Cellulosic Biofuel mandate for 2013
I mentioned the other day that the D.C. Circuit struck EPA's cellulosic biofuel mandate for 2012. Today, the New York Times reported on EPA's 2013 quota. EPA has proposed to raise the mandate to 14 million (ethanol-equivalent) gallons for 2013. EPA explicitly stated that it believes its 2013 proposal "is consistent with" the D.C. Circuit ruling. As I discussed previously, all the D.C. Circuit actually required of EPA was to not inflate its estimate based on policy r...
CONTINUE READINGIf the Constitution is Dead, where does that leave Takings?
Justice Scalia is getting a lot of attention for his comment that the Constitution is "dead, dead, dead", but obviously he didn't mean that the Constitution is no longer in effect. (See? Intent theory sometimes is helpful, Nino.). Rather, he meant that the Constitution does not have a meaning that changes over time. It has one meaning -- its original one -- and that's it. So for people who follow Scalia's "thought", or for those us who can't escape them becau...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s AB32 as a Field Experiment
In modern academic economics, many scholars are running field experiments. I can point you to researchers such as John List of University of Chicago or Esther Duflo of MIT. In this 8 minute video, I sketch the simple economics of why it is very important for someone to run this field experiment for learning how to cost effectively lower our GHG emissions. We are the "green guinea pig"....
CONTINUE READINGUniversity of Washington Young Environmental Law Scholars Workshop
The University of Washington Law School has issued a call for papers for its 2nd Annual UW Young Environmental Law Scholars Workshop. The workshop will be held July 10-12, 2013, on the UW campus in Seattle. Here's their description of the event: This collegial two-day workshop features discussion of works-in-progress by ten early career environmental law scholars: professors with two or fewer years of tenure, pre-tenure professors, visiting assistant professors, or lega...
CONTINUE READING5 Things You Need to Know About Africa
Africa is going to be an increasingly important area in the future, if only because a higher percentage of the human race will be living there. Here are some key things you should know about sub-Saharan Africa: Population growth. The African population will reach 1.2 billion by 2025, and 1.9 billion by 2050. Currently, 40% of the population is under 14, which guarantees high population growth as these children grow up and have children of their own. Water. Onl...
CONTINUE READINGStephen Colbert is a National Treasure
Like Tom Tomorrow. Click here for his must watch clip from Monday's show. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/423268/january-28-2013/the-word---the-new-abnormal Colbert nails conservative views on climate change. First, deny. Second, when the facts belie denial, accept but refuse to acknowledge human contributions. Finally, throw up your hands and say that even if it's human-caused we can't do anything about it anyway. Colbert may be ...
CONTINUE READINGEnvironmental Law and Policy Events for Couch Potatoes
UC Berkeley and UCLA School of Law's joint Climate Change and Business Research Initiative has produced a number of public events featuring experts on pressing environmental law and policy issues. We now have on-line video recordings of many of them, for those of you who prefer not to leave the comfort of your home or office. They include the following events: Daylong conference on "Saving Public Transit," featuring a keynote by Los Angeles Metro CEO Art Leahy and ...
CONTINUE READINGJudging the Environment
It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. Covering the Senate Republicans' continuing obstruction of judicial nominees is about as exciting as watching paint dry, but the good folks at Defenders of Wildlife, one of the nation's most venerable environmental organizations, have decided to invest in doing it, with their vital blog, Judging The Environment. It's run by staff attorney Glenn Sugameli. Senate obstruction thrives in darkness: no one knows what is happe...
CONTINUE READINGD.C. Circuit’s biofuels mandate ruling
The D.C. Circuit issued an opinion last Friday in American Petroleum Institute v. EPA, concerning EPA's biofuels mandate. (N.Y. Times; slip opinion). The part of the mandate at issue required refiners to incorporate higher levels of cellulosic fuel into transportation fuel. Cellulosic biofuel is in the class of "advanced biofuels" that could actually offset greenhouse gas emissions, as contrasted with corn-based ethanol, which generates approximately the same level ...
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
