Catching up with ELQ
While I was taking a hiatus from blogging, ELQ published not just one but two issues. Check out Volume 38, Issue 1, featuring: Michelle Bryan Mudd, A "Constant and Difficult Task": Making Local Land Use Decisions in a State with a Constitutional Right to a Healthful Environment? Alexandra B. Klass, Property Rights on the New Frontier: Climate Change, Natural Resource Development, and Renewable Energy Kristin N. Carden, The Legal Viability of Territorial Use Rights i...
CONTINUE READINGLisa Jackson Speech
Following up on Holly's post, here is video of the speech. (And no, contrary to a rumor in the blogosphere, she didn't call conservative critics "jack-booted thugs." Instead, as you'll see, she commented that they used this term about EPA.) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcNeR6-EEGc]...
CONTINUE READINGLisa Jackson at Berkeley Law
Yesterday, Berkeley Law's Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment hosted a public presentation by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. She delivered brief prepared remarks, then took a lot of questions. She didn't announce any new policy initiatives, but she did make it clear that she (and the President) are not going to cave to pressure from Republicans in the House. Jackson did seem glad to be well outside the Beltway for a while, and who can blame her? She noted that ...
CONTINUE READINGShould We Allow Development in National Parks?
If I were pressed to state my favorite place in the world, coming right at the top of the list would be the Wawona Hotel, in Yosemite National Park. Not only is it inside Yosemite, but it is a historic hotel, originally built in 1879, and possessing all kinds of retro features as well as good restaurant, an excellent piano bar, great views etc. etc. And in fact one of the best things about Yosemite is just how much of it is developed -- there's the whole Yosemite Vi...
CONTINUE READINGDefending the “green guinea pig”
Just a quick post to point out my UCLA colleague Matt Kahn's piece, in the Christian Science Monitor, defending California's AB 32 climate regulations from a recent Wall Street Journal editorial (sub. req'd.) that maligns the state's approach. Apparently the WSJ relies on a long-debunked estimate of the costs to households from California's program, an estimate that (among other flaws) adds together all costs of AB 32 but excludes the value of all energy savings....
CONTINUE READINGIs California’s Anti-Sprawl Law Worth the Investment?
This past Friday, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) approved the very first Sustainable Communities Strategy in the state as part of its regional transportation plan. The strategy document is the critical planning piece mandated by California's anti-sprawl law, SB 375. As I discussed over the summer, SANDAG's plan meets its greenhouse gas reduction goals largely through congestion management and decreased ridership from the down economy. It does not f...
CONTINUE READINGNEWS FLASH: D.C. Circuit Appeal of GHG Rules
According to E&E News, the D.C. Circuit has set oral argument for Feb. 28 and Feb. 29 in the complex legal challenges to EPA's endangerment finding and initial batch of rules regulating greenhouse gases. As I've written previously, I consider the endangerment-finding a slam dunk; the tougher issue is the "tailoring" rule that exempts smaller sources from the initial round of regulation. Industry is attacking the exemption, which is a bit ironic since it is a pro-...
CONTINUE READINGThe Case for Cap-and-Trade
Dan asked for a vote, and being a good Legal Planetary citizen, I responded -- voting very reluctantly for cap-and-trade. The biggest difficulty, as is the case with most polls, lies in the phrasing of the question: "all things considered" what is "the best strategy" for controlling greenhouse gases. The problem with this locution -- perhaps unavoidable -- is that while a carbon tax might be the best overall strategy, cap-and-trade is more feasible politically. I...
CONTINUE READINGWhat is the Best Approach to Controlling Carbon? You Be the Judge.
There's a lot of disagreement about the best approach to controlling carbon. We thought it might be a good idea to find out what you, our readers, think about the issue. Here's a quick poll: [polldaddy poll=5632574]...
CONTINUE READINGNice to know I’m sober
Today the Supreme Court denied certiorari in the case known to that Court as Stewart & Jasper Orchards v. Salazar. So why the headline? This is the commerce clause challenge to ESA protection for the Delta smelt, rejected by the Ninth Circuit this past spring under the name San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Salazar. At the time I expressed confidence that the Court would "leave this case alone." Ten days ago, when co-blogger Rick Frank and I appeared ...
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
