Region: National
Citations for environmental and energy law professors
The most-cited environmental and energy law professors in 2010-2014
Brian Leiter at Chicago is doing one of his occasional series identifying the top cited legal scholars in a range of substantive areas. One list he has done covers administrative and environmental scholars – however, his list includes a number of top administrative law scholars who do not focus on environmental and energy law. I …
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CONTINUE READINGBarry Goldwater, Environmentalist
Goldwater was passionate about saving the planet.
Barry Goldwater’s views on the environment didn’t have much in common with those of the present-day conservatives who are his ideological descendants. His 1970 book, The Conscience of a Majority, has half a chapter about the environment. “Our job,” he said, “is to prevent that lush orb known as the Earth . . . from …
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CONTINUE READINGThe National Park Service and Climate Change
Does the agency have the legal tools to respond to climate change?
This past weekend President Obama visited Yosemite, helping the National Park Service celebrate its 100th anniversary. As part of his remarks, the President noted that climate change is already causing major impacts on the resources in National Parks around the country—for instance, causing the disappearance of the glaciers in Yosemite and increasing fire risks in …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Clean Power Plan — Low Cost, High Benefits
Despite claims by industry and conservatives, the CPP’s costs are completely manageable.
The Supreme Court’s stay of EPA’s Clean Power Plan was a surprise, and a questionable action on many grounds. It now seems clear that the stay — along with much of the political fuss about the CPP — was based on very questionable economics. In terms of the stay, a team of economists at Resources …
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CONTINUE READINGThe End-game for Diablo Canyon?
A landmark agreement supports the closure of a controversial nuclear plant.
Today’s announcement that the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) has reached an agreement with several environmental and labor groups to plan for the eventual shutdown of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant is a stunning development, when viewed in an historical perspective. PG&E has agreed not to seek new licenses for its power plant that …
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CONTINUE READINGStatutory Standing After the Spokeo Decision
A non-environmental case opens the door to new arguments about standing.
One of the recurring questions in standing law is the extent to which Congress can change the application of the standing doctrine. A recent Supreme Court opinion in a non-environmental case sheds some light – not a lot, but some – on this recurring question. The Court has made it clear that there is a …
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CONTINUE READINGGaming Out Environmental Law: 2017-2019
The heavens or the abyss? Or somewhere in between?
What happens after November? A lot depends on who’s the next President, but the congressional elections also matter. Basically, a Trump victory would mean at least a rollback of much of Obama’s environmental legacy, and perhaps passage of the current House deregulatory agenda into law. A Clinton victory would be likely to preserve or strengthen the …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump, Clinton, and the Environment
Your Handy Guide to the Differences
Here’s a handy chart comparing Trump and Clinton on environmental and energy issues. I’ve assembled the relevant statements by the candidates below the summary table. Issue Clinton Trump Is climate change real? Yes, an urgent threat. No, it’s a hoax. Support Clean Power Plan? Yes. No. Support Keystone XL pipeline? No. Yes. Drill in Arctic? …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump’s 2009 Call for Serious Climate Action
No, I’m not making this up.
On the eve of the Copenhagen conference, business leaders published an open letter demanding urgent climate action. The letter was signed by Donald Trump along with Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. Here’s some of the language of the letter: “We support your effort to ensure meaningful and effective measures to control climate change, an immediate …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Road to Improved Compliance
Enforcement of environmental laws is spotty. But there are ways to change that.I
As I wrote earlier this week, environmental enforcement is not nearly as effective as it should be. EPA and others have been working on finding creative ways of obtaining compliance, often with the help of new technology. One aspect of enforcement that has become clear is the need to focus on small, dispersed sources that may …
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