Month: April 2009
“Nature,” not nature, makes us happier
Yale professor of psychology Paul Bloom published an essay this week in the New York Times Magazine arguing that the pleasure that “real natural habitats” provide to humans is a significant argument for “preservation” of these habitats. The essay was deeply unsatisfying to me, as it avoided all the hard questions that anyone grappling with the …
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CONTINUE READINGThe death of Macho B
Jaguars, the largest new-world cat species, are extremely rare in the United States. The US-Mexico border region marks the very northern edge of their range. They were thought to have been extirpated from the US until one was seen in Arizona in 1996. That, together with a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, prodded …
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CONTINUE READINGMake a Gift for Mother Earth
This blog is a joint product of six centers. Each of the centers does pioneering work on the legal and policy issues that need to be solved if our planet is going to have a sustainable future. Consider commemorating Earth Day by making a gift to support our work. It’s easy to do. The list …
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CONTINUE READINGNanopolicy Bumps in California
California continues to lead the way nationally on nanotechnology regulation, despite some bumps along the way. Most recently, the Department of Toxic Substances Control issued a request for information regarding analytical test methods, fate and transport in the environment, and other relevant information from manufacturers of reactive nanometal oxides. Substances covered include aluminum oxide, silicon …
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CONTINUE READINGWaxman-Markey hearings
As Dan mentioned in his post yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding hearings through Friday on the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, dubbed The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Climate Progress has the schedule here. The hearings can be viewed live or after the fact at the Committee’s website, here.
CONTINUE READINGGetting to the root of recurring water conflicts
This post is co-authored by A. Dan Tarlock, Distinguished Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, and cross-posted by permission from the Island Press Eco-Compass blog. The western United States is characterized by highly variable and seasonal rainfall patterns. To deal with the constant threat of drought, the West relies on intensively managed water …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change Legislation: Is the Train (Finally) Leaving the Station?
I posted yesterday about Rep. Boehner’s bone-headed statement about climate change. My first thought was that this was completely idiotic, making a childish argument that even George W. Bush would have scorned. The fact that some CO2 is normal and even necessary proves nothing about what happens when concentrations go beyond the normal level: salt …
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CONTINUE READINGFlunking Climate 101
John Boehner, the House Republican leader, explains his view of climate change to George Stephanopoulos: George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen, that it’s harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, uh, well, you know when they do what they …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Next for Greenhouse Gas Regulation of Cars?
There’s been a huge amount of attention — and justifiably so — to EPA’s finding of endangerment. There’s also been speculation about a follow-up finding applying to stationary pollution sources and about the political ramifications. In contrast, there hasn’t been much discussion of what the motor vehicle standards might look like. Here’s an EPA summary …
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CONTINUE READINGEarth Day as a Self-Organizing System
Senator Gaylord Nelson has explained the origins of Earth Day: At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response …
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