Region: National
Faculty Job Openings in Environmental Law
Looking for a job in law teaching? Here’s a list of schools doing searches in environmental, energy, or natural resources law. I’ll update the list if I hear about additional openings. Alabama is planning to hire at least one junior-lateral candidate or entry-level person this year. Four subject matter areas are receiving special attention, one …
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CONTINUE READINGA Blow to Public Interest Litigation
A Texas judge’s award of attorney fees is a threat to all public interest groups, liberal or conservative.
A couple of weeks ago, a federal district judge in Texas awarded over $6 million in attorneys’ fees against the Sierra Club. Sierra Club had survived motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, only to lose at trial. The court awarded fees on the ground that the suit was frivolous. The combination of rulings — denying summary …
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CONTINUE READINGA Roadmap for State Comments on the Clean Power Plan
Considerations for State Regulators Tackling EPA’s §111(d) Proposed Rule
Yesterday, EPA announced its decision to extend the comment period on the Clean Power Plan—the agency’s proposed rule to regulate power plant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under Clean Air Act § 111(d)—until December 1, 2014. The comment period was originally scheduled to last 120 days, until October 16th. You can find a list of compiled …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA / UC Berkeley Law Report On Harvesting Electric Vehicle Batteries For Grid Storage
Joint law school report will be discussed at a webinar on Friday at 10am
As I blogged about last week, California and the nation may have a golden opportunity to harvest used electric vehicle batteries for inexpensive energy storage. These repurposed batteries can be stacked for bulk storage to absorb surplus renewable energy for cloudy and dark windless times. They can save ratepayers money, clean the grid, and potentially …
CONTINUE READINGLos Angeles Heat Waves, Electricity Use and Climate Change
It is 102 degrees in Los Angeles as I write this. Not in the San Fernando Valley or in the communities east of Los Angeles whose temperatures are regularly several degrees higher but in downtown Los Angeles. We’re in record heat territory and way above historical averages. But temperatures aren’t the only records that are …
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CONTINUE READING2014 Senate Races and the Environment: Arkansas and Louisiana
Moderate Democratic Senators are at risk from GOP challengers.
Arkansas and Louisiana are neighboring states in which Republicans have good chances of picking up Senate seats. But the GOP candidates in the two states have somewhat different stances on the environment. Though, needless to say, neither of them will be getting awards from the Sierra Club anytime soon, one of them has some environmental positives, …
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CONTINUE READINGCleaning The Grid With “Second Life” Electric Vehicle Batteries
Register now for a webinar on the forthcoming UCLA/UC Berkeley Law report, next Friday from 10-11am
As California faces an increasing need for more energy storage to integrate variable renewables and provide other grid services, used electric vehicle batteries could be a critical – and inexpensive – part of the solution. Sales of electric vehicles in the United States are heading toward a quarter million, with 100,000 of those purchases in …
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CONTINUE READINGThe State(s) of Obesity
There are big differences between states, but this really is a national epidemic.
State of Obesity, a joint project of the Trust for America’s Future and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has released a fascinating report about adult obesity. There are large national disparities. The obesity rate is over 35% in West Virginia and Mississippi, but only 21% in Colorado. Despite these disparities, obesity rates have grown everywhere since 1990, …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Iowa Senate Race and the Environment
The environmental stakes are high in the Hawkeye State.
Iowa is a state where the Republican and Democratic candidates have starkly different views about the environment. Joni Ernst, the Republican Senatorial candidate in Iowa, is staunchly anti-environmental. In one of the Republican debates, she had this to say: Another area that we need to look at is the Environmental Protection Agency. When we talk …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Does Mitch McConnell Hate the Environment?
McConnell’s environmental record is terrible — worse than Rand Paul or Jim Inhofe.
Mitch McConnell hates the environment. When I say McConnell hates the environment, I mean that he’s an environmental disaster. The environment would be in better hands if he were replaced as the Senate Republican leader by Ted Cruz or Rand Paul. Here’s a fun fact: Mitch McConnell’s environmental record is twice as bad as Ted …
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