Mayor NIMBY
Karen Bass' blocking of duplexes in devastated communities is a nasty piece of plutocracy.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass gets a lot of unfair grief from the media and from Angelenos. Many criticized her for being out of the country when the Palisades Fire struck: but she was abroad in Africa representing President Biden (when in Congress one of her areas of expertise was Africa), and mayors do this sort of thing all the time. Now attorneys are suing the City for alleging not having enough water in municipal reservoirs during the fire, although shortages did not...
CONTINUE READINGFrom Sacramento to Geneva: Two Arenas Tackle Plastic Pollution
California considers adding microplastics to its Candidate Chemical List as delegates negotiate a Global Binding Treaty on Plastics in Switzerland
Last Monday, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) closed its public comment period on a proposal to add microplastics to its Candidate Chemicals List. Adding microplastics to this list would allow the State’s Safer Consumer Product Program to evaluate potential Priority Products that may contain or release microplastics. The Program works to make products safer for people and the environment by identifying and promoting products that use saf...
CONTINUE READINGGas Utilities Can Do Better on Neighborhood Electrification
The state’s largest gas utilities are trying to delay priority zones for decarbonization and to block public access to important data. The CPUC should push them to do more.
Last fall, I wrote about the promise of SB 1221, a law that created a pathway for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to approve pilot projects that will support priority “neighborhood decarbonization zones” to transition away from building gas service toward zero-emissions alternatives, including electrification and thermal energy networks. Now, the gas utilities have submitted their initial system maps and priority neighborhood proposals for CPUC ...
CONTINUE READINGHow Trump’s War on Research Hurts the US Economy
NSF Logo
The economic evidence confirms the huge benefits of government support for research.
The Trump Administration has gone to war against science. Trump's budget calls for cutting federal research funding almost in half. Billions of dollars in research grants to universities have been cancelled. The Administration is also gutting research across the government, from the Environmental Protection Agency to the National Institutes of Health. But the Administration has given little thought about how this will harm competitiveness in a high-tech world. Rig...
CONTINUE READINGThe Assault on NEPA: A Threat Assessment
National Environmental Policy Act
NEPA is under multiple attacks. Which are the most serious?
After spending decades in the shadows, NEPA – the statute governing environmental impact statements — has become a hot topic. And not in a good way: it is under concerted assault from Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court. As we will see, the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Seven County Infrastructure Case is probably the biggest problem. Notably, the debate over NEPA has taken place without much hard data about its effectiveness or costs, so ...
CONTINUE READINGCan Residential Electrification Support Energy Affordability?
New UCLA report illustrates potential savings across household types and energy upgrade scenarios, write guest contributors Rachel Sheinberg and Lauren Dunlap.
As the L.A. City Council considers repealing the city’s All-Electric Building Ordinance, reacting to the 2023 decision in California Restaurant Association v. Berkeley, new UCLA research suggests that electric buildings can save LA households hundreds of dollars each year on energy bills. Over the past decade, Los Angeles city leadership has put forth a suite of ambitious climate mitigation goals. Among these are decarbonization of the city's electrical grid, bu...
CONTINUE READINGChina is Kicking Our Ass at Our Own Game
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The first time I saw a Chinese-made EV on the road I was walking on a crowded sidewalk in São Paulo. It was a Saturday night this May, when the whole city seemed to be out enjoying the warm weather. A street rave took over an entire block so to keep moving, we pedestrians had to squeeze past street vendors and weave through cars that were idling in driveways. That’s why I was close enough to the car’s bumper that I could make out the “Build Your Dreams” logo...
CONTINUE READINGLegal Planet Goes Hollywood — Sort Of
Trump's "War On Cities" gets a media hit
A couple of months ago, I wrote this post about the Trump Administration's war on cities, a move that resembles fascist regimes and thinkers through much of the 20th century. Much to my surprise, I got a call on Friday from a producer at the "Velshi" show on MSNBC to talk about it on Sunday morning. So I did. It was 7 am Pacific time and I was fasting for the Jewish observance of Tisha B'Av, but made it through okay. Here it is, if you're interested: ...
CONTINUE READINGData Center Permitting: A Roadmap
AI is fueling a surge in data center construction. Here’s what you need to know.
The Department of Energy estimates that power use by data centers could be three times as high in 2030 as it was in 2023. The reason is AI, which is fueling a big buildout of new data and computing centers. These facilities will require permits, as a new White House report on AI acknowledges. This wave of new facilities is going to be a jolt to the permitting system, depending on the source of the power. Here’s what you need to know about that. Below, you’ll...
CONTINUE READINGCan States Rebuild the Barn?
Multistate compacts might be a critical way to help replace lost federal capacity - but we need more details.
A couple of weeks ago I asked how we can stand up institutions in light of the Trump Administration’s destruction of environmental agencies. As House Speaker Sam Rayburn famously said: "any jackass can kick a barn down. It takes a carpenter to build one." And not a moment too soon. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has eliminated the Agency’s Office of Research and Development – in place since the Nixon Administration – and Russ Vought’s chainsaw is wreaking ...
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