Region: National
Election 2026: A Political Earthquake
How close were the forecasters? And what happens next?
Now that the votes are actually in, it’s time to take stock. There are still races that are too close to call. Overall, however, the Tuesday vote was a remarkable Democratic win . The effect will be to hinder Trump’s anti-environmental campaign while expanding state support for clean energy. The vote counting for 2026 is not yet over, but the 2028 presidential campaign has now begun.
CONTINUE READINGShhh: The 2026 Midterms Were a Climate Election
The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The topic of climate change was mostly missing from the midterm campaign trail and yet the election results could go down as the biggest climate election in U.S. history. Both things can be true. Yes, mentions of climate change in 2026 were sparse on the campaign trail and they disappeared from press releases issued by …
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CONTINUE READINGIs Permit Certainty Worth It?
The most problematic provision in the permitting reform bill is permit certainty. It’s not even clear it will accomplish what it sets out to do.
I’ve written a bunch about the issues with the permit certainty provisions of the permitting reform bill. Apparently that provision was a demand of Democratic negotiators, seeking to protect renewable energy from the Trump Administration. If that is the goal, it comes at a steep cost in terms of an overbroad provision with lots of …
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CONTINUE READINGPodesta Is Right
Permitting reform bill asymmetrically makes it easier to grant permits than revoke them. That could have sweeping consequences.
At the end of the last week, these comments from John Podesta, a major Democratic Party policy operative, got some attention. He called the permitting reform bill a “loaded howitzer” in the hands of President Trump, should it be enacted as it is currently written. In particular, Podesta argued that the permitting certainty provisions would …
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CONTINUE READINGElection 2026: The Final Sprint [PLUS Breaking News]
Democrats are likely to win House control, but control of the Senate is iffier.
In the last month, Trump has been on the campaign trail, and Republicans have spent hundreds of millions on ads. Elon Musk alone has set a record for campaign spending. Nevertheless, unless the experts are haywire, Democrats will control the House, and their odds in the Senate are better than 50/50.
What BAAJA Would Do to Clean Water Act Section 401, and Why it Matters
Dosewallips River
A guest post by Dave Owen
The main argument in favor of accepting this bill’s drastic changes to environmental laws is that the climate benefits of other parts of the bill make the changes worthwhile. But water management is a crucially important part of climate adaptation. Especially in a changing climate, protecting streams and wetlands is a matter of public safety; protecting aquatic resources is one of our most effective ways of managing floods.
CONTINUE READINGWhat’s Left of NEPA?
It’s already taken three major blows. Yet opponents seem to fear it as much as ever.
In effect, NEPA has been poisoned, bludgeoned, and stabbed in succession by the three branches of government. You would think that NEPA reform might seem less urgent after all that. Yet permit reformer still seem to think it’s as dangerous as ever, like a vampire that can only be killed by a wooden stake through the heart at midnight.
CONTINUE READINGGolf. Trump. Lies. And NEPA.
What more could you ask for in a single court opinion?
In a Monday ruling, Judge Reyes told the government to stop work on Trump’s plan to demolish a D.C. public golf course and replace it with one for pro tournaments. There are intriguing legal issues: whether a President’s social media posts can establish the basis for judicial review; whether golfers have standing to sue to preserve an existing course; how to deal with apparent dishonesty by government lawyers; and last but not last, whether the Supreme Court has eliminated NEPA’s segmentation doctrine. All in a beautifully written district court opinion.
CONTINUE READINGAddressing fire in the National Forests
Reforming National Forest management to improve fire resilience
I wrote earlier about an article I co-authored with Dave Owen on reforming wildfire law. In particular, we identified changes to federal land management, federal air quality law, land-use law, and insurance law to address the interlocking legal and policy challenges wildfire presents. But the scope of our piece necessarily meant limiting the level of …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy the Midterms Matter for Energy & Environment
Trump could still pursue his fossil fuel dominance agenda – but not as easily.
Trump still can take many administrative actions regardless of who controls Congress. But the election still matters for the future of the U.S. energy system and the planet. A President who has the support of a united Congress can do a lot more than a President who must contend with serious congressional opposition. Here’s why it matters.
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