Another Dam Climate Adaptation Problem

Report Suggests That Poor Management Intensified Kerala Flood Devastation

The Economic and Political Weekly is one of India's most prestigious journals: for decades it has enjoyed a unique role in driving the Union's policy conversation, partly because it is peer-reviewed. And this week, it contains a devastating report about how poor dam management exacerbated Kerala's horrific floods. It's an obvious issue: if dams have too much water in them when floods occur they can't serve as storage for floodwaters, and they might be topped or even b...

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Californians Strongly Oppose Rolling Back Clean Car Standards

Day-long hearing in Fresno shows clear opposition to Trump administration proposal

Along with hundreds of others, I traveled to Fresno, California to testify today against EPA’s proposed rollback of vehicle standards. We’ve covered EPA and NHTSA’s legally flawed proposal in a number of previous Legal Planet posts. Today’s hearing started out with NHTSA’s chief counsel accidentally referring to EPA as the “Energy Protection Agency,” but has been filled with powerful testimony from California government officials; local doctors, residents, ...

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The Case for Co-Benefits

Ignoring co-benefits violates well-established legal principles.

The Trump Administration is moving toward the view, long popular in industry, that when it regulates a pollutant, EPA can consider only the health impacts of that particular pollutant – even when the regulation will also reduce other harmful pollutants. This idea is especially important in climate change regulation, because cutting carbon emissions almost always results in reductions of other pollutants like particulates that are dangerous to health. This may seem like...

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China at the Global Climate Action Summit

Climate Action from the World's Largest Emitter

Governor Brown’s Global Climate Action Summit came to a close this past Friday in San Francisco. A large delegation of Chinese government officials, researchers, business leaders and civil society representatives were on hand for the proceedings. Xie Zhenhua, China’s special representative on climate change, reaffirmed China’s commitment to action on climate change. While Xie had no SB100 or ‘launching our own damn satellite’ moments at the Summit, he told repo...

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Making Good on Zinke’s Pledge

Trump Administration Puts Industry First in Regulation of Methane Emissions from Oil & Gas Operations

“Our government should work for you, the oil and gas industry.” – Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, at a gathering of oil industry representatives, Sept. 18, 2018 Within the past two weeks, the Trump Administration has taken two significant steps to roll back Obama-era regulations designed to reduce waste and GHG emissions from oil and gas operations.  On September 10, EPA published a proposed rule that would amend 2016 new source performance standards (NSPS)...

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Battle for the Senate: Arizona and Nevada

These two states offer Dems badly needed pick-up opportunities.

Here are two key Western races. The contrast between candidates on environment and energy is striking. Arizona: Sinoma v. McSally (primary Aug. 28).  Incumbent Jeff Flake (R) isn’t running for reelection. Flake’s lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) was a mere 9%. The likely match-up is Martha McSally, a Republican with a lifetime 6% LCV score, versus Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, with an LCV score of 78%. Nevada: Rosen v. Heller. Incumbent D...

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Reflections from Climate Conference No. 2: The Global Climate Action Summit

Similarly inspiring, with an added dollop of controversy

Last week’s Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco was at once exciting, inspiring, thought-provoking, and controversial. While I was reinvigorated to push my career in climate change and environmental law and policy, it also forced me to critically think about the nuances in climate change policymaking. As promised, here is an overview of my experience there. Attending the Summit itself was by invite only, and potential attendees, or “delegates”, were no...

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Battle for the Senate: Montana and North Dakota

These two coal-producing states may determine the balance of power in 2019.

Montana and North Dakota are two must-win states for the Democrats. Both states went heavily for Trump. The environmental stakes are large. Montana: Tester v. Rosendale. The incumbent is Jon Tester (D), with an 86% lifetime League of Conservation Voters (LCV) score. Montana gets 54% of its power from coal and 40% from renewables (33% hydro). His opponent is state auditor Matt Rosendale, who won his primary with heavy support from conservative groups and figures such a...

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The Public Trust Doctrine as an Anti-Corruption Weapon

Everything Old Is New Again

As Rick noted a couple of weeks ago, the California Court of Appeal has recently decided that the public trust doctrine applies to groundwater resources -- a long overdue holding that flows (so to speak) pretty much directly from the landmark Mono Lake decision that applied the PTD to surface water. (Since surface and groundwater are hydrologically identical, the burden rests on those who deny the applicability to make the case, which they so far have not done). Envir...

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