Region: National
COP 21 Battle over 1.5 Degree Global Target
The Contradictory Impulses in the Global Climate Negotiations
The Paris Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 negotiations are, not surprisingly, coming down to the wire with a number of contentious issues still unresolved. One issue that has surprised, impressed and puzzled me is the debate about whether the agreement should incorporate a goal that the global community work to limit temperature increases to …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Blogger Kate Konschnik: The Debate about EPA’s Authority to Regulate Carbon Pollution is a Lot of Things – But Not These Things
Kate Konschnik is the Director of Harvard Law School’s Environmental Policy Initiative. The views expressed in this blog post are her own.
Clean Power Plan challengers have asked the D.C. Circuit to stay the rule pending litigation. Today, industry and environmental groups supporting EPA will file their oppositions to this request. The stay motions included the charge that EPA may not use Section 111(d) at all to curb pollution from existing power plants. Dan Farber and I …
CONTINUE READINGShould the Court Stay the Clean Power Plan?
Opponents need to prove four things to get a stay. They may be unable to prove any of those.
Opponents of EPA’s landmark climate rule, the Clean Power Plan (a/k/a 111(d) regulation), are seeking to stay the effectiveness of the rule. A stay is a variety of preliminary injunction, and the Supreme Court laid down four requirements for such orders in Winter v. NRDC: “A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish [1] that he is …
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CONTINUE READINGWill the TPP Undermine Climate Policy?
The short answer: probably not much, maybe not at all
Representatives of U.S. environmental negotiations have shown up in Paris to campaign against the new TPP trade agreement. (here) They’ve also been actively engaged in discussions with Democratic law-makers, in an effort to block approval. A key objection is that the TPP will undermine climate policy. Jim Salzman had a great post last week on …
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CONTINUE READINGPlanting Biofuels in California
New report on ways to boost in-state production of low-carbon biofuels, plus December 14th webinar
When we think of ways to reduce emissions from petroleum-based transportation fuels, electric vehicles get much of the headlines. Battery electric transportation certainly offers a viable, long-term alternative to petroleum fuels. But we’re still a few years away from an affordable, mass-market electric vehicle, and battery technology may be decades away, if ever, from being …
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CONTINUE READING“Necessary and Appropriate”
EPA has now formally proposed its response to the Supreme Court’s opinion in Michigan v. EPA
Although the Paris talks are justifiably getting the lion’s share of the attention, there have been other significant environmental actions recently. One of those involves the EPA’s effort to reduce toxic emissions from power plants (particularly coal-fired plants). The Clean Air Act gives special treatment to toxic emissions from power plants. Other sources are regulated …
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CONTINUE READINGA Thanksgiving Day Reflection
Thoughts about the impacts of extreme events and climate change on food security, and hopes for the Paris negotiations
Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude for the food and community we share. But as many of us feast with loved ones today, our gratitude might also prompt reflection about the sources of our food and, more generally, the fragility of the environment. This seems especially appropriate, as Native American tribes are among those most …
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CONTINUE READINGMr. Smith’s War Against Science
Further harassment of climate scientists from the House Science Committee.
Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), who chairs the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, doesn’t believe in climate change. Still, by current political standards, I guess we should be glad that he hasn’t accused them of cheering when the Twin Towers fell, as his party’s leading contender for the Presidency did to what he called “thousands …
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CONTINUE READINGYou Have the Right to Generate Your Own Electricity
Preserving an implicit right in the face of electric utility resistance
Do people have the right to generate electricity for their own use and still remain connected to the grid? Of course they do. You see it every day. Without prior registration or a background check, anyone can go into a hardware store and buy a diesel generator. Homeowners and businesses can install rooftop solar photovoltaics …
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CONTINUE READINGCould FDA’s Approval of GMO Salmon Actually Be Good for the Environment?
Farmed GMO fish could help reduce pressures on wild stocks.
FDA has — after more than two decades of consideration — approved the marketing of genetically modified salmon in the U.S. As the NY Times reports, this decision has had push-back from the quarters you might expect . Says one critic: “This unfortunate, historic decision disregards the vast majority of consumers, many independent scientists, numerous members …
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