“No Regrets” Isn’t a Real Climate Policy
Mitt Romney has called for a no-regrets climate policy: "I believe we should pursue what I call a ‘No Regrets’ policy — steps that will lead to lower emissions, but that will benefit America regardless of whether the risks of global warming materialize and regardless of whether other nations take effective action." This sounds good. But it really means doing the same things we would have done anyway, without giving any weight to the risk of climate change. If pol...
CONTINUE READINGPreviewing This Week’s Constitutional Battle Over California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard
On Tuesday morning, October 16th, attorneys will gather at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's majestic courthouse in downtown San Francisco to argue one of the nation's most important, currently-pending environmental cases. The case is Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Goldstene, and the issue is the constitutionality of California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The LCFS, in turn, is one key component of California's multifaceted strategy to reduce t...
CONTINUE READINGKey Senate Races, Energy Policy and the Environment
In a series of posts, I've surveyed the key Senate races -- meaning those that don't seem to be "locks" for either candidate. These races will probably determine control of the Senate. The candidates differ greatly in their positions on the environment and on energy policy. Here is a quick summary of what is at stake on those issues in each of these seven key elections: State Democratic Candidate Republican Candidate Comments Connecticut Chris Murphy. Murphy has...
CONTINUE READINGSo Much for THAT Excuse: China Starts a Cap-and-Trade Program
If there is a somewhat credible reason for the United States not to embark on climate legislation, it is that other major emitters -- particularly China -- are not doing the same. I don't buy it, because China is a much poorer country than the United States is and because the West has received the lion's share of the benefits of the industrialization that has caused climate change in the first place. But in any event, that dog's hunting days are over: China’s firs...
CONTINUE READINGBob Schieffer Fails the American Public
Bob Schieffer of CBS News will moderate the final Presidential debate, which is supposed to focus on foreign policy and global issues. The Commission on Presidential Debates recently announced Schieffer's topic list: * America’s role in the world * Our longest war – Afghanistan and Pakistan * Red Lines – Israel and Iran * The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism – I * The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism – II * The Rise...
CONTINUE READINGLegal Planet Reaches A Million Visits
Thanks to our loyal readers, today we reached a million hits to our site. Since its inception in 2009 we've posted 2,226 posts (unless Dan's already posted another one since I wrote this :)) on subjects ranging from climate change (of course) to New York's soda ban to whether rain is a miracle. We've now got 17 regular bloggers and hundreds of regular followers. Thank you readers! And let us know if you have any suggestions for Legal Planet in the comments section...
CONTINUE READINGSaving Bambi’s forest
Here on Legal Planet we talk a lot about government-mediated solutions to environmental problems, with good reason (and not, I like to think, simply as the enviro-lawyer corollary to the maxim that those wielding hammers tend to treat problems like nails). But every now and then it's nice to read about the power of direct, unmediated action by those demading solutions against those in a position to provide them. This week, Disney -- which is apparently the largest ...
CONTINUE READINGGreen versus Anti-Green in the Big Sky State
The Montana Senate race features Democrat Jon Tester against Republican Dennis Rehberg. The difference between the candidates doesn't require any elaborate explanation. Rehberg has a 6% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters (quite a bit lower than Paul Ryan's). Tester has a 87% LCV rating. That's about all you have to know. It's little wonder that these contrasting positions were the focal point of a recent debate between the two candidates. Reh...
CONTINUE READINGRegulatory Field Experiments?
I really like Jonathan's post about MIT's J-PAL. Permit me to offer a few points. 1. The field experiment economists are randomly allocating stuff at the individual level. Your household might receive a free newspaper, a report indicating how your electricity consumption differs from neighbors, a report indicating how your politician is performing on a series of criteria, a free bed net to fight malaria risk, a free bus ticket so that you can migrate to a big city...
CONTINUE READINGHow About a Regulatory Action Lab?
I have just finished reading Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo's excellent and very thoughtful book, Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. MIT economists Banerjee and Duflo reject broad, sweeping arguments concerning either the necessity for infusions of foreign aid or the futility of such efforts. Instead, they advocate detailed studies examining whether and how interventions can actually improve the lives and incomes of poor peo...
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