EPA drops the hammer on mountaintop removal
Cross-posted at CPRBlog. Last week, I reported on EPA's proposed veto of a Clean Water Act section 404 permit for a major mountaintop removal coal mining project in West Virginia. My view at the time was something along the lines of two-and-a-half cheers. I wrote that it was very good news, but didn't articulate principals for distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable mountaintop removal. Setting the proposed veto next to approval of the Hobet 45 project in Jan...
CONTINUE READINGThe Utah Legislature Flunks Law School
Holly mentions Utah's quixotic, somewhat deranged attempt to seize federal lands by eminent domain, correctly observing that federal law would pre-empt any state eminent domain action. One might also mention McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), which held that a state cannot tax a federal agency. If a state can't tax a federal agency, how in the world would it be constitutional to seize it? McCulloch is perhaps second only to Marbury v. Madison in terms of its foundational...
CONTINUE READINGWe Interrupt This Blog…
...in order to outsource it to John Cole of Balloon Juice, who pretty much says it all regarding the fact that the scientists involved in "Climategate" were exonerated by a House of Commons investigation: Sadly, Al Gore is Still Fat, So I’m Not Sure Anyone Will Care by John Cole I’m sure the media and right wing blogs will give this the same amount of attention they gave the climate change denialists will ignore this completely: The UK scientist at the center of...
CONTINUE READINGSay goodbye to the mothball fleet
Settling litigation brought by environmental groups and later joined by state officials, the US Maritime Administration has agreed to remove the mothball fleet (also known as the ghost fleet) from Suisun Bay near San Francisco. The fleet consists of 52 obsolete warships that have been stored in the Bay for decades with little or no maintenance. Over time, as the paint peeled from the deteriorating ships, they have spilled tons of toxic metals into the water. In January, ...
CONTINUE READINGObama, Offshore Drilling, and Aikido
Concerning Obama's new offshore drilling policv, it's hard to disagree with the sentiment expressed by Matt Yglesias, Steve Benen, and Kevin Drum: why give a concession without getting anything in return? House Minority Leader John Boehner responded with a typically reality- and lithium-deprived statement. saying that "the Obama Administration continues to defy the will of the American people" by not lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling everywhere, adding that "...
CONTINUE READINGOns Small Step for Insurers: New Insurance Product for Nanomaterials
Someone has taken the leap in the insurance industry. Financial.com reported today that Lexington Insurance Company is offering LexNanoShield, a product overing "liability coverage that provides protection for general liability, product liability, product pollution legal liability and product recall liability exposures." The coverage, on a claims made basis, is available to nano manufacturers and users. Coverage for expenses incurred in a product recall is also av...
CONTINUE READINGTo Save the Planet…Drill of For Oil?
In his State of the Union address this past January, President Obama found a way to equate greenhouse gas reduction and clean energy jobs with an increase in offshore drilling. If he were to agree to more offshore leases, perhaps reticent members of Congress would support the kind of energy legislation needed to address climate change. This week, the president took initial steps to open additional tracts off of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In January, he said: "Bu...
CONTINUE READINGDoes anybody really know what electricity costs? Does anybody really care?
Just about everything that energy utilities and their regulators do has some kind of impact on the environment – even when all they are doing is setting electricity rates. So, when PG&E (California’s largest electric company) proposed a new residential rate structure last week, some were left wondering: as far as the environment is concerned, is it thumbs up, or thumbs down? On balance, I am betting on “thumbs down”. Here’s why. In the old days, ra...
CONTINUE READINGToothless Toxic Regs
The NY Times "economic scene" column has an interesting column about toxics. Current regulations are largely ineffectual. Case in point: zinc in denture cream, which turns out to be at a high enough level to cause neurological damage for some users. The product stayed on the market for years despite rising evidence, and some of it is still on the shelves: In 2008, Dr. Sharon Nations of Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and other researchers published a study in...
CONTINUE READINGDeja vu all over again
Remember the Sagebrush Rebellion and the County Supremacy Movement? They were attempts in the 1970s-80s and 1990s, respectively, by state and local governments in the west to assert control over federal lands. They didn't make any legal progress because of the pesky Supremacy and Property Clauses of the US Constitution, which declare that the federal constitution is the supreme law of the land and give Congress plenary power over the property of the United States, includ...
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