The Future of Environmental Law?
Thoughts from the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawai'i
I am writing this weekend from a sunny spot in the Pacific, from the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu. For the uninitiated, the IUCN—International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources—is a global union of governments and non-governmental organizations (including over 1300 member institutions, organizations, and countries worldwide) focused on the conservation of nature. The IUCN holds its worldwide meeting, the World Conservation Congres...
CONTINUE READINGOf Pipelines, Protests, and General Permits
A fight in North Dakota reveals problems in how we permit and review large infrastructure projects
Native American tribes and environmental groups are currently protesting the completion of an oil pipeline in North Dakota. The pipeline would travel beneath the Missouri River. Tribes and environmentalists are fighting the pipeline both through litigation and also through direct action (occupying the site where the construction to complete the pipeline beneath the river would occur). There has been news coverage of the protests and the activism by Native American...
CONTINUE READINGObama’s Public Lands Conservation Legacy
Progress, but still much more to do
President Obama has gotten some high praise lately from the New York Times editorial board, and this op-ed from Prof. David Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice noted for his biography of President Theodore Roosevelt. Brinkley compares Obama favorably to Teddy Roosevelt for his conservation legacy. The specific recent actions by President Obama that prompted this praise were the creation of a number of new national monuments under the Antiquities Act, includin...
CONTINUE READINGThe Downward Political Spiral of a Declining Industry
As the coal industry weakens economically, it also loses political clout.
Tighter regulation contributes to an environmentally dirty industry's economic decline, which reduces its political clout, which allows more regulation, further weakening the industry. Coal is prime example. The coal industry's economic plight is well-known. Coal production is the lowest since a major strike 35 years ago. In fact, my colleagues at the business school report that coal use has dropped dramatically even in the past year, down over 25% from last yea...
CONTINUE READINGBikes in Wilderness
A misguided proposal in Congress
This New York Times article notes that a bill (S. 3205) is pending in Congress to allow mountain bikes in federally-designated wilderness areas. In short, the bill is a terrible idea. First, on the merits, allowing mountain bikes into wilderness areas has the potential for significant impacts both on other humans using wilderness, and on the species and ecosystems in wilderness areas. Many users of wilderness areas enjoy those areas precisely because they are refu...
CONTINUE READINGIdling Cars, Dirty Air
The pollution isn't just indoors. It's also inside the car or bus.
Being stuck in traffic is even worse than you thought. A new study, reported in yesterday's NY Times, "pollution levels inside cars at red lights or in traffic jams are up to 40 percent higher than when traffic is moving." But things could be worse: you could be a kid on an older school bus. Here's a summary of some of the earlier research: "Air inside the big, yellow buses used to shuttle children to and from school can contain up to 8.5 times more diese...
CONTINUE READINGWhy Does Industry Always Attack New Rules?
It makes businesses look obstructionist and often gains them nothing. So why do they do it?
It seems like every time EPA makes a move, industry says it's another job-killing power grab by the government and files court challenges within about an hour of EPA's action. But why? The rule often survives judicial review, so industry spends millions on lawyers and gets nothing in return. It's true that industry does often win at least part of its challenge, and it sometimes gets a temporary stay that buys it time. But stays are rare in the D.C. Circuit, whe...
CONTINUE READINGAmerica’s Best Environmental and Economic Bargain
...and Other Concluding Thoughts About the National Park System
(This is the final installment in a series of posts celebrating the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service.) A wag once observed: It's hell getting old, but it beats the alternative. I can personally attest to the fact that it's not a lot of fun achieving senior citizen status. I can't run as far or as fast as I did in my prime, I no longer can get by on a week of 4-hour nights of sleep, etc. But, thanks to the largesse of the National Park Ser...
CONTINUE READINGCap and Trade’s Future in California, Redux
Litigation, AB 197 and Politics May All Have an Influence
Two days ago, I posed a series of questions about what AB 197 might mean for the future of cap and trade in California but never really answered the question of whether we're likely to see a continuation of the program going forward post-2020. Eric posted his view this afternoon that he is relatively pessimistic about its future in light of AB 197's passage. My view is more optimistic than his and I thought I'd describe why. First, though, here is some important ...
CONTINUE READINGThe future politics of cap-and-trade in California
It doesn't look so good for the oil and gas industry
As Ann and Ethan both noted, two major pieces of climate legislation were passed by the California legislature this week, and Governor Brown has promised to sign both bills. Overall, the legislation extends the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals (which were originally to reach 1990 levels of emissions by 2020) out to a 40% reduction from 1990 levels by 2030. The companion piece of legislation (as Ann noted) imposes greater legislative oversight on the Californi...
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