Peter Gleick and the Heartland Institute Expose
Jonathan focused last week, appropriately in my view, on the ethics of the way in which Peter Gleick got documents from the climate-denying Heartland Institute. His conclusion is that as a scientist Gleick's deceptions to get the documents were unethical. A new column in The Guardian comes out in the opposite place, arguing that Gleick may have been justified in attempting to expose the denialists given the importance of the issue. But I have a different question t...
CONTINUE READINGStopping High Speed Sprawl
California Governor Jerry Brown has doubled down on his support for the state's proposed high speed rail system, despite the uncertainty about how to pay for it and growing public opposition. But who can blame him? If the rail system does get built, it will be the defining infrastructure project in the state for generations to come -- a major legacy for any political leader. Transportation experts can complain all they want about the high costs and cheaper altern...
CONTINUE READINGExploring Policies to Promote Local Renewables
Last July, California Governor Jerry Brown held a conference, hosted by the Luskin Center at UCLA, to launch his initiative to achieve 12,000 megawatts of local renewable energy projects in California by 2020. Local renewables, often called distributed generation, are projects no larger than 20 megawatts located close to customer demand. Berkeley Law's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment helped to put on the conference and has now released for comment a draf...
CONTINUE READINGThe Delta 101: Of Levees, Canals & Whiskey
Nearly four out of five Californians do not know what the Delta is, according to a January 2012 poll. That's 78 percent of the population. And 86 percent of southern Californians have never heard of it. Yet, 25 million people and 3 million acres of farmland rely on the Delta for at least a portion of their water. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is a vital link in the State's water system at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. I would ...
CONTINUE READINGInconceivable!
During the Fukushima nuclear crisis, government officials and industry representatives said that the tsunami that struck the reactors was "beyond our imagination," thus excusing the failure to consider such a risk in the planning process. As it turns out, there had been warnings about this possibility, but the risks were ignored. The reactor was situated on a small cliff, which was thought to provide sufficient protection from modest tsunamis. But there is a historical ...
CONTINUE READINGPreviewing a VERY Big Week for Environmental Law in the Courts
UPDATE: The Associated Press reports that late Sunday, February 26th, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier announced a one-week postponement of the trial in the BP oil spill case that had been scheduled to begin the next day. The postponement is reportedly due to substantial progress that has been made in marathon settlement talks that have been underway among the parties to the litigation. Next week is shaping up as one of the most consequential weeks for environme...
CONTINUE READINGIs Richard Epstein Autistic?
Delightfully so! Here is Adrian Vermuele (no secret Kenyan Muslim socialist he) in The New Republic, reviewing Epstein's latest: Many scholars have offered withering critiques of the Epstein program, but there is little sign that the arguments of the critics have been heard and considered. Epstein’s latest book targets the administrative state as the enemy of classical liberalism, and argues that the administrative state is inconsistent with the rule of law, but Ep...
CONTINUE READING“Developing Nations Can’t Afford Environmentalism”
At least that's what you hear a lot from some environmental skeptics. Because poor countries are so desperate for economic growth and to lift their people out of poverty, they cannot be expected to protect their environment. (You hear that from a lot for developing nations, too). They might want to take a look at Katherine Boo's new book Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity. Boo's work has been effusively and justly praised (s...
CONTINUE READINGU.S. Supreme Court Rejects Montana’s River Ownership Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its decision in PPL Montana v. State of Montana, a fascinating case that combines the colorful history of the American West, the issue of the public's access to state waterways, and a dispute over hefty royalties claimed to be owed the State of Montana for unpermitted use of public lands by a private energy company. In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court ruled that Montana state courts had misapp...
CONTINUE READINGPeter Gleick, the Heartland Institute, and Scientific Ethics
The Heartland Institute is a climate denial shop well-funded by fossil fuel interests and standard right-wing extremist foundations, which has underwritten attacks on climate scientists and has plans to disrupt authentic climate science education in K-12 classrooms. Peter Gleick is one of the most respected scientific researchers in the world, who has done extremely important work in climate and water research. So it is frustrating, to put it mildly, to find...
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