The Tariff Case & Environmental Law
The Court's ruling could open doors legally for some future environmental actions.
The Trump tariff case will be argued tomorrow. It will have enormous political and economic importance. It should also clarify legal doctrine. In this post, I explain how the Court's decision could impact environmental law, a topic that seems far removed from trade policy. Ironically, a ruling for Trump could empower future environment policies. A ruling against him, on the other hand, would help resist other Trump environmental initiatives. There is no gainsa...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Wonders if it is Doing Wildfire Risk All Wrong
The California Wildfire Fund seeks input from stakeholders on a range of possible reforms.
Senate Bill 254 (Becker) deservedly received a lot of attention when the Governor signed it into law earlier this year. After many twists and turns and late night speculation of will they/won't they, SB 254 became a landing pad for a sweeping set of wildfire and electric utility policy adjustments. Among the headlines: Creation of a Transmission Infrastructure Accelerator to promote public financing, construction, ownership and operation of new transmission Reple...
CONTINUE READINGAbundance politics and climate politics
Recent issue polling shows the similar challenges facing both climate and abundance politics
This week a study of the popularity of a wide range of issues among the American public came out – and created quite a stir. Most of the attention focused on the unpopularity of various Democratic positions on race and gender identity issues. But here I want to highlight the results in two areas I’ve written about: climate and “abundance.” Many of the policy goals climate advocates have been pushing for years – banning fossil fuel production on federal l...
CONTINUE READINGThe 2026 Election: Through a Glass, Darkly
Here’s what things look like now, but a lot could change.
We're now one year from Election Day. Because of polarization, environmental policy is closely tied to political party. The outcome of the election will shape environmental policy. If the Republicans maintain control of Congress, Trump will be relatively unchecked. Democratic control of the House or the Senate would prevent further rollbacks from Congress and would put the brakes on some of Trump's anti-environmental efforts. My observations are based on two well-es...
CONTINUE READINGA start on feasible permitting reform
A proposal from the National Governors’ Association is narrow and focused, and that’s good
I’ve written recently about the difficult politics of permitting reform at the federal level. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t important work to be done. It does mean that successful proposals will have to be, as I wrote, low salience, thoughtful, and unlikely to provoke polarization. The National Governors’ Association has just come out with a proposal for permitting reform, covering certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, transmissi...
CONTINUE READINGWill Technology Save Us? It Might Have To
Battery innovations provide at least some source for hope despite the Trump Administration's war on renewable energy
There is little good out there, but it was nice to see this graphic recently. It's a graphic of the daily energy usage in California broken down by source and by time period, according to the California Independent System Operator. That's why you can see the yellow-gold area, representing solar capacity, expand during the daytime -- that's when the sun is out. And there is good news there: between 2023 and 2025, there is a significant increase in solar ...
CONTINUE READINGA Strangely Important Case about… Boilers?
UCLA Law's clinic files Ninth Circuit brief in defense of core air pollution control authority.
When I think about sources responsible for LA's air pollution, I don't first think about water heaters, boilers, and other medium-scale appliances. But it turns out that appliances that burn natural gas to heat water are, in aggregate, an incredibly significant source of nitrogen oxides (NOx), an air pollutant that worsens smog and causes serious health harms. And our air regulators know this very well. When South Coast AQMD recently issued a rule to eliminate NOx emissi...
CONTINUE READINGHalloween Hacks for a Warming Planet
Pretty or scary or brave? There’s a climate costume to suit all tastes and all ages.
Children will be roaming the streets tonight dressed as Superheroes, Princesses, and Evil Villains. But really, these invented figures can’t hold a candle to the real ones in our world. Consider Continuing an ancient tradition -- four years in a row! -- here are some possibilities for this year. Not fitting neatly into any category are the Ghosts of Climate Past, Present, and Future, reminding us of what we've lost, where we are, and what we risk. The Villains ...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Went Wrong with News Coverage of the LA Fires
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
When disaster strikes your town, you rely on journalists to help explain what happened and why. Last January, many of us in Los Angeles turned to The LA Times as unusual firestorms kicked up and ultimately destroyed parts of Altadena and Pacific Palisades. The LAT’s journalists and photojournalists did incredible coverage from lots of angles, and the paper did a public service by dropping its paywall. But there was also a problem: Very few of the stories, vid...
CONTINUE READING3 Lessons for a Regional Western Electricity Market
California is paving the way for the creation of an independent regional organization to oversee Western energy markets. It can learn from mistakes made in other regions.
In case you missed it among all the other news, the California legislature passed AB 825 in September (and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it as part of the big energy package), paving the way for the creation of an independent regional organization to oversee Western energy markets. This presents a whole set of interesting challenges and opportunities after years of failed attempts. AB 825 builds on the work done by the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative. Laun...
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