Region: National
Lessons from Aliso Canyon, Part II
Leaks in Regulation
Today, Southern California Gas announced it has successfully and permanently stopped the methane leak at its Aliso Canyon storage site. This marks the (fingers-crossed) end of a multi-month environmental crisis in northwest Los Angeles, causing residents to move and schools to close. Earlier this month, I blogged about the possible lessons we could learn …
Continue reading “Lessons from Aliso Canyon, Part II”
CONTINUE READINGDoes Sri Srinivasan’s Clean Power Plan Role on the D.C. Circuit Panel Hurt His Nomination Chances?
He may feel compelled to recuse himself, lowering the odds that the CPP is upheld in the Court of Appeals
Some environmentalists are already criticizing Sri Srinivasan’s environmental credentials because as a lawyer at O’Melveny & Meyers he defended Exxon Mobil and Rio Tinto, a mining company, in cases alleging human rights abuses in Indonesia and Papau New Guinea. He also represented Enron villain Jeff Skilling. But I wonder if Srinivasan’s nomination raises a different, …
CONTINUE READINGThe Tricky Problem of Cumulative Exposures
A new UCLA report finds reason to be concerned about cumulative risk, and notes that under CA law regulators are required to act
We are all exposed to hundreds, if not thousands of chemicals through consumer products, air pollution, drinking water, and occupational exposures, just to name a few. Yet chemicals and pollutants are largely assessed and regulated individually. Increasingly, environmental health professionals have been attempting to grapple with assessing the risk of exposure to multiple chemicals. New …
Continue reading “The Tricky Problem of Cumulative Exposures”
CONTINUE READINGWhat Does Justice Scalia’s Death Mean for the Clean Power Plan?
Basically, everything
I am very sensitive to the emotions surrounding the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia and feel deep sympathy for his family, many friends and colleagues. He was a towering intellectual force and we will be dissecting his influence for years to come. Yet the death of a public figure — especially one as …
Continue reading “What Does Justice Scalia’s Death Mean for the Clean Power Plan?”
CONTINUE READINGMitch McConnell’s “War on Coal Miners”
McConnell seems to care more about political payback than the miners’ welfare.
Mitch McConnell’s website trumpets that last fall he received an award from the Washington Coal Club “for his work to defend Kentucky’s coal jobs, miners and their families.” His concern for miners turns out not to be so deep. As the Washington Post reported last week, he single-handedly blocked a measure to rescue health and pension benefits …
Continue reading “Mitch McConnell’s “War on Coal Miners””
CONTINUE READINGJustice Scalia and Environmental Law
Scalia’s decisions were almost unremittingly anti-environmental.
Over the past three decades, Justice Scalia did much to shape environmental law, nearly always in a conservative direction. Because of the importance of his rulings, environmental lawyers and scholars are all familiar with his work. But for the benefit of others, I thought it might be helpful to summarize his major environmental decisions. The …
Continue reading “Justice Scalia and Environmental Law”
CONTINUE READINGReflections on the Coastal Commission’s Implosion
The Implications of the Decision to Fire Charles Lester – and the Decision Not to Explain It
As Rick Frank insightfully discussed earlier this week, the California Coastal Commission has fired its former executive director, Charles Lester. Readers interested in more background information and analysis should read Rick’s post, as well as the excellent reporting by Tony Barboza and others from the LA Times. (And anyone who wants to hear about it …
Continue reading “Reflections on the Coastal Commission’s Implosion”
CONTINUE READINGThe Supreme Court Stay and the Dog That Didn’t Bark
EPA’s Requirements for New Plants Remain Intact
The Supreme Court’s stay of the Clean Power Plan was a surprise to almost all observers, maybe even to the lawyers requesting the stay. We can only speculate on what the five majority Justices had in mind, since there was no written opinion. The practical impact of the decision is also unclear. E&E news reports that the …
Continue reading “The Supreme Court Stay and the Dog That Didn’t Bark”
CONTINUE READINGThe Decision to Halt the Implementation of the Clean Power Plan is Outrageous
And Inconsistent with the Law
As I wrote earlier today, there is nothing good to be said about the U.S. Supreme Court decision today that halted the implementation of the President’s Clean Power Plan. The decision is a huge blow to the President’s climate agenda, it’s a setback for the Paris Agreement and it is a bad sign that the …
Continue reading “The Decision to Halt the Implementation of the Clean Power Plan is Outrageous”
CONTINUE READINGInitial Thoughts on the Supreme Court Staying the Clean Power Plan
Short Answer: There’s Nothing Good to Say About it
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 half-page order, dealt the Obama Administration a big blow today by preventing its Clean Power Plan from going into effect until the case can be heard on its merits. We know from the order that the Court split in the usual way, with the four more liberal members of the Court …
Continue reading “Initial Thoughts on the Supreme Court Staying the Clean Power Plan”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
