Of the Corporations, By the Corporations, and For the Corporations?
Today’s decision in Citizens United was something of a foregone conclusion. Still, it was a bit breathtaking. The Court was obviously poised to strike down the latest Congressional restrictions on corporate political expenditures. But the Court went further and struck down even restrictions that had been upheld thirty years ago. Seldom has a majority been so eager to reach out, address a question that wasn’t presented by the parties and overrule a bevy of pri...
CONTINUE READINGA Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall — and Then Get Wasted
A friend from New York, recently transplanted to Los Angeles, has watched aghast as, again and again, weather reporters have greeted any local rainfall more than 1" with feverish STORMWATCH headlines. That said, the Southland got hit with quite a storm these last 48 hours. "Well," say most Angelenos unaccustomed to precipitation. "At least we could use the rain." Except that we can't. The vast majority of the city's rainfall picks up all kinds of pollutants fro...
CONTINUE READINGMoving Forward With Cap-and-Trade in California
In 2006, the California Legislature enacted the Landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), which authorized--but did not compel--the California Air Resources Board to adopt a cap-and-trade program as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce state greenhouse gas emissions. A year ago, CARB adopted its AB 32 "Scoping Plan," in which it commits to cap-and-trade as an integral part of its GHG mitigation strategy; that cap-and-trade program will cover fully 85% of Ca...
CONTINUE READINGNever Underestimate California’s Idiocy
Ann thinks the neanderthals attempting to repeal AB 32 won't get the signatures to put the thing on the ballot. I hope she's right, but given my general pessimism, I'd be willing to bet otherwise. Climate change regulation is like catnip to the Teabagger set. It is a vast left-wing conspiracy to destroy capitalism and otherwise regulate our Precious Bodily Fluids. All it takes is one impassioned appeal from Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity, with a website or 1-800 numb...
CONTINUE READINGThe Supreme Court Backs Off on Consumer Protection and (Maybe) the Environment
In a decision issued last week, the U.S. Supreme Court continued to chip away at consumer protections embedded in the Federal Power Act, and it is the environment that ultimately may take the biggest hit. First, let’s consider those consumer protections. The Federal Power Act requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to ensure that rates charged for electric power service are just and reasonable. Traditionally, that meant that rates had to reflect t...
CONTINUE READINGELQ Volume 36, Number 4 available
The latest issue of Ecology Law Quarterly, Volume 36, Number 4, is now available online. Articles in this issue include: Judson Jaffe, Matthew Ranson & Robert N. Stavins, Linking Tradable Permit Systems: A Key Element of Emerging International Climate Policy Architecture Jonathan Nash, Allocation and Uncertainty: Strategic Responses to Environmental Grandfathering Tim Lindl, Letting Solar Shine: An Argument to Temper the Over-the-Fence Rule (Tim is a 2009 B...
CONTINUE READINGCarbon Tweets
Do you twitter? If so, you might be interested in this feature at the Washington Post, which aggregates tweets relating to climate issues....
CONTINUE READINGSupreme Court takes another NEPA remedies case
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms. The grant is pretty clearly a follow-up to Winter v. NRDC, the sonar case from last term, in which the Court reversed an injunction the Ninth Circuit had imposed limiting the use of mid-frequency active sonar during Navy training exercises off the southern California coast. Monsanto v. Geertson doesn't have the national security implications of Winter, but ...
CONTINUE READINGWhat’s in Your Toothpaste?
A new UCLA study raises health concerns about a nanomaterial found in a broad range of consumer products. Nanoscale titanium dioxide, which is used in toothpaste, sunscreen, paint, cosmetics, vitamins, food coloring, and nutritional supplements, has not been extensively studied for its toxicological properties. A team lead by Robert Schiestl, a professor of pathology, radiation oncology and environmental health sciences at UCLA, examined the effects of the ingestion...
CONTINUE READINGCampaign to Suspend AB 32 Unlikely to Go Anywhere
Last Monday, the Wall Street Journal editorialized in favor of both a bill and a newly filed ballot initiative to suspend the implementation of California's landmark greenhouse gas emissions legislation, AB 32, until the state's unemployment rate falls from it's current 12+ % to under 5.5% for four consecutive quarters. On the same day the fate of the bill became clear as the Assembly Natural Resources Committee voted to reject the legislation. The next step in the ...
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