The Anthropocene and private law
Areas such as torts and property will face significant challenges
I’ve posted about how the Anthropocene will see major changes in how humans affect our planet, and how those changes will have major impacts on human society, triggering substantially larger interventions by the legal system in a wide range of individual behavior. In this post, I want to spin out some of the implications of those dynamics for private law in the United States. Here I will cover two examples: tort law and property law. The changes in private law are...
CONTINUE READINGThe Anthropocene and the legal system
Responding to the Anthropocene will produce pressure for substantial changes in our legal system
In my prior two posts, I discussed how humans are increasingly impairing natural systems on a global scale, and how those impairments of natural systems will have major negative impacts on human societies. How will these changes affect the legal system? The first important point in answering that question is that many of the changes in our global natural systems are the result of millions and billions of individual human activities. For instance, greenhouse gas e...
CONTINUE READINGPennsylvania’s Backward Energy Policy
PA's policies look more like the upper South than the mid-Atlantic.
Pennsylvania has a fairly pitiful profile in terms of renewable energy. As of 2015, it got about 4% of its power from renewables, and only about half of that from wind and solar. Nearly all of the remainder was from nuclear (37%), coal (30%) and gas (28%). Perhaps not coincidentally, the state was the nation’s third-largest coal producer in 2016 and the second largest natural gas producer, largely due to fracking. Things do seem to be shifting a bit away from coal: by ...
CONTINUE READINGThe impacts of the Anthropocene
The Anthropocene will produce profound economic, social, and political effects on human societies
In my prior post, I explained how humans are increasingly altering or influencing natural systems at a planetary level, and not just through climate change. Now I want to explain a little about the impacts of those changes on human societies, and the implications of those impacts for how we will respond as societies to the Anthropocene. It is increasingly apparent that climate change will have significant negative impacts on human societies around the world. Those...
CONTINUE READINGThe science of the Anthropocene
Human impacts on global natural systems are large and diverse
Climate change is well known now as a major impact of humans on the planet. But climate change is only one of a wide range of ways in which humans are dramatically changing natural systems at the regional, continental and planetary levels. For instance, greenhouse gas emissions are the driver of anthropogenic climate change. But those same greenhouse gas emissions are also causing fundamental changes in our oceans – increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmo...
CONTINUE READINGLaw in the Anthropocene Era
Human impacts on our planet will trigger changes in our legal system
As becomes more and more evident every day, climate change is increasingly a dominant and sometimes devastating factor for human society and natural systems on a global scale. Much has been, and will continue to be, written about how we as a society can reduce the future impacts of climate change and adapt to the impacts that have already occurred or are inevitable. But climate change is in many ways the tip of the iceberg. It is just one of many ways in which human...
CONTINUE READINGFinally, California Gets A Meaningful Housing Bill
SB 827 (Wiener) would be a game-changer to solve the housing and sprawl crisis
California State Senator Scott Wiener just introduced the bill I've probably been waiting for since I started following land use and transit in California over a decade-and-a-half ago. SB 827 would dramatically scale back local government restrictions on housing near major transit stops (see the fact sheet PDF). These restrictions by local governments have prevented new housing from being built in precisely the job- and transit-rich locations where we need housing the...
CONTINUE READINGWhere the Wild Things Are
For endangered species, don't think Alaska or Montana. Think Hawaii and California. And Alabama.
When we think about preserving nature in the United States, we tend to think of the country’s great wilderness areas in places like Alaska and the Rockies. We don’t think about Alabama or Puerto Rico, for instance. But in terms of biodiversity protection, this is almost the opposite of the truth. By and large, the places with endangered species aren’t in those big wilderness areas. They’re in less romantic places – notably including the two I’ve just mentione...
CONTINUE READINGThe Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ Most Important Environmental Law Decisions of 2017
Constitutional Issues, Water Law, Native American Rights Dominate Court's Environmental Docket
Happy New Year! As we move into 2018, let's take a look back at the most significant environmental law decisions issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2017. Conventional wisdom is that the second most important federal court in the nation (after the U.S. Supreme Court) is the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. I beg to differ: at least with respect to environmental and natural resources law cases, I strongly believe that the Ninth Circuit is th...
CONTINUE READINGWhat’s Ahead in 2018? The Top Five Things to Watch For.
2018 will be a big year for environmental law, either for good or for bad.
2016 was a huge year in environmental law, with big achievements like the Paris Agreement and huge disappointments like the presidential election. By contrast, 2017 was pretty predictable: Trump did just what he promised during the campaign. The year ahead of us will have some big events to watch out for. Here are my nominations for the top five in terms of environment and energy. WOTUS. The Trump Administration has geared up to rescind Obama's WOTUS rule. ...
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