Year: 2013
Energy and Climate Conference — Thursday November 14th at UC Berkeley Law
State Bar event will cover renewables, fuels, and markets in an era of climate change
For Legal Planet readers interested in hearing the latest on energy and climate change law and policy, the Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar will be holding a one-day conference on the subject at the UC Berkeley School of Law on Thursday, November 14th. Entitled “Energy and Climate Change: California’s Efforts to Reduce …
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CONTINUE READINGPrivate Flood Protection
Private flood control is no substitute for government action.
Last week, the NY Times had a story about Verizon’s new flood barrier for its Wall Street building, which is a designated landmark. On one level, it’s a pretty cool project — a portable barrier designed to keep out the water during a hundred-year storm (plus 2-feet for storm surge plus an extra foot to …
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CONTINUE READINGCongress Moves Forward on the Farm Bill
Congress conference committee considers Farm Bill, including numerous provisions with serious environmental consequences
Finally. There is a Farm Bill conference committee, and it began meeting last week. The Farm Bill is the vehicle for our major federal farm and food policy, including commodity subsidies, crop insurance, food assistance, and farm conservation. Congress let the 2008 Farm Bill expire on September 30, 2012, and we have been living on extensions ever since. Although the most …
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CONTINUE READINGExecutive Order calls for climate adaptation
Presidential directive holds potential to move federal adaptation efforts forward, but implementation will be the key.
Cross-posted at The Berkeley Blog. Today, President Obama issued an Executive Order intended “to prepare the Nation for the impacts of climate change by undertaking actions to enhance climate preparedness and resilience.” In some respects, this order simply continues ongoing efforts. Under this administration, the executive branch has already been doing a great deal of …
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CONTINUE READINGTackling Plastic Pollution in the Oceans
New Emmett Center report recommends top ten solutions for marine plastic debris
Ever wonder where the plastic crap that we generate winds up? Much of it ends up in the oceans. An estimated 20 million tons of plastic litter enter the ocean each year, much of it from land debris but also coming from fishing and aquaculture operations, shipping, and other marine sources. The stuff takes a really …
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CONTINUE READINGA Second Helping of Chicken and Salmonella
Food safety levels leave plenty of room at the table for salmonella
Last week on Legal Planet, Dan Farber posted about the surprising regulatory inattention paid to food safety, using as example the latest chicken salmonella outbreaks in the U.S. (see “Playing Chicken with Food Safety,” 10/20/13). This post picks up from there, to mention that while the recent incidents highlight the chicken-salmonella problem, they don’t quite …
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CONTINUE READINGJohn Roberts: Stupid Like a Fox
Hiding Behind Anti-intellectualism to Obscure a Political Agenda
Chief Justice Roberts doesn’t think much of law reviews: Pick up a copy of any law review that you see and the first article is likely to be, you know, the influence of Immanuel Kant on evidentiary approaches in 18th-century Bulgaria, or something, which I’m sure was of great interest to the academic that wrote it, …
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CONTINUE READINGWho Does the Public Trust: Bureaucrats or Congress?
Voters would prefer EPA to make climate policy, not Congress. Is that a good thing? Yes and no.
Voters in swing states would prefer that EPA rather than Congress decide on U.S. climate policy. According to a poll commissioned by the League of Conservation Voters, “The voters are much more inclined to trust the Environmental Protection Agency than they are to trust members of Congress” — by a 66-12 margin. Here are my reactions …
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CONTINUE READINGPostcard from Barcelona
Looking at the Catalonian path to sustainability
Flying into Barcelona, it becomes immediately obvious that this is a city with its eye on a sustainable future. Right along the waterfront is a large photovoltaic array, perched on four giant supports. It is emblematic of a broader set of initiatives that, for a short time, placed Spain at the forefront of renewable energy …
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CONTINUE READINGDoes EPA Face a Crisis of Confidence?
Despite all the noise from House Republicans, EPA is just as popular now as 30 years ago.
Is the public losing faith in EPA? You might think so from all the rhetoric from the Right. But Pew has just released the results of a survey on public attitudes toward government, which doesn’t support this view at all. As it turns out, six out of ten Americans have favorable attitudes toward EPA. Nor has there …
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