The Misleading Argument Against Delegation
Agency rulemaking is limited in ways that are far different from legislative lawmaking.
It’s commonplace to say that agencies engage in lawmaking when they issue rules. Conservatives denounce this as a violation of the constitutional scheme; liberals celebrate it as an instrument of modern government. Both sides agree that in reality, though not in legal form, Congress has delegated its lawmaking power to agencies. But this is mistaking an analogy for an identity. It’s true, of course, that Congress has given agencies the authority to make rules, wh...
CONTINUE READINGThe Case for Farmed Fish
Aquaculture could help save wild fisheries from devastation.
It's time to take a second look at fish farms. Environmentalists, not to mention foodies, tend to turn up their noses at fish farms. It's true that badly managed fish farms can be a source of water pollution and other environmental problems. But sustainable fish farming would have major environmental benefits. To begin with, fish farming provides an alternative that may reduce pressures on wild fish stocks. Fish are a major source of protein in many parts of the ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Cap-and-Trade Auction: Still Not a Tax
Folks are talking again about whether California's climate cap-and-trade auction is an unlawful tax, rather than a valid exercise of the state's regulatory power to control pollution. The news hook for the revival of this conversation is a recent order, discussed below, from the California Court of Appeal to the parties in the court case where this claim is being pressed. In that case, some industry plaintiffs argue that because the auction raises so much money for th...
CONTINUE READINGThe “Northern” Bias in Biodiversity Protection
We focus heavily on U.S. endangered species. But the real action is elsewhere.
American environmentalists are deeply invested in protecting endangered species in the U.S. That's natural, and U.S biodiversity is worthy of protection. But focusing on the U.S. gives a misguided sense of the relative importance of U.S. biodiversity. But in the grand scheme of things, biodiversity in the global South is far, far more important. A recent study shows that scientists have a similar problem. Of the ten thousand scientific papers on conservation publi...
CONTINUE READINGOf sewage spills and citizen suits
New Berkeley Law report examines citizen actions addressing sanitary sewer overflows in California
(This post is co-authored with Nell Green Nylen and Michael Kiparsky.) Every day, Californians produce millions of gallons of wastewater. We tend to avoid thinking about what flows down our drains, but how we deal with sewage is a critically important aspect of public and environmental health. Most communities in California rely on an extensive system of interconnected pipes to collect wastewater and deliver it to a treatment plant. There, treatment reduces pollut...
CONTINUE READINGA Floor Price for Gasoline
A floor price would encourage energy efficient cars and generate revenue.
The price of gasoline fluctuates like crazy, tracking the price of oil. In a recent blog post and an earlier paper, my colleagues at the business school have put forward a really innovative proposal: a minimum price for gasoline. When oil costs go below a certain level, gas prices would stay stuck at that point. Studies show that consumers base their car purchases on the current price of gas. So if gas is really cheap, they buy more gas guzzlers, fewer hybrids. ...
CONTINUE READINGNEWSFLASH: Kochs Cave on Climate
Humans are causing climate change after all. Who knew?
The Kochs believe in climate change, so it seems. Greenwire reports that a Koch spokesman said: "Charles has said the climate is changing. So, the climate is changing . . . I think he's also said, and we believe, that humans have a part in that. I think what the real question is ... what are we going to do about it?” Maybe Charles and the company (what about David??) have believed this along and just forgot to mention it. Or maybe it is a concession that the weig...
CONTINUE READINGFormer Massey Energy CEO Sentenced to Prison for Actions Leading to 2010 Coal Mine Disaster
What Broader Environmental and Worker Safety Enforcement Lessons Can Be Learned Here?
A federal district judge on Wednesday sentenced Don Blankenship, the former Chief Executive of Massey Energy, to serve one year in federal prison--the maximum term allowed by law--and to personally pay a criminal penalty of $250,000 for Blankenship's acts of omission and commission that led to the notorious 2010 coal mining disaster at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. That mine explosion killed 29 Massey-employed miners, and represented the worst Americ...
CONTINUE READINGUnderstanding Climate Skepticism
Four hypotheses to explain the endurance of climate skeptics
2015 was the warmest year on record. Sea level rise has been accelerating in recent decades. To myself and, I suspect, most readers of this blog, human-induced climate change is undeniable in the face of such developments, posing fundamental challenges to human well-being and biodiversity around the globe and into the future. Climate change is here and the scientific evidence is only getting stronger. So how is it possible that significant climate skepticism and d...
CONTINUE READINGThe Next Justice and the Fate of the Clean Water Act
A comment by Justice Kennedy reminds us of just how much is at stake.
Every once in a while, we get reminded of just how much damage the conservative Justices could wreak on environmental law. Last week, Justice Kennedy created shock waves with a casual comment during oral argument. In a case that seemed to involved only a technical issue about administrative procedure, he dropped the suggestion that the Clean Water Act just might be unconstitutionally vague. It didn’t seem to faze him that such a ruling would wipe out a statute that has...
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
