Region: International
The Decision to Halt the Implementation of the Clean Power Plan is Outrageous
And Inconsistent with the Law
As I wrote earlier today, there is nothing good to be said about the U.S. Supreme Court decision today that halted the implementation of the President’s Clean Power Plan. The decision is a huge blow to the President’s climate agenda, it’s a setback for the Paris Agreement and it is a bad sign that the …
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CONTINUE READINGInitial Thoughts on the Supreme Court Staying the Clean Power Plan
Short Answer: There’s Nothing Good to Say About it
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 half-page order, dealt the Obama Administration a big blow today by preventing its Clean Power Plan from going into effect until the case can be heard on its merits. We know from the order that the Court split in the usual way, with the four more liberal members of the Court …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Flint Lead Crisis
Three Interesting Notes About Lead Regulation and Exposure
At this point, you would need to be a hermit to have missed the news coverage of elevated levels of lead in the drinking water in Flint, MI. (Although even that might not be a valid excuse given an ancient, anonymous Roman hermit described lead poisoning). The short version is: in April 2014 a cash …
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CONTINUE READINGLegacy Goods and Environment Preservation
The value of some goods like wilderness today depends on their futures.
Normally, economists imagine, equal experiences become less valuable as they recede further into the future. But some types of goods don’t have that kind of relationship with future experiences. They can become more valuable as they extend farther into to the future. Take this blog post, for example. I’m really happy that you’re reading it …
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CONTINUE READINGTwo Record-Breaking Hot Years in a Row
Recent World Temperatures Provide Strong Evidence of Climate Change
Scientists in the United States, Japan, and Britain have all confirmed that 2015 was the warmest year in average world temperature in the historical record. This breaks the previous record temperatures of 2014. You wouldn’t really expect a record that has been around for many years to be broken two years in a row, unless something was …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Politics as a War of Attrition
Don’t expect a quick end to battles over climate policy. It could be a long war.
It may be a mistake to assume that opponents of climate policy will see the handwriting on the wall and gracefully give way to the inevitable. In politics, decisions are rarely made for all time, and agreements between opposing sides may not be enforceable. In such situations, game theorists have proposed war-of-attrition models for conflicts. In …
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CONTINUE READINGStudent Guest Blogger Terra Laughton: Perspectives on COP21
Terra Laughton, UCLA School of Law JD class of 2017, shares her perspective on attending the Paris climate negotiations
I am a second-year student at UCLA School of Law. I recently returned from two weeks in Paris attending COP21. My classmates and I had already boarded our plane at Charles De Gaulle when the Paris Agreement was officially adopted—we learned of the news upon landing in Los Angeles. While it would have been exhilarating …
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CONTINUE READINGStudent Guest Blogger Sarah Kozal: India, Technological Innovation, & the Energy Sector
Sarah Kozal, UCLA School of Law JD class of 2016, shares her perspective on attending the Paris climate negotiations
For students, much of the excitement of attending the COP as part of a country’s delegation comes from the opportunity to sit in multi-party negotiations. But when nearly the entire second week in Paris turned into bilateral negotiations, a break from the crazy schedule of article-focused meetings gave us a chance to explore the multitude …
CONTINUE READINGTop 10 Environmental News Stories of 2015
More goods than bad, but some of each.
Here are the top ten stories, at least as I see them: A Warming World. 2015 will almost certainly be the warmest year on record. This is one more confirmation of recent studies indicating that either there was no climate hiatus or it has ended. Saving Wetlands and Water Bodies. EPA and the Army Corp …
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CONTINUE READINGRoy Cohn and the Trans-Pacific Partnership
“Who Are Those Guys?”
I don’t care what the law says. I want to know who the judge is. — Roy M. Cohn I basically agree with Jim’s and Dan’s assessments of the substantive provisions of the TPP when it comes to environmental issues. (I have real problems with the Intellectual Property provisions, but that is another matter). For …
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