Region: International

The Machine at the Center of the Clean Power Plan

By William Boyd, Ann Carlson and Cara Horowitz

As attention shifts from last night’s debate to today’s oral argument on the Clean Power Plan, we thought it worth focusing on the machine at the heart of the President’s plan to cut greenhouse gases from the electric power sector: the electricity grid.  You might think that the largest machine in the United States is one …

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The Future of Environmental Law?

Thoughts from the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawai’i

I am writing this weekend from a sunny spot in the Pacific, from the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu. For the uninitiated, the IUCN—International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources—is a global union of governments and non-governmental organizations (including over 1300 member institutions, organizations, and countries worldwide) focused on the conservation of …

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The Clinton Foundation and the Environment

There’s a lot of talk about where the money comes from. But where does it go?

We hear a lot about the Clinton Foundation these days, but it’s all about where the money comes from.  That’s outside the scope of this blog, but it made me curious about what they do with the money.  In particular, I wondered what they did for the environment. Since the only thing I really knew …

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Does AB 197 Mean the End of Cap and Trade in California?

Language Directs the Air Resources Board to Prioritize Direct Emissions Reductions

As Ethan’s post  recounts, the California Assembly today passed AB 197, a bill linked to SB 32, which extends California’s climate goals to 2030 and requires emissions reductions by that year of 40 percent below 1990 levels (see my post from yesterday describing the bills and how they are linked).  The passage of the two …

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SB 32 Passage Great News But Legislature Needs to Pass AB 197 Too

AB 197 Would Curtail California Air Resources Board Power, Potentially Restrict Cap-and-Trade

Ethan reported the good news today that the California Assembly passed SB 32, legislation that would extend California’s landmark climate change legislation to 2030 and require deeper cuts in emissions.  The original legislation, AB 32, required that California cut its emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. SB 32 requires that the state achieve a 40 …

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Rio’s Dirty Water

Everyone seems to be talking about the pollution in Guanabara Bay

With the Opening Ceremonies for the 2016 Summer Olympics set for tomorrow night, the world’s attention is turned to Brazil. For someone with a great love for the country, it is disheartening to see the series of articles in the run-up to the Olympics emphasizing the negatives—challenges due to political turmoil, security concerns, the Zika …

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The Libertarian Party and the Environment

The Libertarian Party platform leaves many open questions about environmental protection.

A number of people seem drawn to the Libertarian Party during this election cycle.  As it turns out, the Party believes not only in minimal government but a minimal platform.  Compared to the platforms of the major parties, the Libertarian platform is blessedly brief. (It also seems notably more purist than the Party’s presidential ticket.) …

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The Aviation Endangerment Finding

While we are watching the political conventions, EPA took an important step forward

Last Monday, EPA issued a formal finding that carbon emissions from commercial aviation endanger human health and welfare.   Understanding the significance of the finding requires a little background. Section 231(a)(2) of the Clean Air Act directs the EPA Administrator to “issue proposed emission standards applicable to the emission of any air pollutant from any class …

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Do water managers’ perceptions influence innovation?

New survey probes the innovation deficit

Climate change and population growth are rapidly increasing stress on our water systems, challenging their ability to deliver critical services.  To respond to this, we need more than simple course adjustments in how we manage our water – we need entirely new paradigms that will improve resource efficiency and support more sustainable urban water systems. Considerable …

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Brexit Claims Its First Victim: The Environment

The new British government is turning sharply against environmental protection.

The Brexit vote elevated Theresa May to the Prime Minister’s office.  One of her first steps has been an attack on environmental protection. In what the Guardian called the “most radical shakeup in the shape of Whitehall for years.” She abolished the Department for Energy and Climate Change and moved its functions into the Department for Business, Energy …

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