Cows and Climate – Putting All of That Waste To Work
In many situations, public policies supporting greenhouse gas reduction also support other environmental goals. But sometimes, different environmental policies bump up against each other. It is left for enlightened public officials to sort it all out. Here is a link to comments recently filed with the California Energy Commission by the Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment pointing out one of the bumps. The subject is the laudable goal of generating elec...
CONTINUE READINGThe need for, and challenges of, climate adaptation
When it comes to climate change, lawyers and policymakers (and scientists too) have been guilty of emphasizing greenhouse gas emission reduction, almost to the exclusion of everything else. Adapting to climate change has taken a distant back seat, even as it has become increasingly clear that the world is already committed to some pretty dramatic changes. That's beginning to change. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Global Change Research Program issued a major report det...
CONTINUE READINGNoah’s Art
Having just made my first trip to the Art Institute in Chicago, I was primed for this feature in Grist on the state of climate art. If one can judge a movement by its artists, it seems we still have a fair ways to go--though I like this Venus. Also like this slideshow of climate activists around the world....
CONTINUE READINGTrade laws and climate change regulation
Co-authored by Jesse Swanhuyser, UCLA Law class of 2011, formerly a fair trade advocate in California and Washington D.C. A prior version of this article first appeared in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, on July 23. As discussed in other posts on this blog, last month was particularly challenging for those working toward national and international climate agreements. At a summit in Italy, G8 members failed to resolve key sticking points and developing nations refuse...
CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit reinstates Clinton roadless rule
Since the end of the Clinton era, there has been much confusion over the status of roadless areas in the national forests. Yesterday the Ninth Circuit weighed in, ruling in California v. USDA that the Bush administration had unlawfully revised the Clinton administration's Roadless Rule, and reinstating that rule. The decision, which has been welcomed by environmental groups, adds another complication to an already confusing situation. A challenge to the Roadless Rule is ...
CONTINUE READINGImproving ESA consultation
In early May, I wrote about the Obama administration's decision to take up Congress's invitation to recall the last-minute Bush revisions to the ESA's section 7 consultation rules. At the time, the new administration also requested public comment on "ways to improve the section 7 regulations while retaining the purposes and policies of the ESA." Today is the deadline for comment submission. Together with Center for Progressive Reform scholars Mary Jane Angelo and Dan Roh...
CONTINUE READINGResearching Environmental Law
Having trouble researching an environmental law issue? Berkeley's law library has a handy research guide that may help you. And don't forget that some environmental law reviews, including the Ecology Law Quarterly, are now available on-line for free. Recent articles at UCLA's Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, including this particularly brilliant example, are also available on-line....
CONTINUE READINGManaging Technology and Dangerous Climate Change
The risk of catastrophic climate change puts uncertainties associated with innovative energy and carbon sequestration technology in a new light, and the short time for effective greenhouse gas emission reduction challenges public decision-making processes. Interest in this topic has been spurred by the drive to bring new energy and green house gas emission reduction technologies to market rapidly, although some are untested at scale and others are still in the laboratory...
CONTINUE READINGThe Death of Yucca Mountain
Over twenty years ago, the Supreme Court accepted the Nuclear Regulatory Agency's assurances that it would find a safe method for long-term disposal of nuclear waste. Consequently, the NRC was allowed to assign a zero to the risk of any radioactive discharge. As it turns out, this was an empty promise. The solution that the government settled on was permanent underground storage at Yucca Mountain. Many years of planning and litigation and many billions of dolla...
CONTINUE READINGAmerica’s Energy Future: A New Report
The National Research Council has released a new report (available for purchase here) on America's energy future. Here are some key take away points: Use of existing energy-efficiency technologies is the nearest-term and lowest-cost option for moderating our nation’s demand for energy, especially over the next decade. The potential energy savings available from theaccelerated deployment of existing energy-efficiency technologies in the buildings, industry, and tran...
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