive Theory Exist? Not really.
It’s just another ideological confection to impose right-wing policies: the Supreme Court’s argument last week shows it
At Legal Planet, we often bemoan and gnash our teeth at the Unitary Executive Theory, which supposedly holds that because “the Executive Power shall be vested in the President of the United States,” Congress can not circumscribe the President’s removal authority or even his ability to manage federal agencies in any way. But last week, …
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CONTINUE READINGAlejandro Camacho Joins UCLA Law Faculty
Camacho will be a core faculty member of the UCLA Emmett Institute and a contributor to Legal Planet.
At this critical moment in environmental law, the Emmett Institute at UCLA School of Law keeps growing stronger. We are pleased to welcome Alejandro Camacho, a renowned regulatory scholar, as a professor of law. Camacho will be a core faculty member of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and a faculty associate of UCLA’s Chicano …
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CONTINUE READINGCrafting a Roadmap for Zonal Decarbonization in California
A new series of briefs from the UCLA Emmett Institute offers legal insights for the gas transition. First up: SB 1221.
California has a $43 billion problem: that is the estimated cost of maintaining the state’s gas network over the next twenty years. That is an astronomical amount to spend on what state policy dictates will eventually become stranded assets: California won’t be able to meet its ambitious climate goals unless it moves away from natural gas altogether, so retirement of these assets is …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Must Go Big to Save Big
A new Emmett Institute report shows how California can shift existing infrastructure spending from gas to electric to make homes and energy more affordable.
By Guest Contributor Craig Segall. California can still build big things – and in a new report today, my Emmett Institute co-authors, Denise Grab and Brennon Mendez, and I call for policymakers to think big on our energy system too. The headline: Tens of billions of dollars, annually, are available to make our homes cleaner …
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CONTINUE READINGCan Bioplastics Be Composted? UCLA Clinic Investigates
See how bioplastic packaging interacts with California’s waste system as UCLA’s Environmental Legislation Clinic tours facilities across the state.
A student team from UCLA’s California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic has been conducting research for a project on bioplastics through field visits at waste management sites up and down the state, from Sun Valley to Northern California. These clinic field trips have been really fascinating and a little smelly. Clinic student Maddie Lincoln describes …
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CONTINUE READINGMaking the Most of Data Centers
Photo: chaddavis.photography
Data centers are driving energy demand at unbelievable scale. Regulators should use that to build infrastructure we desperately need.
If you’d asked me three years ago, I would never have guessed energy bills would be a salient political issue in 2025, let alone one that politicians anchor their entire campaign around. But of course, the cost of energy is quite different today than it was a few years ago. Electricity prices have increased faster than (already-high) inflation since 2022, leaving ratepayers on the hook for ever steeper …
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CONTINUE READINGYes, It’s That Time of Year Again
If you read Legal Planet, you know why the work we do matters.
Like everyone else, I’m sure you find fundraising appeals annoying. That’s why we only do them twice a year. But there couldn’t be a more important time for the work we do, given the urgency of the climate crisis and the ongoing policy disaster in D.C.
Trump’s second term has proved to be even more ruinous than expected for the environment, with a dedicated effort to slash pollution regulation, suppress clean energy, and glorify fossil fuels. That makes the environmental work we do at Berkeley and UCLA more urgent than ever.
CONTINUE READINGClimate Inaction is an Affordability Problem
The costs of climate change, especially those from climate-related natural disasters, are already substantial for US households.
This post is authored by UCLA Law’s Kimberly A. Clausing along with guest contributors Christopher R. Knittel and Catherine Wolfram. Many of us have seen large increases in our homeowner’s insurance premia in recent years – yet another cost increase that is putting strain on homeowners and driving up rents. In forthcoming work for the …
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CONTINUE READINGIs Diversity A Strength? Not Always
Environmental history shows that specifics matter
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Zohran Mamdani defeated Andrew Cuomo Tuesday in the race for the Mayor of New York City, becoming the Big Apple’s first Muslim mayor. Also to absolutely no one’s surprise, much of the campaign against Mamdani descended into Islamophobia – less from Cuomo himself and more from his supporters and outside …
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CONTINUE READINGHow “Passive Virtues” Destroy the Constitution
Judicial restraint has become a license for dictatorship.
Never has the adage that A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words been more appropriate. Donald Trump has destroyed much of the federal government and much of the Constitution, so now he is destroying the White House – in this case, to build a horrific 90,000 square foot ballroom paid for by “private contributors,” who …
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