March 2011 - Page 6 of 7

Month: March 2011

New on Ecology Law Currents

Ecology Law Currents, the online companion to Ecology Law Quarterly, has two new articles: CERCLA’s Unrecoverable Natural Resource Damages: Injuries to Cultural Resources and Services, by Sarah Peterman, arguing that CERCLA does not permit recovery of damages for the loss of “cultural services” performed by injured natural resources, notwithstanding the Department of Interior’s contrary interpretation. …

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Legal Planet turns two

A year ago, Dan declared March 10 the birthday of Legal Planet. As he explained in that post, the blog’s actual birthday is indeterminate, but March 10 is close enough and having put it out there we might as well stick with it. When we launched the blog, none of us were sure how long …

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What are the Top 10 Natural Resources Stories?

Lots of folks in legal academia are familiar with Foundation Press’ popular Law Stories series; around here on Legal Planet, we are particularly familiar with Environmental Law Stories (pictured right), edited by Richard Lazarus and Oliver Houck, to which Dan and Holly contributed a chapter. It’s a very useful book, and I’m a fan. But …

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Climate Change Impacts in China

The received wisdom used to be that climate change would have relatively little impact on China. But that views seems outdated. Like the United States, China is large and geographically diverse; as such, the impacts of climate change vary across the country. For example, the Chinese government reports that the “frequency of heat waves in …

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Peak Oil Prices?

Oil prices are currently being pushed up by uncertainty about supply from the Middle East. Well before that crisis, Deutsche Bank was predicting $175/barrel oil five years from now. Predicting future oil prices is a tricky venture, and the track record for past predictions has been mixed. The two factors that foretell price increases over …

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Not even NASA rockets are cooperating with climate scientists these days

I heard renowned climate scientist Dr. James Hansen speak at UCLA last week, and one of his key messages was that we need to get a better handle on the importance and effect of aerosols on the Earth’s warming. He was quite excited about the launch of a new NASA satellite that would gather data to tell …

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The question of triage

The latest Delta report issued by the Public Policy Institute of California goes well beyond the Delta. Titled Managing California’s Water: From Conflict to Resolution, the report takes on the entire water management structure set up by state and federal law. There’s a lot in the report, which should be required reading for anyone interested …

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Michele Bachmann’s Unconstitutional Light-Bulb Bill

Congress can repeal the light bulb requirement (or not). It can mandate that an executive agency like DOE or EPA decide the three issues specified by Bachman. But Congress can’t make the validity of the light bulb requirement turn on a determination by GAO.

Boehner Tweet on Plastics Sums Up Republican Disdain for the Environment

In hardly the biggest news story of the day, but one that really irks me, House Speaker John Boehner tweeted this morning, “The new majority — plasticware is back.” He’s referring to the move by the Republican majority to eliminate deposed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s initiative to green the House of Representatives. The initiative included — …

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Designing City Streets That Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In the U.S., city planners have typically designed streets to enhance the comfort of the driver. Unfortunately, the very qualities that serve this goal tend to discourage foot traffic, bicycles, and transit use. The result is that standard street design tends to encourage activities that increase greenhouse gas emissions, and discourage more efficient ways to …

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Can GoGreen Advance California’s Home Decarbonization Goals?

The state’s home energy financing program remains modest and needs to scale

Mobilizing Environmental Voters

People who care about the environment may not be voters. Can that be changed?

Little Hoover Commission Releases Flawed CEQA Report

The long-awaited report proposes sweeping exemptions and process changes—even though its own reasoning points in the opposite direction.

California Seeks to Protect Homes from Excessive Indoor Heat

Guest contributor Cassandra Vo writes that the state should do more to protect mobile homes dwellers from heat. Work by a UCLA Law Clinic on behalf of Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability points the way forward on inclusive heat resiliency standards.

Western States Should Opt In to Regionalized Electricity Markets

Guest contributor Kelly Cook writes that regionalization efforts present a low risk that federal control will threaten state authority.

Temporary Takings and the Adaptation Dilemma

Current law penalizes adaptation measures because of the risk of takings liability.

Judicial Deference to Agencies: A Timeline

Decisions about judicial deference to agencies on legal issues didn’t begin or end with Chevron.

How the ICC is Using International Criminal Law to Prosecute Suspects of Eco Crimes

Guest contributor Aria Burdon Dasbach writes that the International Criminal Court is in the process of weighing dozens of suggestions for how to go after global environmental crimes.

Climate Policy and the Audacity of Hope

The barriers are still huge — but we can also envision a path to success.

LGBTQ People Face Greater Climate Risks

A new study by the UCLA Williams Institute finds that LGBTQ people in same-sex couples are at greater risk of exposure to the harms of climate change compared to straight couples.

California Wins Major Clean Air Act/Climate Change Case in D.C. Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals Rejects Red States’ Challenge to California’s CAA “Waiver Authority”

U.S. Supreme Court Revisits, Tightens Regulatory Takings Limits on Land Use Regulation

California Homeowner’s Takings Challenge to County’s Traffic Impact Fee Heads Back to State Court

Power of the People: Environmental Advocacy in China

Several of China’s most prominent environmental advocates will join a keynote talk at UCLA Law on the role of civil society in addressing China’s global environmental impacts.

Filling in the Picture: The Latest From Kennedy about Climate

Here’s what Kennedy says about his campaign, its effect on the race, and climate change.

Don’t Count Your Judicial Vultures Before They Hatch

The conservative Supreme Court majority may turn out as bad as we fear. Or maybe not.

A New Era for Protecting Public Lands

The Bureau of Land Management has always prioritized extraction activities. Now the agency has announced a rule that could elevate conservation.

Climate Action for Earth Day

“We have a long way to go, but we’ve started down the path.” I asked my UCLA Emmett Institute colleagues what climate actions give them hope on Earth Day. Here’s how they answered.

Could Trump Cancel the IRA?

Probably not. But also possibly yes.

We Need a True Debate Over Income-Graduated Fixed Charges

A state bill to cap the fixed charges utilities can collect in California would shut down an important debate about equity and rate design. Here’s a better way forward.