Month: September 2018
The Public Trust Doctrine as an Anti-Corruption Weapon
Everything Old Is New Again
As Rick noted a couple of weeks ago, the California Court of Appeal has recently decided that the public trust doctrine applies to groundwater resources — a long overdue holding that flows (so to speak) pretty much directly from the landmark Mono Lake decision that applied the PTD to surface water. (Since surface and groundwater …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA’s Environmental Law Clinic Files Brief on Behalf of Amici League of California Cities and California State Association of Counties
Brief defends local government authority to regulate oil drilling in face of industry challenge
[Update: The Second District Court of Appeal, Division 5 has rejected all the amicus curiae brief applications filed in this case, including this brief. We will leave this post, and the link to the brief, up on this blog so that anyone interested may see our arguments, but the brief will not be considered in …
CONTINUE READINGBattle for the Senate: Missouri and Indiana
Two Democratic moderates faces staunch conservative challengers in these toss-up races.
In the middle of the country, these two Senate races pit Democratic incumbents against strong Republican challengers in what promise to be very close races. Democrats must hold onto these seats to have any chance at all of winning control. If they lose both seats, the GOP will solidify its majority, giving Mitch McConnell more …
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CONTINUE READINGAchieving 100% Zero-Emission Vehicles — New CLEE Report Release Today
Report findings to be discussed at Global Climate Action Summit affiliate event in San Francisco today
Some countries and states, including California, are contemplating or making plans for phase-outs or bans on the sale of new internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by a date certain. Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) is today releasing the report 100% Zero to offer policy pathways to make such a scenario …
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CONTINUE READINGReflections from the Climate Reality Leadership Training
As we move firmly into climate conference season, I wanted to highlight the key takeaways from two that I’ll be attending with my colleague Garrett Lenahan (among other UCLA colleagues). The first was the the Climate Reality Leadership Training in Los Angeles, which focused on training folks of a diverse array of professions to become …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s New Energy Law (SB 100) Is a Piece in a Larger Puzzle
Rooftop solar,storage and energy efficiency still play critical roles
California’s new landmark energy law should be a matter of pride for the whole state. It calls for electricity providers to rely on renewable sources for at least 60% of their delivered power by 2030 and on zero greenhouse gas-emitted sources for the remaining 40% by 2045. People refer to this as the 100% clean …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Commits to 100% Clean Energy, and Can Achieve It
Governor Brown signs SB 100, calling for 100% carbon-free power by 2045
As my colleague Ethan Elkind already described, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 100 today, committing California to procuring 100% of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045. The law also increases the state’s 2030 target from 50% to 60%, demonstrating just how far the state has come in achieving its ambitious renewable energy goals. …
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CONTINUE READINGGovernor Brown Signs 100% Carbon-Free Grid By 2045 Legislation + Executive Order Making California Carbon Neutral By 2045
Landmark legislation and executive order to be discussed with State Sen. Kevin de León tonight on City Visions, KALW 91.7 FM at 7pm
As was expected, Governor Brown today signed SB 100 (de León) to put California on a path to achieve a carbon-free electricity grid by 2045. But in a surprise move ahead of this week’s Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, he also issued an executive order directing state agencies to achieve statewide carbon neutrality …
CONTINUE READINGBattle for the Senate: Tennessee & West Virginia
These two battleground states will help determine the balance of power in the Senate
These two states are from the upper South. Both voted for Trump. But they’re very different in other ways. West Virginia is another must-hold state for the Democrats, while in Tennessee Bob Corker’s resignation gives them a possible pick-up opportunity. Tennessee: Bredesen v. Blackburn. Tennessee has unexpectedly turned out to be in play, due to …
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