Region: National
Public Lands Watch: Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
Interior Department proposes to authorize road through wildlife refuge in Alaska
Tom Schumann authored this blog post. News outlets report that the Interior Department, reversing a decision made under President Obama, has agreed to a land exchange with an Alaska Native village that would allow construction of a road across a national wildlife refuge that provides important habitat for migratory birds, bears, caribou, and other species. …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Anthropocene and private law
Areas such as torts and property will face significant challenges
I’ve posted about how the Anthropocene will see major changes in how humans affect our planet, and how those changes will have major impacts on human society, triggering substantially larger interventions by the legal system in a wide range of individual behavior. In this post, I want to spin out some of the implications of …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Anthropocene and the legal system
Responding to the Anthropocene will produce pressure for substantial changes in our legal system
In my prior two posts, I discussed how humans are increasingly impairing natural systems on a global scale, and how those impairments of natural systems will have major negative impacts on human societies. How will these changes affect the legal system? The first important point in answering that question is that many of the changes …
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CONTINUE READINGPennsylvania’s Backward Energy Policy
PA’s policies look more like the upper South than the mid-Atlantic.
Pennsylvania has a fairly pitiful profile in terms of renewable energy. As of 2015, it got about 4% of its power from renewables, and only about half of that from wind and solar. Nearly all of the remainder was from nuclear (37%), coal (30%) and gas (28%). Perhaps not coincidentally, the state was the nation’s …
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CONTINUE READINGThe impacts of the Anthropocene
The Anthropocene will produce profound economic, social, and political effects on human societies
In my prior post, I explained how humans are increasingly altering or influencing natural systems at a planetary level, and not just through climate change. Now I want to explain a little about the impacts of those changes on human societies, and the implications of those impacts for how we will respond as societies to …
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CONTINUE READINGLaw in the Anthropocene Era
Human impacts on our planet will trigger changes in our legal system
As becomes more and more evident every day, climate change is increasingly a dominant and sometimes devastating factor for human society and natural systems on a global scale. Much has been, and will continue to be, written about how we as a society can reduce the future impacts of climate change and adapt to the …
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CONTINUE READINGWhere the Wild Things Are
For endangered species, don’t think Alaska or Montana. Think Hawaii and California. And Alabama.
When we think about preserving nature in the United States, we tend to think of the country’s great wilderness areas in places like Alaska and the Rockies. We don’t think about Alabama or Puerto Rico, for instance. But in terms of biodiversity protection, this is almost the opposite of the truth. By and large, the …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat’s Ahead in 2018? The Top Five Things to Watch For.
2018 will be a big year for environmental law, either for good or for bad.
2016 was a huge year in environmental law, with big achievements like the Paris Agreement and huge disappointments like the presidential election. By contrast, 2017 was pretty predictable: Trump did just what he promised during the campaign. The year ahead of us will have some big events to watch out for. Here are my nominations …
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CONTINUE READINGTen Environmental Lessons of 2017
We’ve learned a lot in the past year, some good, a lot bad.
No one can say it’s been a boring year. In many ways, it’s been a worse year than we expected, because the Trump Administration has gone all in on its anti-environmental vision. But there have also been some heartening positive developments. Here are some of the most important things, good and bad, that we’ve learned …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Off-Switch is Inside the Fenceline
Pruitt’s argument for repealing the Clean Power Plan has a logical flaw.
The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan would require utilities to improve efficiency at coal-fired power plants and reduce the use of those plants in favor of generators using natural gas or renewables. Head of EPA Scott Pruitt claims EPA can only require CO2 cuts that can be accomplished by utilities “inside the fenceline” of a …
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