Region: National
The Other Big Environmental Case at the Supreme Court
Guest contributor Clifford Villa writes that Dept. of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan, which will be argued Wednesday, raises profound questions for democracy and environmental justice.
Guest contributor Clifford Villa is law professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law. With all eyes on Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, it’s been easy to overlook another environmental law case on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court this week: Dept. of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan. Prutehi Guahan illustrates …
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CONTINUE READINGWould You Believe That, by Law, Renewables are a National Defense Priority?
Support for Clean Energy from an Unexpected Direction
The National Defense Act was a Korean war measure. As behooves a wartime law, it seems to contemplate fairly heavy-handed economic control by the government. (If we were ever to get a truly socialist president, they’d do well to give the DPA a careful read.) Even though it’s been amended since then, it’s not a …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Arguments We Did and Didn’t Hear in Suncor v. Boulder
Oral arguments in the climate case before the Supreme Court gave hints to possible outcomes. But one of Boulder’s strong answers to the “tort suits are regulation” objection went unmade.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. At issue is whether the city and county of Boulder can move forward with its state court case against defendants Exxon Mobil Corporation and Suncor Energy for allegedly deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change. Some …
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CONTINUE READINGDeregulatory Theater of the Absurd
The new CAFE standards are a master class in pretending you’re implementing a law while totally sabotaging it.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently issued CAFE standards — fuel efficiency standards for new cars. Rolling back more rigorous standards from Biden, DOT applied considerable ingenuity to ensuring that fuel efficiency will stagnate for the foreseeable future. Like an Escher drawing, you have to step back from all the intricate details to appreciate just how weird the overall design is.
CONTINUE READINGPermitting Reform Bill: NEPA Remedies
Efforts to tailor remedies for NEPA violations address an important issue, but may have misfired
To me the most important change in environmental law from the permitting reform bill is the effort to restrict remedies for NEPA violations. I’ve written before about why I think this is important work to do, and why it is important to do it well. And there are good components to the proposal on the …
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CONTINUE READINGA quick overview of the Senate permitting reform bill
Senate bill has major changes for NEPA, some changes for Clean Water Act
The bipartisan permitting reform bill – at least the Senate version – is out. You can see it here. My initial take on the bill is below, and I hope to do some more detailed examination of specific provisions soon. My focus will be on the environmental law side, not the transmission side, since that …
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CONTINUE READINGGet Out the (Green) Vote
The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Paying people for their vote in the midterms was one of those bizarre ideas that Trump floated and even some Republicans dismissed. But there is actually an incentivized Get Out the Vote effort happening right now that makes more sense (and is legal). Patagonia, a longtime corporate supporter of environmental activism, is offering customers a …
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CONTINUE READINGWho Will Control the Next Congress?
The election could be very close — or things could break hard for one party.
As we get closer to the election, there are no doubt surprises ahead. Still, we can get a sense of where things are heading based on current information. Who controls Congress will impact a lot of issues, including environment and energy. Even with a President as wilfull as Trump, Congress has significant levers to pull. I’ll take a look at the key races. At present things look very close.
CONTINUE READINGGorsuch is (Partly) Right
Justice Gorsuch is wrong about the cure, but delegation has gotten out of hand.
Justice Gorsuch has made it a personal crusade to revive the nondelegation doctrine, in part because of concerns about the rising tide of presidential power. The nondelegation doctrine tries to limit the ability of Congress to delegate authority to the executive branch. That’s an unworkable solution, but Gorsuch is right that Congress has put far too much trust in the good faith and sound judgment of the President and his subordinates. That’s especially true of national security and emergency powers.
CONTINUE READINGThe Emmett Institute Celebrates Our “Genius” Alumna, Holly Buck
The latest MacArthur Fellows include Holly Jean Buck, a sociologist and energy policy researcher investigating the social, ethical, and political dimensions of emerging climate policies.
The Emmett Institute is bursting with pride today that our former fellow Holly Jean Buck, now Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Buffalo, has just been awarded a 2026 MacArthur Fellowship. The MacArthur Fellowships, informally known as the “genius awards,” recognize exceptionally creative people to enable them to pursue their work …
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