Ninth Circuit affirms that ignorance is bliss
Lack of information is a continuing problem for environmental policy. In part, that's unavoidable; we'll never know enough about the world around us to be confident that we're making the best choices. In part it is because potential regulatory targets control some needed information. And in significant part it's because decisionmakers have a tendency to close their eyes to avoid confronting inconvenient facts (like the vole in the picture above, who doesn't see the att...
CONTINUE READINGSix Myths About Climate Change and the Clean Air Act
It's often said that the Clean Air Act is an inappropriate way to address climate change. It would undoubtedly be desirable for Congress to pass new legislation on the subject, but the Clean Air Act is a more appropriate vehicle than many people seem to realize. There are six common misconceptions about the statute that have led to confusion: Myth #1: EPA has made a power grab by trying to use the Clean Air Act. Not true -- the Supreme Court held that greenhouse g...
CONTINUE READING“Cementing” the GOP’s Environmental Policy in Place
It looks like an early agenda item for the GOP will be eliminating EPA's regulation of cement plants, according to press reports. H.J. Res. 100 would repeal the regulation and prevent any future similar regulation. Economists and environmentalists should be equally unhappy with this rollback effort. This is one regulation where the cost-benefit analysis seems to come out firmly on the environmental side, according to the NY Times environmental blog, The E.P.A. estim...
CONTINUE READINGPlenty of blame to go around
The Oil Spill Commission has released a chapter from its upcoming report on the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Commission describes this chapter as containing the report's "key findings". The chapter focuses on the operations immediately preceding the explosion. According to the Commission, BP, Halliburton, Transocean, the oil industry as a whole, Congress, and multiple presidential administrations all share responsibility for the blow-out and its consequences. From ...
CONTINUE READINGGovernor Brown makes his first environmental appointments
Jerry Brown has hit the ground running not only in terms of budget work but in putting together his environmental policy team. Today he announced the re-appointment of Mary Nichols as Chair of the California Air Resources Board and the appointment of John Laird as Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. Nichols' reappointment is an excellent move that won't surprise anyone. She first served as ARB Chair during Brown's second term from 1979 to 1983. And s...
CONTINUE READINGThe “Rebound Effect” Falls Flat
Prompted in part by a recent article in the New Yorker, there's been a lot of attention to the rebound effect lately. The theory is that increased energy efficiency in effect makes energy cheaper (as measured in cost per unit of benefit), so people actually consumer more energy. The empirical evidence is that this is a relatively small effect, far outweighed by the energy savings from efficiency, as Greenwire reports. But some people argue that the rebound effect a...
CONTINUE READINGThe Schwarzenegger Legacy: Environmentalism on the Cheap
As Californians say "hasta la vista, baby" to Governor Schwarzenegger this morning, media retrospectives have focused on his environmental accomplishments as one of his few positive legacies. Specifically, they point to his signing of AB 32, the landmark climate change law limiting the state's greenhouse gas emissions. And Schwarzenegger himself likes to think of himself as an environmentally friendly Republican. But how "green" was his administration? While the Go...
CONTINUE READINGThe Legal Underpinnings of EPA’s Climate Rules
The Clean Air Act is a formidably technical and complex statute -- I often tell my students that it's like the Internal Revenue Code except not as clearly written. But even those who know the statute may have been surprised by a couple of provisions that EPA is using to address greenhouse gases. The first provision is buried in the section governing pollution requirements for new stationary sources like power plants. Mostly, these requirements involve pollutants tha...
CONTINUE READINGChanging the Climate in the Bay State
Massachusetts has adopted an ambitious goal of reducing GHG levels 20% below the 1990 level by 2020. According the NY Times, the program involves a mix of tools: Importing more hydropower from Quebec. Reducing vehicle miles driven through insurance incentives. Encouraging owners of old oil furnaces to replace them with more efficient systems. Using the existing cap-and-trade system adopted by Northeastern states to control emissions from electricity generators. E...
CONTINUE READINGWhat to Expect This Year in Terms of Climate Action
Although there will be many flashing lights and loud noises, 2011 will primarily be a year in which various events that are already in play evolve toward major developments in 2012. Litigation. The one exceptional major development in 2011 will be American Electric Power (AEP) v. Connecticut, the climate nuisance case that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear. The odds are good that the Court will throw out the case, the interesting question being what ground the Cour...
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