On This Date in History
Exactly forty-two years ago, President Richard M. Nixon signed the National Environmental Quality Act into law on January 1, 1970. Among other remarks, he had this to say: [A] major goal, when you talk about New Year's resolutions, I wouldn't say for the next year but for the next 10 years--and I don't mean that I intend to run for a third term--for the next 10 years for this country must be to restore the cleanliness of the air, the water, and that, of course, means m...
CONTINUE READINGEnd of the year good news
Three recent items of good news for California wildlife: For the first time in almost 90 years, a wild gray wolf has been roaming in California. The California Department of Fish and Game reported on December 29 that OR-7, a young male wolf from a pack in northeastern Oregon, had crossed into California. According to DFG, the last confirmed wild wolf in California was killed in 1924. Officials have been tracking OR-7's movements since February 2011, when he was fitte...
CONTINUE READINGWhat’s in the final 2012 spending bill?
I've just finished plowing through H.R. 2055, the2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed by President Obama last week. I was curious to see how many anti-environmental riders made it into the final bill. I haven't seen much news coverage of the details of the final bill, and the White House offered no comment when the President signed. So I headed over to Thomas (the Library of Congress's web page, which has among other things links to all Congressional bi...
CONTINUE READINGFederal Court Invalidates California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
U.S. District Judge Lawrence O'Neill has ruled that the California Air Resources Board's pioneering Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a key component of California's multifaceted strategy to reduce the state's aggregate greenhouse gas emissions under AB 32, is unconstitutional. In his December 29th ruling in Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Goldstene, the Fresno-based federal judge issued an injunction preventing CARB from implementing the LCFS. But that same ruling allows CA...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court Upholds Abolition of Local Redevelopment Agencies
The California Supreme Court waited until the very end of 2011 to issue the year's most important land use decision. While the specific issues relate to arcane issues of public finance and state constitutional law, today's decision in California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos is likely to have major consequences for local land use authority and development patterns statewide. The issues in Matosantos were twofold: 1) whether the California Legislature could abo...
CONTINUE READINGLegal Planet Reaches 750,000 Hits
Just before Christmas, Legal Planet reached 750,000 hits. In addition, 800 people get daily updates on Legal Planet by email or Twitter, without necessarily visiting the website. We really appreciate your interest, and we'll do our best to keep you supplied with information and opinions on all things environmental in 2012. Best wishes from all of us at Legal Planet for a Happy -- and Greener -- New Year!...
CONTINUE READINGHey Conservatives! Let’s Make a Deal on Keystone XL!
The always-thoughtful Jared Bernstein has a, well, thoughtful take on Keystone XL. It might be called the view of a Realist Progressive Economist. Bernstein's point is that given the global demand for oil, and the Canadian government's commitment to getting it out of the ground and selling it (much stronger now that the Tories have a majority government), simple opposition to Keystone XL makes little sense. He seems sympathetic, however, to Bill McKibben's argume...
CONTINUE READINGTwas Congressional Christmas
'Twas Congressional Christmas, when all through the House Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The PACs were counting their money with care, In hopes that John Boehner soon would be there. Lobbyists nestled all snug in their beds, While veto-proof riders danced in their heads. Zasloff down south and I on the Bay, Were trying to think of just what to say, When out in D.C. there arose such a clatter, We went straight online to see what was the matter. The r...
CONTINUE READINGTen of the Top Environmental Stories of 2011
Nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan. EPA issues new rules limiting mercury emissions by power plants. Durban climate summit produces modest progress, as developing countries begin to acknowledge the need for binding limits on their carbon emissions. White House kills scheduled new regulations of ozone. California adopts cap-and-trade system under AB 32. White House announces stringent new fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. GOP Presidential candidates em...
CONTINUE READING“White Christmas” — A Song of Climate Change?
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know Irving Berlin was prescient when he wrote those words over seventy years ago. Little did he know that White Christmases were on their way to becoming a thing of the past. This year is a striking illustration, as ThinkProgress reports: In Indiana, golf courses are still open while ski resorts remain shuttered. From the Pyrenees to the Balkans, ski resorts in the Alps have not only failed to receive na...
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