Using Textualism Against Itself
Industry has come up with a Scalia-like argument to fight the proposed climate regulations for existing power plants. The problem arises because Congress passed two different versions of section 111(d) without realizing it. The Senate version clearly gives EPA the authority to regulate CO2 under this provision. But opponents of regulation argue that the House version is controlling and that its language doesn't allow EPA to regulate. The reason, they say, is t...
CONTINUE READINGTime to Vote! (A Gentle Reminder from the Friendly Folks at Legal Planet)
If there's one thing that everyone connected with this site agree on -- even our resident climate denial troll -- it's that environment and energy issues are important. If you're on one side, public health, nature, and the very future of the planet are at stake. If you're on the other side, it's crushing economic burdens by power-mad bureaucrats that need to be blocked. Either way, the stakes are high. And there are a lot of close elections out there, where extra...
CONTINUE READINGThe Future of Conservation
Earlier this year I wrote critically about a New York Times op-ed that proposed making the restrictions on development in wilderness areas more flexible in order to allow for adaptation to climate change. This week the Times published what I think is a much more helpful op-ed on the topic of how we should address the challenges of climate change’s impacts on the protection, preservation, and conservation of protected areas and endangered species and ecosystems. The ...
CONTINUE READINGFive Governor Races to Watch
The Senate races are getting a lot of attention this year. But what happens in statehouses also matters. Most directly, it matters for the folks who live there. But governorships are often proving grounds for politicians who later emerge on the national scene. Today, I’ll focus on a handful of races that look like they could go either way: Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, and Kansas. What are the environmental stakes in these races? As usual, to avoid the risk ...
CONTINUE READINGMono Lake at 20: Past, Present and Future
Symposium in Sacramento, November 17
Please join us as the UC Berkeley School of Law, with stakeholders in the Mono Lake Cases, convenes a symposium in Sacramento on November 17, 2014, to mark the 20th anniversary of the State Water Resources Control Board’s Decision 1631. Panel presentations feature an cast of thought leaders, including: Marty Adams (Los Angeles Department of Water & Power) Tom Birmingham (Westlands WD; former counsel to Los Angeles Department of Water & Power) Marth...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Does the High Profile of Environmental Issues in this Election Mean for the Future?
Environmental issues have been surprisingly visible in this campaign – nearly every Senate candidate gives them prominent attention. The New York Times reports that they are also the third most common topic for political ads in this cycle. The evidence they report shows, not surprisingly, that coal and oil are big issues in key states: Kentucky and West Virginia for coal; Alaska and Louisiana for oil. But energy and environment are also big concerns in other stat...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Is An “Environmental” Lawyer?
No side of the profession should have a monopoly on the term
My post last week on renaming "environmental" law to "resources" law greatly peeved a number of private bar attorneys, who thought I was impugning their entire side of the practice. My post clearly played into some longstanding tension and defensiveness (no pun intended) about this issue. These attorneys believe that even though they may represent polluting clients, they are able to do good work for the environment by steering their clients to comply more fully with appl...
CONTINUE READINGHappy Birthday, Yosemite–and California’s State Parks System
The Core of Yosemite National Park, & California's First State Park, Were Created 150 Years Ago
2014 marks the 150th anniversary of the creation of what we now know as Yosemite National Park. It's also the sesquicentennial anniversary of California's State Parks System. The two events are, in fact, inextricably related. And how they occurred is a noteworthy and truly inspirational story. In 1864, in the midst of the Civil War, a movement swelled to preserve a pair of mysterious and beautiful sites in California that members of Congress and President Ab...
CONTINUE READINGTime To Rename “Environmental” Law
The label is misleading and inaccurate
Every year in October, the California State Bar Environmental Law Section hosts a three-day conference on the outskirts of Yosemite, attracting prominent lawyers, advocates, and public officials from all over the state. This past weekend, at the traditional Saturday night banquet, famed climate activist Bill McKibben was the speaker. Unfortunately at the last minute he couldn't attend in person, but in his videotaped remarks, he commented on all the good things Californi...
CONTINUE READINGThe Ebola Panic
Some politicians encourage panic about a small outbreak in Texas, while thousands in Africa are dying.
The National Lampoon once put out a mock edition of a newspaper from the fictional city of Dacron, Ohio. There was a screaming headline reading: TWO DACRON WOMEN MISSING. A much smaller subheading read: Japan destroyed by tidal wave. We are now seeing something similar in the U.S. reaction to Ebola. So far, only three cases have been diagnosed in this country, with one death. But Ebola has killed 4,546 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, over 80% of ...
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