Environmentalism and the Supreme Court
Some cases belong to the environmentalist legal canon, others to an anti-canon of reviled precedents.
Every field has its texts that form part of its intellectual canon, and others that form a kind of anti-canon of rejected ideas. The same is true in environmental law. The issue goes beyond which side wins. From the pro-environmental side of things, some Supreme Court rulings form guideposts to rely on, whereas others represent dangerous pitfalls to avoid. In reading over this list, it seems to me that there are two factors that determine how these cases get classif...
CONTINUE READINGWhat if someone just does it?
A scenario exercise on unauthorized use of solar geoengineering
Note: This post is co-authored with Jesse L. Reynolds, who recently completed an Emmett Institute Geoengineering Governance Fellowship As the climate crisis grows more urgent, unconventional technological responses are getting increased attention and controversy. We’ve written previously on Legal Planet about these technologies and their promise and risks. The most high-stakes and controversial of these is solar geoengineering, which would make the Earth a little more...
CONTINUE READINGWhat If We Succeed?
If we “beat” climate change, what will we have to show for it?
Suppose we bring climate change under control and deal with its fallout. What will have we achieved? We will have prevented great harm. That, of course, is the main goal. Untamed climate change means an dangerous, ugly future for all of us on “Spaceship Earth.” Preventing that future is surely enough of a reason to dedicate ourselves to the effort. I’m asking about something different, however: how will the world be better off than it would have been if climate ...
CONTINUE READINGSupervillains of the Enviro-Verse
🏴☠️ For your amusement: a rogues gallery of anti-Green villainy. 🏴☠️
Movements are defined as much by who and what they oppose as what they favor. To understand environmentalism, you have to know how it defines its opponents. Reality, of course, is always nuanced, but nuance isn’t much fun. Although I was originally going to provide a more serious treatment, I decided instead to have a little fun. It’s summer-movie time when Marvel Comics rules the big screen. I’m going to present these negative figures as if they were char...
CONTINUE READINGTop 10 Biggest Environmental Wins In California’s History
Ranking the victories that saved priceless landscapes and environmental features
California is generally known as an environmental leader, but the state has also faced tremendous environmental degradation and destruction. I chronicled my “top 10” worst environmental decisions in the state’s history last year. But what about the good things state policy makers have done? Here is my list of the most significant environmental wins in California since the state’s founding. To qualify, as with the last Top 10 list, the action had to preserve a ...
CONTINUE READINGMethane Emission Reduction
Last Best Chance?
The publication last week of the UN IPCC Sixth Assessment Report underscores the urgent need for action to substantially reduce methane emissions: “Strong, rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions would [ ] limit the warming effect resulting from declining aerosol pollution and would improve air quality.” Some Methane Facts Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, responsible for fully 25 percent of warming. It is a...
CONTINUE READINGSCREED: Masks and Climate
Political Cynicism in Full Sway
Governors of two of the largest U.S. states have made the calculation that the “freedom” to choose not to wear a mask is more important than public health. Their orders – precluding schools from requiring masks for students and teachers – will almost certainly result in significant increases in disease and even death. Theirs is a profoundly cynical calculus that political benefits from anti-masking orders will be greater than political risks from impacts on p...
CONTINUE READINGThe Recall
Here are the replacement candidates' views on climate.
With the California recall election coming up a month from now, it's time to take a look at the candidates. The environment hasn’t been a signature issue for incumbent, Gavin Newsom, but he has strongly supported climate action. Now let’s take a look at who might replace him. It’s hard to know who, out of the scores of candidates, might ultimately emerge from the pack of challengers. Here are the candidates who currently seem to have the greatest chances and t...
CONTINUE READINGHot off the Press: The New IPCC Report
The latest science confirms the need for urgent action.
The IPCC issued the massive first volume of its new report on climate change on Monday. This volume focuses on climate science: how much will the world warm, and what will the impacts be? The bottom line is that the evidence is becoming ever firmer that (a) humans are causing an unprecedented rate of climate change, (b) we are starting to foreclose our ability to achieve less dangerous outcomes, and (c) failure to act will impose tremendous costs for generations. He...
CONTINUE READINGA Sleeper Provision in the Senate Infrastructure Bill
The bill gives the Feds broad authority to authorize transmission projects.
We will need a much more robust transmission in coming years. Sources of renewable energy, such as Iowa wind farms, are often located far from the urban centers that need the power. Transmission also helps to deal with weather issues that may impact renewables: even if it’s too cloudy for solar in one state, the sun may be shining a state or two over. The effort to build new transmission has been stymied, however, by resistance from utilities and state governments. ...
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