Year: 2016
BREAKING NEWS: California Assembly Passes SB 32, the 2030 Climate Bill
With governor’s signature, the state will retain its international leadership position on reducing greenhouse gas emissions
It was a rough year in 2015 for SB 32 (Pavley), California’s major climate bill to extend our greenhouse gas reduction efforts to 2030. The bill went down without a vote on the Assembly floor, due to opposition from “moderate” Democrats. But today, the Assembly passed the bill with 42 votes in favor, 29 opposed: …
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CONTINUE READINGLibertarian Candidate Endorses a Carbon Fee
Gary Johnson has put his weight behind
In an interview in Alaska, Gary Johnson endorsed the idea of a fee on carbon emissions. Here’s what he had to say, according to E&E News: “Johnson described his “free market approach” to global warming to the Juneau Empire in an interview published this weekend. He said his plan would include a fee, “not a …
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CONTINUE READINGA Small-Government Approach to Pricing Carbon
We can impose a price on carbon without a tax or emissions trading. Here’s how.
Cap and dividend is a politically appealing idea; put a price on carbon, then refund the money to consumers in equal shares. But conservatives and libertarians object to this idea on two grounds. First, cap-and-trade systems are complex and require a lot of regulatory oversight. Second, if the government collects the money, despite its current …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court Holds Unanimously that the State May Restrict Mining Methods on Federal Lands
Court in People v. Rinehart Upholds State Moratorium on Suction-Dredge Mining
Last year, as I discussed in a prior post, the California Supreme Court granted the State of California’s petition for review in the case of People v. Rinehart. I’m pleased to say that today, the Supreme Court has issued a unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Werdegar, in favor of the state’s moratorium on suction-dredge mining on federal lands. …
CONTINUE READINGLouisiana Flood Lessons for a Climate-Changed Future
Louisiana’s preparedness for a 1000-year flood, and implications of the slow media response for slow-onset climate impacts
The devastating floods in southern Louisiana a week ago left at least 13 people dead, tens of thousands in need of rescue, and 60,000 homes damaged. In one parish, nearly ninety percent of homes flooded. Cellular network failures, road closures, power outages, and sewage-contaminated floodwaters continue to threaten relief efforts. The American Red Cross is …
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CONTINUE READINGNational Park Service Celebrates Centennial Anniversary
It’s Time to Celebrate–and Re-Commit to–“America’s Best Idea”
This week the National Park Service celebrates its 100th birthday. On August 25, 1916, Congress enacted legislation proposed by President Woodrow Wilson to create the Park Service. To this date, creation of the Service remains one of the nation’s most important actions to protect America’s environment. (Documentarian Ken Burns–himself a national treasure–famously called the national …
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CONTINUE READINGUpcoming Regulatory Takings Conference 2016
Nation’s Top Annual Takings Event Set for November 4th in New Orleans
One of the most important issues in modern environmental law and policy is the extent to which constitutionally-protected property rights limit environmental regulatory programs at the federal, state and local levels. Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court has focused more attention on this question over the last four decades than any other aspect of modern environmental …
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CONTINUE READINGBeyond Administrative Law
Law students need to know about more than administrative procedure and judicial review.
Since the days of Felix Frankfurter, the Administrative Law course has been a staple of American law schools. It’s a great course, but it’s limited. The same is true of most of the courses on legislation and regulation in the first year, which also focus on how courts interpret statutes and how they review administrative …
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CONTINUE READINGLegal Analysis of CAISO Expansion
We don’t foresee changes to FERC jurisdiction or Commerce Clause validity
The California Independent System Operator — known as CAISO — is considering expanding its footprint to include Pacific Corp as a participating transmission owner. CAISO recently commissioned a study that Professor William Boyd of the University of Colorado and I authored, in consultation with Ethan Elkind of Berkeley and UCLA and Sho Sato Professor …
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CONTINUE READING“We’re Not, You Know, People That Don’t Want Those Things”
Trump promises clean air, clean water, safety, and a free lunch.
Every now and then, you see a car with one bumper sticker that says “Support Our Troops” and another that says “Abolish the IRS.” It doesn’t seem to have occurred to the car’s owner that supporting our troops includes paying and equipping them, and that someone is going to have to collect the taxes to …
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