Property, Fairness and the Public Interest (Another Glimpse of the Cathedral)
Why do we recognize some things as "property" and what does it mean to do so? A hugely influential law review article, published over forty years ago, made a valiant attempt to clarify the nature of property law. Looking back on the article and at developments since then, however, only makes it clearer that "property rights" are not nearly as absolute as people often assume. The article, Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Inalienability: Another View of the Cathe...
CONTINUE READINGClimate Engineering: National Academy Committee recommends starting research (with limits)
An NAS report on controversial engineered responses to climate change gets all the big things right, but avoids the hardest questions
Earlier this week, the National Research Council Committee on Geoengineering Climate released two reports, “Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration” and “Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth.” Requested and funded by several US federal departments – NASA, NOAA, DOE, and the cutely labeled “U.S. Intelligence Community” – this report is the first time a National Academy committee has addressed these newl...
CONTINUE READINGA Link Between Climate Denial and Autism? Inquiring Minds Want to Know!
You too can be a denialism/autism truther.
Let's start by being candid and admitting that the jury is still out on this one. Still, there are reasons for concern about the possibility that climate denial can be associated with autism.Anyone who says this is false is just being dogmatic. We should at least openly acknowledge the existence of scientific uncertainty. Just consider the mounting body of evidence: 1. To begin with, there isn't a single peer-reviewed study definitively disproving the exist...
CONTINUE READINGThe California Supreme Court’s Unprecedented Focus on Environmental Law
California's Highest Court Has Far More Environmental Cases Pending Than Ever Before in Its History
The California Supreme Court, perhaps the most influential state supreme court in the nation, has of late become unusually and intensely focused on environmental law. More than ever before in its history, the California Supreme Court currently has before it a large docket of environmental cases that, individually and collectively, promise to alter the legal landscape of state environmental law. Legal Planet colleague Sean Hecht recently wrote about the Supreme Court...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court to Decide Whether the Mining Law Preempts State Ban on Suction Dredge Mining
Court's Decision May Affect State's Ability to Regulate Activities on Federal Lands
The California Supreme Court recently accepted a case that may make it more difficult for the state to protect the environment from the damaging impacts of mining. At issue is the state’s ban on suction-dredge mining in streambeds. Californians engaged in suction-dredge mining have vigorously fought against the state’s ban, and a panel of the Court of Appeal recently agreed with the miners’ argument that the state ban violates federal law that generally allows mini...
CONTINUE READINGThe Dietary Supplement Scandal
There are 65,000 dietary supplements on the market, and almost half the population uses at least one of them. Americans spent $13 billion on dietary supplements last year, according to the Washington Post. There are disturbing indications that nearly all that money is wasted -- or to put it more bluntly, that the industry is essentially a fraud on the public. For instance, a 2011 study found that 20% of weight control supplements made illegal health claims.Here a...
CONTINUE READINGTea Party Support for Cutting Greenhouse Gases?
Surprising New Poll Results
The NY Times reports some very interesting poll results regarding climate change. The poll shows that Americans are more likely to support a candidate who favors action on climate change, less likely to favor a candidate who takes the “I am not a scientist” line, and much less likely to favor one who calls climate change a hoax. Some of the most intriguing – “startling” might be a better word – results relate to Tea Party supporters. According to the poll,...
CONTINUE READINGRain-Free January Portends Continued California Drought of Increased Severity
Severe Reduction in Sierra Snowpack Another Sign That State's Worst Drought Just Gets Worse
January 2015 ends with a most dubious distinction: it's been the driest January in recorded California history. That's especially bad news, considering that January has traditionally been the wettest month of the year in the Golden State. According to National Weather Service and California Department of Water Resources (DWR) statistics, the alarming precipitation figures for Northern California include an essentially rain-free January (0.01") for Sacramento; o.26"...
CONTINUE READINGCelebrating Four Decades of Energy Innovation: The California Energy Commission at 40
How California & the Commission Launched Their Acclaimed Energy Policy--& the Challenges That Lie Ahead
This month marks the 40th anniversary of California's landmark Warren-Alquist Act, which created the state Energy Commission and triggered a transformation of energy policy in California, across the U.S., and abroad. This week an impressive group of energy policymakers, political leaders, energy scholars and Energy Commission alumni gathered at events in Sacramento and at the U.C. Davis School of Law, to commemorate the first four decades of the Commission's importa...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Water Law Symposium–A Law Student Success Story
Students From Six Northern California Law Schools Collaborate in a Big and Unconventional Way
The 11th Annual Water Law Symposium was held last weekend at Golden Gate University Law School in San Francisco. The event drew a standing-room-only crowd of water law scholars, practitioners and policymakers, who devoted the day to a thoughtful and lively examination of how California's constitutional law doctrine of reasonable use affects all facets of water rights in the state. To be sure, a multitude of environmental and natural resource law-themed conferences a...
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