Should a New Congress Use a Deeply Flawed Law to Cancel Trump’s Regulations?
The Congressional Review Act was Newt Gingrich’s brainchild. It should be repealed.
The Congressional Review Act (CRA), part of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract With America”, slumbered for many years in obscurity. Then, in 2017, Congress dusted it off and used it to kill fifteen Obama administration regulations. I’m not the first to ask whether there should be payback if the White House and Senate change hands. There are legitimate reasons for using the CRA. Doing so would allow for reversal of some of the Trump administration’s regulatory rollba...
CONTINUE READINGFighting Global Warming in a Chilly Judicial Climate
A 6-3 conservative court is bad news for climate action. Here's a threat assessment.
With Romney's announcement this morning that he would support consideration of a nominee before the election, it now seems virtually certain that Trump will be able to appoint a sixth conservative Justice. How will that affect future climate policy? Here is a preliminary threat assessment. The answer varies, depending on what policies we’re talking about. Overall, the implications of a 6-3 Court are bad. But they’re probably not as dire for environmental law a...
CONTINUE READINGThe Kavanaugh Court and the Environment
A new appointment would make Justice Kavanaugh the swing voter. Here’s what that would mean for environmental law.
A new appointment by Trump would shift the Supreme Court well to the right, making Brett Kavanaugh the swing voter in many cases. Kavanaugh has clear views about the powers of agencies like EPA. With him as the swing voter, the main strategy used by Obama to make environmental progress would be off limits for future Presidents. When Obama was stymied by congressional deadlock, he turned to the administrative process. Through broad interpretation of the authority of ...
CONTINUE READINGBattle for the Senate: Alabama
Losing this seat would make it much harder to build a pro-environmental majority.
By all accounts, Doug Jones is the most endangered incumbent Democratic Senators. He won in something of a fluke in a special election, after reports surfaced that his opponent had stalked teenage girls. Now he faces a tough reelection battle. If he loses, it becomes that much more difficult to slip enough seats for a pro-environmental Senate majority. His opponent is Tommy Tuberville, a popular football coach. Doug Jones. Jones has an 82% lifetime score from the Leag...
CONTINUE READINGLarge-scale carbon removal: How do we phase out big industries?
While we're designing policy for scaling up carbon removal, we should think about the eventual need to ramp it down.
Authored with Edward A. Parson Just a few years ago, carbon removal wasn’t seen as something that could be realistically scaled, observed Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). “It is now becoming clear that technologies to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the air and the ocean are not only real, but they are needed and they are certainly worth pursuing,” she told the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources at the end of July, which held a hearing...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia House Races and the Environment
Control of the House isn't in play, but some California seats are up for grabs.
Control of the U.S. House doesn’t seem to be in play this year, but there are a lot of individual districts across the country that could flip. Cook Political lists 28 toss-up races and another 28 that lean one way or the other but are still competitive. Obviously, I’m not going to try to talk about all these races here. There are three in California, however, that deserve some attention. CA-21. Cox v. Valadao. Here, incumbent TJ Cox (D) faces David Valadao (R...
CONTINUE READING“Knocking on Our Door”: Wildfires Threaten Mt. Wilson Observatory and San Gabriel Foothill Communities
On Sept. 15, Angeles National Forest reported the Bobcat Fire was within 500 ft. of historic observatory in San Gabriel Mountains
The Bobcat fire blazing in the San Gabriel Mountains is threatening lives and homes, forcing evacuation of communities in foothills clogged with acres of brush dried out by the hottest August ever recorded in California. For flatland Angelenos like me, the fires are both omnipresent and distant, sensed only by the hazy skies and smell of smoke. With windows kept shut, I’ve been tuned in to the Los Angeles Times’ wildfire map, SCAQMD’s Current AQI map, Twitter hasht...
CONTINUE READINGHow can California make water data work for decision makers?
by Alida Cantor and Michael Kiparsky
California produces immense amounts of water-related data. Yet, California also struggles to adapt its water systems to pressures such as climate change and population growth. To meet these challenges in an informed way, decision makers need data that supports their needs. In 2018, spurred by the Open and Transparent Water Data Act of 2016 (AB 1755), we engaged stakeholders to learn how to make water data more useful. Since then, California state agencies have worke...
CONTINUE READINGBattle for the Senate: Iowa
The Iowa race features two candidates with very different views about climate change.
The Senate race in Iowa pits incumbent Joni Ernst against Democrat Theresa Greenfield. Climate change is the area where the two contrast most strongly. Greenfield accepts the science and calls for action. Ernst is still in the "maybe it relates to a little bit to humans" phase of climate denial. She also says she's "so skeptical" of the COVID death count. “These health-care providers and others are reimbursed at a higher rate if covid is tied to it, so what do you th...
CONTINUE READINGWhen Republicans Supported the Environment: Bush 41
The GOP wasn’t always the sworn enemy of environmental protection.
Younger people today probably know about George Herbert Walker Bush (R) as the father of George W. Bush and (perhaps) as the architect of the first Iraq War. But he also had some notable environmental achievements to his credit. Here are some of his accomplishments: Air Pollution Law. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments were a massive revamp of the statute. The Act established a successful cap-and-trade system for cutting acid rain. Bush had to engage in considerable...
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