Reflections on the BP disaster and today’s Bhopal criminal verdict
As Dan has pointed out, there has been discussion of possible criminal liability for BP for its conduct leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. David Uhlmann of the University of Michigan, a former federal environmental criminal prosecutor, has expressed optimism that a robust criminal prosecution of BP would appropriately punish BP, make it more likely that victims will be compensated, and "send a clear message that an environmental disaster of this magnitude c...
CONTINUE READINGThree Ingredients of Disaster
The N.Y. Times ran a front-page article Sunday about the organizational problems that contributed to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. For those who are familiar with the research on the causes of catastrophic accidents, there are few surprises. Deepwater Horizon involved three familiar organizational flaws that are often associated with catastrophic outcomes. The same kinds of organizational failures that led to the collapse of the defective New Orleans levee system d...
CONTINUE READINGEPA proposes general Clean Water Act permit for pesticides
In January 2009, the Sixth Circuit in National Cotton Council v. EPA struck down a Bush-era rule declaring that pesticide application to or over waters was exempt from the Clean Water Act's NPDES permit program, under which a permit is required for any discharge of pollutants to waters of the U.S. from a point source. The effect of that decision was later stayed until June 2011 to allow EPA time to respond. The agency has now issued a draft Pesticides General Permit whic...
CONTINUE READINGSave the Mountain Gorilla!
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, gorillas are a focus of this year's World Environment Day. There are only about seven hundred mountain gorillas in the wild - fewer than the number of students at most law schools. They're split between a group in the Virunga range of volcanoes and one in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Lowland gorillas seem to be in better shape. Little is known about the Eastern lowlanders, but the western ones (with the wonderful scie...
CONTINUE READINGTime to resuscitate the Office of Technology Assessment?
Ninety organizations, including many with an environmental protection focus, have called on Congress to revive its Office of Technology Assessment. OTA was established in 1972 by the Technology Assessment Act to provide Congress with "competent, unbiased information concerning the physical, biological, economic, social, and political effects" of changing and expanding technology. It was defunded in 1995 by the "Contract with America" Congress, but has never been formal...
CONTINUE READINGWorld Environment Day
It may well have escaped your notice -- I have to admit it had escaped mine -- but today is World Environment Day. UNEP has chosen Rwanda as the main site for this year's celebration, which is one reason you might not have known about this if you're in North America. You may also be unaware that Rwanda is a biodiversity hotspot. It boasts 151 different types of mammal species, eleven of which are currently threatened and none of which are endemic. Among them are ...
CONTINUE READINGPew calls for federal leadership on climate adaptation
The Pew Center on Global Climate Change has issued a report on Adapting to Climate Change: A Call for Federal Leadership. As its title suggests, the report calls for the federal government to take the lead on climate adaptation efforts, creating a national adaptation program with three major elements: strategic planning, information provision, and research. The authors concede that state and local efforts are important, and indeed their suggestions are largely drawn from...
CONTINUE READINGA Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
Do we now have the iconic image of the BP oil spill? The photo above -- of a laughing gull soaked in oil -- appeared in newspapers, on line and on the air yesterday. It seems to capture, as no words can, the tragedy we face as millions of gallons of oil continue to spew from the bottom of the gulf. Is it 2010's Cayahoga River burning? Will the image of the oil soaked gull lead to public cries for action to do something big? Ramp up significantly the regulatio...
CONTINUE READINGKitcher on climate change debates
For those of you with an interest in climate change and access to the journal Science, I recommend Philip Kitcher's "essay review," The Climate Change Debates. Kitcher, a philosopher of science at Columbia University, uses a review of eight recently-published books about climate science, policy, and politics as the basis for an essay about the role of democracy and expertise in policy. After reading it twice, I'm still not sure I understand exactly what Kitcher's views a...
CONTINUE READINGDC Circuit upholds air pollution standards for lead
The Legal Planet team has been so busy fretting over the Gulf oil spill (not to mention getting our grading done) that we've skipped over some important environmental law developments. Here's one. In May, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, upheld EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead against an industry challenge. Although the decision doesn't break any new legal ground, its important as an affirmation that the DC Circuit understands the ...
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
