Why Isn’t Hydrofluoric Acid Banned at Oil Refineries?
The Torrance Refinery Action Alliance and Rep. Maxine Waters have renewed calls to ban hydrofluoric acid at SoCal refineries. Here’s why and how that could work.
On the morning of Feb. 18, 2015, pent-up gases at ExxonMobil’s refinery in Torrance triggered an explosion so powerful it registered as a magnitude 1.7 earthquake and sent industrial ash over entire neighborhoods. It’s been called the near-miss disaster that most people have never heard of. But that near miss is raising new calls to ban a toxic chemical that is still used in Torrance to this day. This past Saturday, Congresswoman Maxine Waters announced that she w...
CONTINUE READINGWhat can we learn from EU’s battery regulation?
New CLEE report with model policies to ensure a responsible EV battery supply chain
From cars and trucks to buses and trains, electric vehicles are playing an increasingly vital role in decarbonizing mobility and reducing oil dependence However, this transition brings with it a significant challenge: the immense pressure on battery supply chains. As demand for EVs increases, consumer countries will need to develop and implement policies that address the environmental and social impacts of the supply chain, while ensuring a stable supply of these transi...
CONTINUE READINGThe California Car Waiver and the Congressional Review Act
Trump has found a possible way to end run California’s legal arguments for the waiver. But there's no reason to give up.
The Biden Administration issued several EPA waivers allowing California to regulate vehicle emissions more strictly and increase use of electric vehicles. The Trump Administration has now reported them to Congress, which triggers possible congressional action under a statute called the Congressional Review Act (CRA). is especially egregious because the waivers clearly aren't covered by the CRA, which only applies to agency rules. A waiver for three specific state ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Trump Administration Is Trying an End Run Around Revoking California’s Car and Truck Rules
Zeldin’s actions face a major problem: the Congressional Review Act doesn't apply to California waivers.
Last Friday, EPA’s Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a new and unprecedented way to try to prevent California from implementing its ambitious program to move toward 100 percent zero emission vehicles. This time around, the Trump Administration is trying a new tactic. Rather than revoking EPA’s decision (called a waiver) to allow California’s program to move forward by using standard administrative procedures, as EPA did during Trump’s first term, Zeldin is try...
CONTINUE READINGAll the President’s Men
The people occupying environment and energy positions will be anti-regulatory and pro-fossil fuel.
As with any President, Trump's ability to achieve his agenda will depend on the people he's chosen to run the government. His energy and environment picks will follow the party line of expanding fossil fuels. Yet they may not be as extremist as their predecessors in the first Trump Administration or as some of Trump's current advisors. The Cast of Characters First, a quick introduction to the team of players. Lee Zeldin is the choice to head EPA. He’s a form...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Happens If EPA Revokes the Endangerment Finding?
The action would mean full-blown warfare against all things climate.
We are likely to learn next week if the Trump Administration will eviscerate the most important climate regulations the Biden Administration issued over the last four years. Under Trump's "Unleashing American Energy" Executive Order, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is supposed to recommend by February 19 whether to reverse the central basis for much of the U.S.'s climate policy: a finding under the Clean Air Act that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. Th...
CONTINUE READINGWhy I Still ♥ IRA
Biden’s climate law has already had a dramatic impact.
This isn't just a passing fancy -- I've felt this way since August 2022, when Congress passed IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act. Some Republicans have sworn to repeal it entirely, but they seem unlikely to succeed. Even if they do, they can’t wipe out the impacts IRA has already made, including over half a trillion dollars in new investment in clean tech. Let me start by hitting you with some numbers, more specifically, some really big numbers. An August 2024...
CONTINUE READINGThe Economics of Civil Service Abolitionism
Would elimination of civil service protection increase government efficiency? Probably not.
Trump’s rebranded Schedule F is an effort to strip government workers who have any involvement in policymaking of their civil service statute in the name of efficiency. Many people doubt that efficiency is the real motive, but even if it is, Schedule F could easily make the government less efficiency rather than more. It may seem obvious that people will work harder and more intently – and therefore more efficiently – if they face the risk of losing their jobs....
CONTINUE READINGA Trumped-Up Energy Emergency
We have weathered past threats to energy security through democratic processes, not by executive fiat.
This guest post was written by Joseph Tomain and Bryan Dunning. Tomain is Dean Emeritus and the Wilbert & Helen Ziegler Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Dunning is a senior analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform. On January 20, 2025 — otherwise known as Day One of Trump 2.0 — the president signed a barrage of Executive Orders, including one declaring a national energy emergency. While it is unsurprising that his policy...
CONTINUE READINGThink Globally, Act Locally – Personal Environmental Action in the Era of Trump 2.0
AKA it should be much easier to put in a heat pump water heater.
The chaos of Trump 2.0 is making it difficult to think about affirmative environmental action these days. At the policy level and in the courts, environmentalists are going to be playing defense for the next few years. Much of what is going on these days feels beyond the average person’s control and that can be cause for feelings of hopelessness or despair. If you are committed to improving our environment though, there are still many actions one can take at a personal...
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