NYC’s Cap on Uber and Lyft Is an Important Step for Cities
A temporary pause to identify regulatory solutions to social and environmental impacts
Last week, the New York City Council enacted a temporary cap on Uber, Lyft and other transportation network company (TNC) vehicles in the city, blocking the issuance of new vehicle licenses for a 12-month period while the city conducts a study to determine whether to enact long-term regulations limiting the number of TNC vehicles on city streets. Much of the coverage of the measure has rightly focused on driver welfare; the cap was paired with a mandate to set a minimum ...
CONTINUE READING68 Law Professors Urge Withdrawal of EPA Proposal to Limit Use of Best Science in Agency Rulemakings
Emmett Institute Faculty Submit Letter on Behalf of Environmental and Administrative Law Professors from 47 Universities Across the U.S.
Today, on behalf of 68 environmental and administrative law professors affiliated with 47 universities around the country, Sean Hecht and I filed a comment letter urging EPA’s Acting Administrator Wheeler to withdraw the misleadingly-named “Strengthening Transparency in Science” proposed rule. My Legal Planet colleague, Dan Farber, has written here and here about some of the proposed rule’s defects. Many thanks go to Dan, Amanda Leiter, and Justin Pidot for...
CONTINUE READINGTrump Loses Another Big Court Case
Ninth Circuit reverses Pruitt decision to allow a dangerous pesticide on food.
Last Thursday, the Ninth Circuit ruled that Scott Pruitt had no justification for allowing even the tiniest traces of a pesticide called chlorpyrifos (also called Lorsban and Dursban) on food. This is yet another judicial slap against lawlessness by the current Administration. Chlorpyrifos was originally invented as a nerve gas, but it turns out that it kills insects quite satisfactorily. (I remember ads for “Big Foot Lorsban” from back when I lived in downstate...
CONTINUE READINGChesapeake
EPA needs to take a hand to keep the restoration plan on track. We’ll see how that goes soon.
The effort to restore Chesapeake Bay is something I knew vaguely about but had never looked into. A new on-line dashboard of relevant material inspired me to take a deeper dive. The restoration plan is definitely worth a closer look., It's the U.S. leading effort to reduce“nonpoint source” water pollution such as agricultural runoff. It is increasingly that type of pollution, not discharges from factories or sewage plants, which causes the most harm to water bodies...
CONTINUE READINGSecretary Zinke Misleads the Public About Wildfires and Federal Public Land Management
Secretary of Interior's Op-Ed Ignores Science and Land-Use Planning to Falsely Blame Wildfire Risk on "Radical Environmentalists"
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke published an op-ed today calling for "active management" of our federal public lands to reduce wildfire risk, and blaming "radical environmentalists who would rather see forests and communities burn than see a logger in the woods" for the prevalance and lethality of wildfires in the American West. Zinke's op-ed is disingenuous, meant to mislead readers about how our public lands are managed. His call for “active management” is a thin...
CONTINUE READINGDoes the Clean Air Act Mask One of Our Worst Remaining Air Pollution Problems?
New Article Addresses Hot Spot Pollution and the Clean Air Act
Over the last fifty years, we have made huge progress in cleaning up the nation's air. Overall pollution levels have dropped by 70 percent since the 1970s, cars are 99 percent cleaner, and we've essentially eliminated lead from the atmosphere. The Clean Air Act is the main reason for this success, saving countless lives and billions of dollars. The most stubbornly persistent remaining problem, though, is hot spot pollution: certain geographic areas that have air po...
CONTINUE READINGHow Would a Justice Kavanaugh Approach Environmental Cases?
Reflections From a Review of Kavanaugh's D.C. Circuit Opinions
As we await the outcome of President Trump’s nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, journalists and legal scholars have been scouring Judge Kavanaugh’s past decisions and legal writings for indications as to how he might resolve pressing legal questions if installed on the Court. I’m adding here a few thoughts to the many that have already been expressed on this score (including my colleague Ann Carlson’s), with a specific focus on Judge Kavanaugh...
CONTINUE READINGWatered Down Standards at the TRUMP CAFÉ
Here are the FAQs about Trump's proposed rollback.
Trump is proposing to gut CO2 standards for cars, freezing 2020 CAFE fuel-efficiency standards in place for years to come. Without the freeze, the standards would automatically ramp up. He also wants to eliminate California’s ability to set its own standards, which many other states have opted to adopt. Here are seven key questions about Trump’s proposed rollback and some answers. Do the car companies really want this? A: Not so much. It's not that they lov...
CONTINUE READINGTrump administration and California are on collision course over vehicle emissions rules
Meredith Hankins and Nicholas Bryner co-author legal explainer for The Conversation
California and the Trump administration are going different directions on mileage standards. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli Meredith Hankins, University of California, Los Angeles and Nicholas Bryner, Louisiana State University The Trump administration on Aug. 2 formally announced a proposal to freeze fuel economy standards and tailpipe emission standards for new cars. In addition, it is proposing to revoke California’s authority to set more stringent rules. This m...
CONTINUE READINGThe Trump Administration Just Released Its Proposal to Eviscerate Car Standards, Revoke California Authority
The Legal Grounds For Doing So Are Dubious At Best
As expected, the Trump Administration has released its proposal that recommends freezing combined fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards at 2020 levels for model years 2021-2025. The proposal also recommends revoking the waiver EPA granted California in 2013 to issue its own greenhouse gas emissions standards and to continue the state's program to gradually increase the percentage of zero emissions vehicles each auto manufacturer must sell in the state. It is i...
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
