Conservatives and climate change
Dan notes, in a recent post, the ways in which potential Republican presidential candidates are backwards-pedaling on whatever statements they might once have made supporting action to address climate change. (Climate change is apparently the new former mistriss -- we've all flirted in the past with things we now regret.) Former Congressman Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) spoke at UCLA Law earlier this week and shed some light on the current Republican allergy to climate act...
CONTINUE READINGNew life for a founding member of the environmental law blogosphere
Welcome back to Environmental Law Prof Blog, which has been relaunched by a diverse and energetic group of young environmental law profs. Contributors include Lincoln Davies, Brigham Daniels, Blake Hudson, Lesley McAllister (a PhD graduate of Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group), and Hannah Wiseman. Here's how they describe their blog: Welcome to the Relaunch of the Environmental Law Prof Blog! We are here to stimulate discussion and thought about the ever-growing a...
CONTINUE READINGUCLA Law Symposium: Perspectives on Climate Change
Please join us at UCLA Law School on April 15th for the 2011 Environmental Law Symposium, Perspectives on Climate Change, Pollution and the Clean Air Act. The keynote speaker will be Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. Please RSVP. You can also check out the program for more information. Panel topics will cover ongoing questions about climate change and the Clean Air Act. What is EPA's strategy for tackling climate change under ...
CONTINUE READINGRight on the Commerce Clause, wrong on the ESA
Cross-posted at CPRBlog. As Rick noted earlier, the Ninth Circuit is now the fifth federal circuit court of appeals to reject a Commerce Clause challenge to the ESA. In San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Salazar, a Ninth Circuit panel upheld protection of the Delta smelt. I agree with Rick's analysis of the Commerce Clause holding, but wanted to make two additional points. First, while a petition for certiorari is almost inevitable, it's unlikely to be gr...
CONTINUE READINGNew Assistant-Dean/Law-Professor Position at Pace
I was asked to post information about a new academic job opening at Pace Law School. This isn't something that we've done before on this blog, although we did give a list of schools with openings earlier in the academic year. But providing this information seems like a useful service to our readers and to the law school community. If this sets a precedent and we get too many requests to accommodate easily, we'll set up a separate page for job postings. Here's the a...
CONTINUE READINGVideo and print materials online from our conference Local Agencies on the Cutting Edge: Emerging Challenges to Local Land Use Authority
On February 11, UCLA Law hosted a symposium, Local Agencies on the Cutting Edge: Emerging Challenges to Local Land Use Authority. This daylong conference addressed important new developments in local land-use law. We now have a webpage devoted to the symposium, including links to video recordings of all the day's sessions, as well as written materials and powerpoint presentations from the event. The day's panels included: -- What does Proposition 26 mean for loca...
CONTINUE READINGPandering to the Right, Or, “That Was Then, This Is Now.”
PAWLENTY: Well, anybody who’s going to run for this office who’s been in an executive position, or may run, has got some clunkers in their record. Laura, mine I think are fewer and less severe than most. As to climate change, or more specifically cap-and-trade, I’ve just come out and admitted it — look, it was a mistake, it was stupid. [...] Everybody in the race, well at least the big names in the race, embraced climate change or cap-and-trade at one point or a...
CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Rejects Commerce Clause Challenge to ESA
Aligning itself with four other federal circuits that have addressed the question, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that application of the Endangered Species Act to California's imperiled Delta Smelt doesn't violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Salazar (http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/03/25/10-15192.pdf ) is the latest chapter in the long-running legal battle over whether operation of the...
CONTINUE READINGU.S. House of Representatives v. Modern Science
Nature, one of the two leading scientific journals in the world, has a strongly worded editorial about the recent House hearings on climate change: At a subcommittee hearing on 14 March, anger and distrust were directed at scientists and respected scientific societies. Misinformation was presented as fact, truth was twisted and nobody showed any inclination to listen to scientists, let alone learn from them. It has been an embarrassing display, not just for the Republica...
CONTINUE READINGThe recent court decision blocking California’s scoping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: One-stop shopping for recent Legal Planet commentary
Several of the bloggers on Legal Planet have been commenting extensively on the recent California court decision that will block the California Air Resources Board from moving forward with its AB 32 Scoping Plan and related regulations. I've provided links below to a series of our posts on this decision. The court, ruling on a lawsuit brought by environmental justice advocates under the California Environmental Quality Act, found that the ARB's adoption of its scopi...
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