Conservation deal just a sugar fix?
Cross-posted at CPRBlog When government decides that private economic activity needs to be restricted in order to preserve some part of nature, there are two basic ways to get that result -- by demanding cooperation through regulation or by buying it through economic incentives or outright purchase. The second approach is often politically easier, but environmentalists have long been skeptical of relying too heavily on it. Two major concerns have repeatedly been exp...
CONTINUE READINGThe Anti-Science Lobby Strikes Again
Apparently, the anti-evolution forces have joined up with the climate denialists. The NY Times reports that state governments are already taking action to ensure that their students remains as ignorant about climate science as evolution. The Times explains: In Louisiana, a law passed in 2008 says the state board of education may assist teachers in promoting “critical thinking” on all of those subjects. Last year, the Texas Board of Education adopted language re...
CONTINUE READINGOrganic wine is more desirable to consumers, but only if they don’t know it’s organic
Interesting new research shows that organically-produced wines are generally ranked higher in quality and command a higher price than non-organic wines. But the researchers also found that most organic wines aren't actually labeled as "organic," and that those wines with such a label command lower prices than comparable non-organic wines. The study by UCLA Institute of the Environment/Anderson School of Management professor Magali Delmas and UCSB researcher Laura E. ...
CONTINUE READINGTailoring the tailoring rule – we’re up to 75,000 tpy
Last week, Sean asked whether the EPA was backing off its plan to begin regulating stationary sources of greenhouse gas pollutants under the Clean Air Act. This week, we learn more about the answer ("yes") and some details about how much it's backing off ("lots"). Background: The CAA requires EPA to begin regulating greenhouse gases from stationary sources, like factories and refineries, once greenhouse gases become "subject to regulation" under any other part of the ...
CONTINUE READINGWhite paper released today on how farmers and ranchers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions
What can California's farmers and ranchers do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? "Room to Grow: How California Agriculture Can Help Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions," a new white paper released today by UC Berkeley/UCLA Schools of Law, the California Attorney General's Office, and Bank of America, provides some answers. California agriculture is a huge industry, generating $36 billion in annual profit and providing hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in tax reve...
CONTINUE READINGThe Unintended Consequences of Rapanos
In the Rapanos case, building on its previous ruling in SWANCC, the Supreme Court cut back on federal jurisdiction over water bodies. The issue before it was the government's power to control filling of isolated wetlands, and it seems clear that the Court was solely focused on what it considered an inappropriate expansion of federal authority over land use. But the same jurisdictional language in the statute applies to pollution. As a result, the NY Times reports t...
CONTINUE READINGThe Ironic History of Cap-and-Trade
The phrase "cap-and-trade" is relatively new, but the idea of marketable pollution allowances goes back several decades. Conventional pollution laws impose direct mandates on polluters, telling each polluter precisely what level of pollution control is required. For a variety of reasons, economists have always disapproved of this approach. They prefer pollution taxes (a/k/a effluent charges) or marketable permit systems as a lower cost method of reaching environmen...
CONTINUE READINGBig Headline News: Los Angeles Resident Voluntarily Takes the Bus
You can read all about the fact that a 26 year old white girl in Los Angeles actually chooses to ride the bus here....
CONTINUE READINGEarth’s Climate: The Owner’s Manual
If you want an authoritative source on climate science, of course you could go to the IPCC Reports. That assumes, of course, that you're willing to plow through hundreds and hundreds of pages of detailed information. Now, there's a good alternative. The Climate Crisis is a clear, accessible introduction to everything we know about the earth's climate. The authors are leading scientists at the University of Chicago and the Potsdam Institute for Impact Research. ...
CONTINUE READINGConference Webcast – The Environment and the Constitution
*Webcast is archived for later viewing, if you didn't catch the live event. On February 26, 2010. 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.webcast of (EST), you can attend the Environmental Protection in the Balance: Citizens, Courts, and the Constitution at Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC. Today, the most important environmental law and policy disputes are shaped in the crucible of constitutional law. This symposium, anchored by two keynote speakers, will convene l...
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