The Year Ahead
Nine key developments to watch for on the environmental front.
2020 was a tumultuous year. Hopefully, 2021 will be balmier. Widespread use of vaccines will hopefully tame the COVID-19 pandemic, and maybe the political world will settle down a bit too. Here are nine key things to watch for in terms of environmental policy. The Georgia runoff elections. Currently, the Republicans look likely to control the Senate. But two seats are still in play, due to runoff elections in Georgia tomorrow. If Democrats manage to take those...
CONTINUE READINGThe California Supreme Court’s Most Important Environmental Law Decisions of 2020
It Was a Relatively Quiet Year for Environmental Law in the California Supreme Court
[This is the third and final installment in a series of posts highlighting the most significant environmental law decisions of 2020. Earlier this week, I profiled the key 2020 environmental rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This post concludes the series with an examination of the California Supreme Court's most consequential environmental law decisions this year.] Truth be told, 2020 was an atypically light...
CONTINUE READINGThe Clean Air Act Turns Fifty
A half century of progress in cleaning up the air began New Year’s Eve 1970.
On December 31, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed the Clean Air Act. William Ruckelshaus and Russell Train, who later led the way in implementing the new law, stood by his side with beaming smiles. Nixon supported the basic features of the bill. But he had considered vetoing the final version because Senator Ed Muskie (D Maine) had added tough pollution requirements for carmakers. Aides persuaded him to sign it instead and seek later amendments. After some m...
CONTINUE READINGThe Ninth Circuit’s 10 Most Important Environmental Law Decisions of 2020
Climate Change, California v. Trump Cases Lead the List
This is the second of three year-end posts on the most important environmental law decisions in 2020 from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and California Supreme Court. (The key U.S. Supreme Court rulings were the focus of yesterday's post, and tomorrow's will feature California Supreme Court decisions.) Today, the spotlight is on the Ninth Circuit. Selecting the top 10 most important environmental law decisions of 2020 from the ...
CONTINUE READINGThe U.S. Supreme Court’s Most Important 2020 Environmental Law Decisions
Clean Water Act, CERCLA, Native American Law and Trump's Border Wall Lead the List
It's become customary for critics and observers from many disciplines to publish a wide variety of lists at year's end, nominating the most important or best movies, music, plays, etc. of the preceding year. Why not follow that tradition in the fields of environmental law and policy? With that objective in mind, I plan over the next few days to offer my lists of the most consequential environmental law decisions of 2020 from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of...
CONTINUE READING2020: The Year in Review
Trump's deregulatory reign of terror continued, but there were still some bright spots.
In terms of the environment, the big news was the election. Biden swept the popular vote and won a solid victor in the Electoral College. At this point, the Republicans have retained control of the Senate, though runoff elections in Georgia could change that. On another front, US carbon emissions were down for the year, due to COVID, although that’s expected to be temporary. To the extent that people end up using Zoom to work at home or to substitute for busines...
CONTINUE READINGEveryday Christmas: The Gift of the Commons
Clean air. Clean water. We receive these public goods every day without payment
One of the Christmas classics is the Jimmy Stewart movie, It's a Wonderful Life. Stewart is despondent about his life but then learns how much he has unknowingly helped others and how grateful they are. There's a flip side to that story: the need to remember how much others have contributed to our own lives. That includes people we don't know who have helped give us a better planet on which to live. I've come to think that the holiday season is the perfect time to ...
CONTINUE READINGHitching a Ride on the Omnibus
In a holiday gift from Congress, environmental gains arrive in an overstuffed spending bill.
The massive omnibus bill that just passed Congress contains a bevy of environment friendly provisions. Despite some last-minute tweeted complaints from Trump about the bill, those provisions are likely to make their way into law. Given that the Senate and the White House are in Republican hands, it’s a wonder when such provisions sneak through Congress. Otto von Bismarck once compared the legislative process to making sausage. By this account, the omnibus is th...
CONTINUE READINGPassing Green Laws in a Polarized Senate
New legislation will require threading a needle in the Senate.
How polarized is the Senate? A lot. Consider their voting records: Every Republican except one has an environmental voting score below 25%. Every Democrat but one has a score above 75%. That's a walloping fifty point gap. Given this polarization, getting energy or environmental legislation through Congress will require tremendous finesse. That's without even considering the House, where Nancy Pelosi will have to keep progressives on board for legislation that c...
CONTINUE READINGBiden’s Green Team
Here are the six who will lead the way on environment and energy issues.
Biden’s choices to head particular agencies have trickled out over the past few weeks. It’s only when you put them together that you get a sense of the overall time. It’s a very diverse group, all of whom seem to have strong environmental commitments. Pete Buttigieg, Department of Transportation. Buttigieg is a well-known figure from his run last year for the Democratic nomination. Transportation is a major source of carbon emissions,and Buttigieg will b...
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