Time May Run Out on Obama’s Most Powerful Climate Change Tool, Environmental Groups Threaten Suit
President Obama has a surprising amount of power to reduce greenhouse gases from the two largest categories of emitters, the transportation and electricity sectors, without getting Congress to act. He has already used that power to dramatically tighten fuel economy standards for passenger autos. But his ability to reduce emissions from the electricity sector -- most importantly from existing power plants -- appears to be on a slow track. His Environmental Protect...
CONTINUE READINGIs TSCA Reform on the Way?
The Toxic Substances Control Act or TSCA (sometimes pronounced "Tosca," like the opera) is one of the worst-written statutes of all time. It seems as if every section contains a cross-reference to another section, which in turn requires recourse to yet another sentence to be understood, making the statute completely opaque. A last-minute compromise, the statute calls equally for safety and for protection of the chemical industry. Not surprisingly, it's been a compl...
CONTINUE READINGFood safety in China, or is that rat meat in my lamb?
I posted a short piece at Chinafile.org last week on China's food safety challenges. The occasion for the post was the arrest of 63 people in China for selling fake lamb meat made of rat, fox, and other meats. The "conversation" includes comments/responses from Isabel Hilton (ChinaDialogue.net), John Balzano (BU Law), Alexa Oleson (formerly of AP), and Jeremy Goldkorn (Danwei.org). I've included my post in full below, but take a look at the Chinafile page for the ...
CONTINUE READINGNorris C. Hundley, Jr., 1935-2013
Environmental scholarship has lost a real giant: Norris Cecil Hundley Jr., a former resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away peacefully on April 28. He was 77. Born to Norris and Helen Hundley on October 26, 1935 in Houston, Texas, Norris is survived by six younger siblings... Norris graduated from Whittier College in 1958. After receiving his Ph.D. in history from UCLA, he taught at the University of Houston for a year before returning to UCLA in 1964. He was a pr...
CONTINUE READINGThe Right-Wing Noose Tightens on Recess Appointments
Republican judges are continuing to do their best to hamstring the Obama Administration: six days ago, the Third Circuit joined the DC Circuit in restricting recess appointments to intersession recesses. Intrasession recesses, which, as the Court noted, were made routine under Ronald Reagan and used nearly 150 times by George W. Bush, are now unavailable. (The name of the case is NLRB v. New Vista Nursing & Rehabilitation). Although it's always hazardous to mak...
CONTINUE READINGMaybe a Super EIS for Climate Policy?
Following closely on the heels of Ann's argument concerning the flaws of the Keystone XL DEIS came a NYT story from John Broder with an interesting suggestion: if the administration approves the pipeline, then it should do something else in order to advance the battle against climate change: [C]ould some kind of deal be in the offing — a major climate policy announcement on, for example, power plant regulation or renewable energy incentives — to ease the sting of t...
CONTINUE READINGNew York Nasty versus Los Angeles Nice?
Tomorrow, Los Angeles voters go to the polls to elect a new Mayor. (At least a few of them, anyway: current estimates predict only 25% turnout, about which more later). In September, New Yorkers will do the same. And depending upon the way things turn out, political and cultural reporters could have a field day.If Christine Quinn and Wendy Greuel win in their respective cities, we will have female mayors of both cities for the first time. And the press will have ...
CONTINUE READINGWe Have Met the Unknown Unknowns and They are Us
There are uncertainties about climate science such as tipping points and feedback effects. But these pale in comparison to the biggest source of uncertainties: people. Here are some of the major things we don't know and really can't know about future society: Will economic growth continue, and if so, how quickly and how uniformly? Richer societies can adapt more easily to climate change, and in a world of high growth we may have less reason for additional investmen...
CONTINUE READINGWhat’s holding up the Clean Water Act jurisdictional guidance?
Cross-posted on CPRBlog. People on both sides of the political spectrum agree that the boundaries of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act are murky, to say the least. But efforts by EPA and the Corps of Engineers to clarify those boundaries have been tied up in the White House for more than a year, with no explanation and to no apparent useful purpose. The President is fond of telling that nation that it should place more trust in government. No wonder he's ...
CONTINUE READINGELQ publishes Volume 40 Number 1
Ecology Law Quarterly is always worth a read, even if the electronic version lacks the beautiful Ansel Adams cover pictures. The latest issue has just been posted. Here are links to the articles: Michael Burger, Environmental Law/Environmental Literature Bruce R. Huber, How Did RGGI Do It? Political Economy and Emissions Auctions Tracey M. Roberts, The Rise of Rule Four Institutions: Voluntary Standards, Certification and Labeling Systems And Ecology Law Currents h...
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