Year: 2017
The California Supreme Court’s Most Important Environmental Law Decisions of 2017
CEQA, Climate Change, Cannabis & Regulatory Takings Top the Justices’ Environmental Docket
As 2017 comes to a close, let’s take a moment to assess the California Supreme Court’s most significant environmental law decisions of the year. There are a large number of decided cases to choose from: as has been true over the past decade, in 2017 the California Supreme Court devoted a substantial portion of its …
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CONTINUE READINGTen Environmental Lessons of 2017
We’ve learned a lot in the past year, some good, a lot bad.
No one can say it’s been a boring year. In many ways, it’s been a worse year than we expected, because the Trump Administration has gone all in on its anti-environmental vision. But there have also been some heartening positive developments. Here are some of the most important things, good and bad, that we’ve learned …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Off-Switch is Inside the Fenceline
Pruitt’s argument for repealing the Clean Power Plan has a logical flaw.
The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan would require utilities to improve efficiency at coal-fired power plants and reduce the use of those plants in favor of generators using natural gas or renewables. Head of EPA Scott Pruitt claims EPA can only require CO2 cuts that can be accomplished by utilities “inside the fenceline” of a …
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CONTINUE READINGPublic Lands Watch: HR 4239
House bill would give states control of oil and gas leasing process, weaken Presidential power to restrict leasing
Tom Schumann drafted this blog post. Provisions tucked in a House oil and gas development bill would repeal one of the oldest conservation laws and scale back another. The provisions show House Republicans working to make rollbacks by the Trump Administration permanent, consistent with the administration’s “America First” energy campaign. H.R. 4239, reported out of …
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CONTINUE READINGFinal Republican Tax Bill Minimizes Damage To Renewables, Electric Vehicles & Affordable Housing
But the bill is still bad for the environment
Republicans from the House and Senate voted yesterday to approve their conference tax bill. Due to intense lobbying efforts, negotiators in the committee reduced some of the harm I described that the previous versions of the bill would have done to renewable energy, electric vehicles, and affordable housing. As Brad Plumer in the New York …
CONTINUE READINGTruth Will Out.
At least 3 times, the Administration has admitted the reality and dangers of climate change.
Despite all the efforts at disinformation, the Trump Administration has let the truth slip out. On four occasions, the Administration has issued or signed warnings about climate change. One is an act of Congress. I’ll begin with the most recent and most significant example. Last Tuesday, Trump signed the Defense Authorization Act, HR 1810. The …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Doubles Down on Its Commitment to Reduce State Greenhouse Gas Emissions
California Air Resources Board Adopts New, Landmark Climate Change Scoping Plan
California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) has adopted a new 2017 Climate Change Scoping Plan, which is designed to extend and expand upon the state’s longstanding commitment to reduce California’s aggregate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is a landmark achievement, one that moves California further down the road to a sustainable environment and economy. A bit …
CONTINUE READINGThe Roots of Regulatory Robustness
What makes regulations politically robust or fragile when Administrations change?
We’ve seen a lot of regulatory innovations in the past decade. Many are under attack, and that underscores the importance of understanding what makes some innovations more robust than others. I don’t have a general theory to offer about what gives some regulations more ability than others to withstand adverse political shifts. But it’s instructive …
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CONTINUE READINGU.C. Davis to Host Conference Commemorating California Air Resources Board’s 50th Anniversary
CA Governor Jerry Brown, former USEPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, CARB Chair Mary Nichols Featured
On Friday, January 19, 2018, the University of California, Davis, will host a major conference commemorating the California Air Resources Board’s 50th anniversary. The conference represents a three-way partnership between UCD School of Law’s California Environmental Law and Policy Center, UCD’s Institute for Transportation Studies and CARB. Since its creation in 1967, CARB has been …
CONTINUE READINGGuess What? It’s THAT Time of Year Again.
Yes, it’s fundraising season. And yes, we’re asking for your help.
Like everyone else, I’m sure you find fundraising appeals annoying. That’s why we hardly ever do them. But twice a year doesn’t seem like too much of an imposition, and this is a really important time. In many ways, developments in Washington have been even grimmer than expected. So there’s an especially critical need today for …
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