Another Problem with Cost-Benefit Analysis of Climate Policy
It’s hard to estimate benefits. But it turns out costs are also uncertain.
It’s common knowledge— at least, among people who follow these things — that it is hard to estimate the benefits of a proposed climate policy. But it’s actually quite difficult to estimate the costs as well. There are three major problems in estimating the benefits of a proposed climate policy. First, it’s hard to estimate the damage associated with any given degree of warming. Second, there is a lot of uncertainty, including the potential for tippin...
CONTINUE READINGYes, there’s a difference between “endangered” and “threatened” species
Federal district court tells FWS its discretion to choose the less protected designation has limits
A recent ruling from the federal District Court in DC provides an important lesson that the US Fish and Wildlife Service would do well to heed: the agency has limited discretion to find that species are threatened rather than endangered. Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), species can be listed as either endangered ("in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range") or threatened (not now endangered but "likely to become an endan...
CONTINUE READINGUtah’s Stealth Climate Plan
Here's some upbeat news. I bet you needed that.
Hardly anyone noticed at the time, but Utah enacted an important bill about climate change in 2018. Yes, Utah – where the GOP holds 78% of the legislature. How that happened, and what happened since, is a story worth telling. The bill itself did not impose any carbon restrictions. But it did call for “the Legislature and the Governor [to] encourage individuals, corporations, and state agencies to reduce emissions through incentives and support of the growth in t...
CONTINUE READINGUdall and Lowenthal Lead Charge to Break Free From Plastic Pollution
The Senator and Representative introduce bold new federal plastics legislation
Last week, Senator Udall (D-NM) and Representative Lowenthal (D-CA), joined by Senator Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Clark (D-MA), announced that they were introducing federal legislation to combat the plastic pollution crisis. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act will go beyond past Congressional efforts to address plastic pollution, such as the Save Our Seas Act, which largely focused on stemming the tide of plastics entering waterways abroad and on promotin...
CONTINUE READINGLessons of the Little Ice Age
What can we learn from the climate disruptions of the previous millennium?
The Little Ice Age wasn’t actually an ice age, but it was a period of markedly colder temperatures that began in the 1200s and lasted into the mid-1800s, with the 1600s a particular low point. It was a time when London winter fairs were regularly held on the middle of a frozen Thames river, glaciers grew, and sea ice expanded. That episode of climate disruption may give us some insights into how current global warming may impact society. Weather changes in the Littl...
CONTINUE READINGValentine’s Day and Climate Change
Global warming will change much of our everyday lives. Even Feb. 14.
How is climate change connected with Valentine’s Day? In many ways, as it turns out. That’s an indication of the myriad ways in which climate is entangled with our lives. Whether it’s roses and chocolate, or courtship, nothing will remain quite the same as global temperatures go up and up. What about climate change and romance? At least one study found that global warming would result in fewer male births. Presumably, that shift in the sex-ratio would not ...
CONTINUE READINGTracing Trump’s Trillion Trees
The president's embrace of massive tree planting has a remarkable -- and questionable -- backstory
During last week's State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump said: To protect the environment, days ago I announced that the United States will join the One Trillion Trees Initiative, an ambitious effort to bring together government and private sector to plant new trees in America and all around the world. Astute regular readers may recall that, in July, I flagged a new scientific article whose authors exaggerated its questionable claims regarding trees' ca...
CONTINUE READINGBold But Realistic Climate Actions
Here’s what a new President could actually do.
What options are available to a new President taking office in 2021? Let’s assume a favorable scenario for climate action in which Dems take unified control of the government (White House, Senate, House) in 2021. What then? The first theme to keep in mind is that the Democrats will still be subject to some significant constraint. Any Democratic margin in the Senate is likely to be thin. Moreover, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court seems hostile to ef...
CONTINUE READINGFrom the Grand Canyon to Contaminated Cantaloupes – and More
Five books with fresh perspectives on environmental issues.
Law reviews make little effort to track new books, unlike other journals in other disciplines . So it’s pretty much hit-or-miss whether you learn about relevant new books. I wanted to share some interesting finds that have crossed my desk, joined a growing pile of unread books, and then slowly left the pile. The subjects of these books range from the challenges of preventing food poisoning to the creative response of the Dutch to the "Little Ice Age" (1300-1870 AD...
CONTINUE READINGNew Roadmaps for Negative Emissions
Two reports try to figure out how to scale carbon removal
Last week saw two exciting reports released which examine how to remove carbon at scale. Getting to Neutral: Options for Negative Carbon Emissions in California was led by a team from Lawrence Livermore National Labs (LNLL), and assesses pathways for California to remove 125 million tons of CO2 /year from the air by 2045, in order for California to meet its carbon neutrality goal. CarbonShot: Federal Policy Options for Carbon Removal in the United States comes ...
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
