Human Rights and Climate Change
The connection between climate change and human rights is beginning to get fuller attention. The Cancun Agreements (FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/L.7, paras 93-4) call for submissions on “a forum on the impact of the implementation of response measures." On behalf of Berkeley's International Human Rights Law Clinic, Zoe Loftus-Farren and Cáitrín McKiernan have offered a submission, suggesting that the UNFCCC mandate an internal process to support states in the development and i...
CONTINUE READINGWhy have public lands?
I've been part of a very interesting discussion about why we have public lands over at PropertyProf Blog. You can check it out here....
CONTINUE READINGLegal Planet Hits the Top 50
LexisNexis Communities has named Legal Planet as one of the top fifty environmental and climate change blog sites for 2011. Legal Planet is one of four sites named in the Academic/Educational category. The judges had this to say about us: "A collaboration of academic giants, this blog draws upon the resources and expertise of the law schools' legal scholars and think tanks to provide insight and analysis on energy and environmental law and policy. The authors write ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Expanding Number of Environmental Law Teachers
In a previous posting, I remarked on the increase in the number of publications in environmental law. I thought it would be useful to look at the number of law professors in the field. This was not a rigorous social science survey, so the numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. Some caveats are listed at the end of this posting. Nevertheless, the trend seems quite striking: Years of Teaching Environmental Law 2004-2005 ...
CONTINUE READINGGray Wolf Litigation Summary
I previously discussed the wolf delisting rider to the budget compromise bill. I thought it would be useful to summarize here the recent court opinions concerning the wolf, and consider the effects of the rider on those opinions. As you may recall, the rider (which never mentions "wolf" or "delisting") requires the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to reissue its April 2009 final rule (74 Fed. Reg. 15,123). That rule effectively delisted the "Rocky Mountain Populati...
CONTINUE READINGChanging Course on Consumption
The United States has been an extravagant user of energy and resources, and this trajectory is not sustainable. With only one-twentieth of the world’s population, the United States consumes a fifth of the fossil fuels, produces a quarter of the carbon dioxide, and a third of the paper and plastic use. From 1900-1990, U.S. population tripled, while the use of raw materials multiplied seventeen times. The U.S. also now uses a fifth of the world’s copper, a quarter of i...
CONTINUE READINGThe Mystery of Sierra Club v. Morton
Sierra Club v. Morton is rightfully viewed as one of the most significant environmental decisions in Supreme Court history. Although it hardly constituted a crimped or anti-environmental decision, it did go a long way to putting the brakes on environmental standing by ruling that the Sierra Club did not have the corporate standing to challenge the Interior Department's policies on the Mineral King development. Perhaps the case is best known for Justice Douglas'...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Do Environmental Law Scholars Write About?
Some of our readers who aren't in law schools probably wonder what environmental law professors actually do. (Some of our readers who are in law schools might be wondering the same thing!). I thought it might be helpful to provide a sample of recent scholarship. Here are recent lists of working papers from SSRN.com, which provides on-line prepublication access to papers. From the Climate Law list: Expediting Innovation: The Quest for a New Sputnik Moment by Sarah...
CONTINUE READINGJohn Muir’s Birthday
If environmentalism had saints John Muir, born on April 21, 1838, would surely be on the list. He is best known for founding the Sierra Club and fighting to save Yosemite....
CONTINUE READINGHome Solar Good for More Than a Guilty Conscience
Despite all of the tax breaks, utility rebates, and net metering potential, the common assumption is that rooftop residential photovoltaics are not economical for many customers. Some people figure that you install a solar system if you want to feel good about yourself, or make a statement about the environment, but you had better expect to lose money. A new study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests that solar might not be such a bad investment afte...
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