Private Flood Protection
Private flood control is no substitute for government action.
Last week, the NY Times had a story about Verizon's new flood barrier for its Wall Street building, which is a designated landmark. On one level, it's a pretty cool project -- a portable barrier designed to keep out the water during a hundred-year storm (plus 2-feet for storm surge plus an extra foot to account for climate change.) I really hate it when someone comes in to carp when something apparently constructive and smart happens. In this case, however, a b...
CONTINUE READINGCongress Moves Forward on the Farm Bill
Congress conference committee considers Farm Bill, including numerous provisions with serious environmental consequences
Finally. There is a Farm Bill conference committee, and it began meeting last week. The Farm Bill is the vehicle for our major federal farm and food policy, including commodity subsidies, crop insurance, food assistance, and farm conservation. Congress let the 2008 Farm Bill expire on September 30, 2012, and we have been living on extensions ever since. Although the most visible fight in the conference committee is likely to be the scope of food assis...
CONTINUE READINGExecutive Order calls for climate adaptation
Presidential directive holds potential to move federal adaptation efforts forward, but implementation will be the key.
Cross-posted at The Berkeley Blog. Today, President Obama issued an Executive Order intended "to prepare the Nation for the impacts of climate change by undertaking actions to enhance climate preparedness and resilience." In some respects, this order simply continues ongoing efforts. Under this administration, the executive branch has already been doing a great deal of research, assessment, and planning for adaptation. Today's Executive Order will continue those ef...
CONTINUE READINGTackling Plastic Pollution in the Oceans
New Emmett Center report recommends top ten solutions for marine plastic debris
Ever wonder where the plastic crap that we generate winds up? Much of it ends up in the oceans. An estimated 20 million tons of plastic litter enter the ocean each year, much of it from land debris but also coming from fishing and aquaculture operations, shipping, and other marine sources. The stuff takes a really long time to degrade in marine environments, and it has nasty effects. Many of us have seen photos of marine animals trapped in debris. Necrops...
CONTINUE READINGA Second Helping of Chicken and Salmonella
Food safety levels leave plenty of room at the table for salmonella
Last week on Legal Planet, Dan Farber posted about the surprising regulatory inattention paid to food safety, using as example the latest chicken salmonella outbreaks in the U.S. (see “Playing Chicken with Food Safety,” 10/20/13). This post picks up from there, to mention that while the recent incidents highlight the chicken-salmonella problem, they don’t quite capture it. The truth is, if you eat chicken regularly, you’re probably eating some salmonella,...
CONTINUE READINGJohn Roberts: Stupid Like a Fox
Hiding Behind Anti-intellectualism to Obscure a Political Agenda
Chief Justice Roberts doesn't think much of law reviews: Pick up a copy of any law review that you see and the first article is likely to be, you know, the influence of Immanuel Kant on evidentiary approaches in 18th-century Bulgaria, or something, which I’m sure was of great interest to the academic that wrote it, but isn’t of much help to the bar. Where to start? One might wonder at the outset why in particular scholarship should be helpful to the bar, especiall...
CONTINUE READINGWho Does the Public Trust: Bureaucrats or Congress?
Voters would prefer EPA to make climate policy, not Congress. Is that a good thing? Yes and no.
Voters in swing states would prefer that EPA rather than Congress decide on U.S. climate policy. According to a poll commissioned by the League of Conservation Voters, "The voters are much more inclined to trust the Environmental Protection Agency than they are to trust members of Congress" -- by a 66-12 margin. Here are my reactions to the poll: (a) the results are plausible; (2) the voters are being realistic; (3) this is good news in the short run; (4) it's a...
CONTINUE READINGPostcard from Barcelona
Looking at the Catalonian path to sustainability
Flying into Barcelona, it becomes immediately obvious that this is a city with its eye on a sustainable future. Right along the waterfront is a large photovoltaic array, perched on four giant supports. It is emblematic of a broader set of initiatives that, for a short time, placed Spain at the forefront of renewable energy deployment. But Barcelona’s efforts toward sustainability are much broader and deeper than a showcase solar installation. As is true with eve...
CONTINUE READINGDoes EPA Face a Crisis of Confidence?
Despite all the noise from House Republicans, EPA is just as popular now as 30 years ago.
Is the public losing faith in EPA? You might think so from all the rhetoric from the Right. But Pew has just released the results of a survey on public attitudes toward government, which doesn't support this view at all. As it turns out, six out of ten Americans have favorable attitudes toward EPA. Nor has there been a noticeable downward trend. Attitudes toward EPA are actually more favorable (by 5%) then they were in 2010. Today's approval rating is abo...
CONTINUE READINGOn our reading list: Market framing and morality
Economists offer experimental evidence that market transactions blunt moral intuitions
Take my views on this study with a grain salt, because it confirms my priors. I've long agreed intuitively with Mark Sagoff that people make different choices in market settings than in more public-regarding settings. And I've been fascinated over the years by the empirical evidence that confirms that intuition, including the work of Samuel Bowles and Robert Franks showing that market framing and economics training increase self-interested behavior. So I'm primed to ...
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