New White Paper Released on Local Government Land Use Planning and Climate Change
UC Berkeley and UCLA Schools of Law released a new white paper today called “Plan for the Future: How Local Governments Can Help Implement California’s New Land Use and Climate Change Legislation.” The paper looks at steps that policy-makers and local government leaders can take to improve land use planning in California to meet the increasing demand for "sustainable development," typified by compact, walkable communities near transit, and the state’s greenhous...
CONTINUE READINGThe environmental community mourns the passing of climate science giant Stephen Schneider
Dr. Stephen Schneider, the pioneering Stanford climate scientist whose passion for the topic and concern for the earth's future led him to become an outspoken public advocate for the role of scientific evidence and scientific judgment in shaping climate policy, has died at age 65 of an apparent heart attack. Andy Revkin of the New York Times, Ben Santer of Lawrence Livermore Laboratories (at Real Climate), and Stanford University have published obituaries or appreciati...
CONTINUE READINGEconomists against Prop 23
As Ann has reported, California's global warming law, AB 32, is under attack. Proposition 23 on the November ballot would suspend AB 32 until unemployment in the state falls below 5.5% for four consecutive quarters (currently, unemployment in California is over 12%). Opponents of environmental regulation often argue that too much regulation kills jobs and the economy. Certainly that's the primary argument of the pro-Prop 23 camp, which calls the proposition the "Californ...
CONTINUE READINGTen Lessons from the Financial Reform Bill
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a bill to get cloture in the Senate. Nevertheless, when something is important enough, the Senate can overcome its paralysis and pass legislation. BUT the legislation will be greatly weakened in the process. Bismarck didn't go far enough when he said that people who like law and sausages shouldn't watch either one being made. At least there are health and safety rules for sausages. Legislation...
CONTINUE READINGClimate stabilization targets
Everything about climate policy seems to be difficult, but one of the big challenges has been choosing goals. Many of the targets to date, including California's AB 32 mandate to return to 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2020, have been based more on what seems feasible than on what seems necessary. NASA's James Hansen argues for a target atmospheric CO2 level of 350 ppm (compared with the current level of about 392 ppm and climbing) "if humanity wishes to preserv...
CONTINUE READINGGOP Will Filibuster the PACE Bill, Unless…
A prediction: the Republicans will filibuster Mike Thompson's bill concerning PACE once it gets to the Senate. At this point, the Republicans (led by Senator Mitch McConnell, pictured right) are simply uninterested in principles or policy. That's particular true in the shadow of the upcoming midterms: stopping the bill will simply be another way to frustrate any voters who care about such things, and they will take out their frustrations on the "governing" party, e...
CONTINUE READINGCongress to Intervene in the PACE Saga?
California Attorney General Jerry Brown's lawsuit against the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for its stance on the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program may be moot if Congress can act to force FHFA to back down. Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) has now introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would bar FHFA and Fannie and Freddie from "discriminat[ing] against communities implementing or participating in a PACE program, including by pro...
CONTINUE READINGA new environmental law prof blog
Jason Czarnezki, who teaches environmental and natural resources law at Vermont Law School, has a new blog, Czarnezki.com: Life, Law, and the Environment. Jason often has interesting things to say about the relationship of everyday life to environmentalism and environmental law. His blog is sure to be worth checking out....
CONTINUE READINGHeat Waves? Get Used to Them.
Last week the east coast sweltered. Berlin reached 99 degrees and China experienced a heat wave through much of the country. This week it's our turn in Southern California as temperatures reach triple digits. As I argued last week, when asked if these heat waves are related to climate change, the answer should be yes. A new study in Geophysical Research Letters led by Stanford professor Noah Diffenbaugh confirms my point. The study's results are alarming in two re...
CONTINUE READINGIndia Puts US Climate Policy to Shame
While US policymakers -- particularly Republicans and those in coal states -- are busy complaining about developing countries not capping their carbon emissions, New Delhi is busy actually doing something about climate change. Two weeks ago, India instituted a tax on coal, instituting a form of carbon tax that talented advocates (such as the good folks at the Carbon Tax Center) have been pushing for a while, and have been unable to get through Congress. The tax is ...
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