Jefferson, Adams, and the Environment
The Founding Fathers were more environmentally aware than we give them credit for. Woke, even.
The Fourth of July calls to mind that date in 1776, but another Fourth, exactly fifty years later, deserves to be remembered. On that day in 1826, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams- –two architects of American Independence who later served as President -–both died, marking the end of an era. We tend to think that earlier Americans saw nature as merely something to be conquered and exploited, but that wasn't true of either one of these two Founding Fathers Thomas...
CONTINUE READINGDoes the Law Require Cost-Benefit Analysis?
According to the D.C. Circuit, the answer is no.
Supporters of cost-benefit analysis have argued that agencies have a duty to follow cost-benefit analysis in their decisions. Agencies routinely perform cost-benefit analysis of proposed regulations, because presidential orders have long required them to do so. And the White House may also pressure them to make their decisions accordingly. But in the D.C. Circuit, anyway, the rule seems to be clear that there is no legal mandate to conform their decisions to economic...
CONTINUE READINGA Pale Echo of the Sagebrush Rebellion
The latest failed effort at privatization of federal lands shows the modern political weakness of land transfer movements
Republican Utah Senator Lee’s effort to sell significant amounts of federal land through the reconciliation bill is dead – he withdrew his proposal last week. I want to contrast the modern efforts at privatization with another era of calls for transfer of federal lands, the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s. Like Senator Lee’s effort, as well as a similar failed proposal in the House reconciliation bill, the Sagebrush Rebellion pushed for major changes in federa...
CONTINUE READINGA Very Bad House Vehicle Pollution Bill
The Fuel Emissions Freedom Act may be a stunt, but it’s worth examining
It can be hard to keep track amid all the hair-raising developments in Congress and at the Supreme Court, but last week, a group of House Republicans led by Roger Williams of Texas introduced the Fuel Emissions Freedom Act, hot on the heels of the purported (illegal) termination of California’s vehicle emissions standard waiver. This freedom-to-pollute bill would: Repeal federal authority to regulate automobile emissions (held by the Environmental Protection Agen...
CONTINUE READINGDon’t Panic About the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Universal Injunctions
The Court left open a variety of workarounds. At least for the now.
In a case involving birthright citizenship, Trump v. CASA, the Court limited the power of judges to issue universal injunctions that protect everyone subject to an illegal government policy. President Trump hailed this outcome as a great victory, and it does provide more maneuvering room for him and future presidents. But the Court’s reasoning does not directly implicate most judicial rulings about the legality of regulations. The Court also left open some importan...
CONTINUE READINGThe Quiet Erosion of Federal Legal Internships
Guest Contributor Emma Rose Shore, a UCLA Law student, reflects on the current administration’s attack on civil servants and the cancellation of summer internships.
One morning last October, I got really exciting news. After an interview with a senior attorney at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance, I was offered a position in the National Environmental Training Institute’s Summer Honors Program (NETI). My giddiness must have been obvious, because the interviewer asked if I wanted to have a mini dance party to celebrate on the Zoom (of course I did). Her enthusiasm for the program and be...
CONTINUE READINGThoughts on AB 131
Overall a good bill, but the definition of natural and protected lands is inadequate
Governor Newsom is pushing for CEQA reform as part of approval of the state budget, and the result is two budget trailer bills, AB 130 and AB 131, that together provide some of the most significant changes to CEQA in many years. Overall, these are good bills. The changes are focused on facilitating development where it is on net beneficial to the environment, and not in places where it would harm important natural resources. The facilitation of urban infill in AB ...
CONTINUE READINGHow To Botch A CEQA Analysis
LA Metro's draft EIR for the crucial Sepulveda Transit Corridor is thorough and careful, but it misses a key point: heavy rail is environmentally superior.
If you are from Los Angeles, you will get this. Q: What’s the best thing about the 405? A: Free parking. The 405 is the highway that runs down the west side of metropolitan Los Angeles, connecting the San Fernando Valley to west Los Angeles, down through the South Bay and into Orange County. Even by Los Angeles standards, it’s a nightmare. The trouble is that there is no real transit option. You can get across the Valley on rapid bus, and starting in ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Emperor’s New Endangerment Theory (Wrap-Up)
Trump's EPA says carbon emissions from U.S. power plants are too insignificant to regulate.
U.S. power plants emit 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year, a little less than the entire country of Russia. The Trump Administration is proposing to end all regulation of carbon emissions by power plants, on the theory that these emissions should be considered insignificant. There are two parts to EPA's argument: first, that the statute requires EPA to make a finding that those specific emissions cause significant harm, and second that the emissions are actually...
CONTINUE READINGThe Emperor’s New Endangerment Theory (Part III)
How did EPA get to the absurd conclusion that 1.5 billion tons of carbon emissions aren't significant? Well might you ask.
EPA has managed to come to the conclusion that carbon emissions from the power sector do not significantly contribute to climate change. No, I'm serious -- even though power plants emit a billion-and-half tons of CO2 a year (a quarter of all U.S. emissions), EPA's solemn conclusion is that they're no biggie. My prior posts (here and here) show how EPA's new endangerment requirement makes little sense given the language of the Clean Air Act and EPA's prior implementa...
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