Petitions, agency expertise and dispersed information in environmental law
“Agency expertise” is a familiar phrase to anyone who has had any significant experience in environmental law. Courts defer to agencies in part because of the perception that agencies have more expertise in technical matters than the courts or the plaintiffs who might be challenging agency decisions. One of the criticisms of various forms of public participation in regulatory process – such as citizen suits or petition provisions that allow the public to reques...
CONTINUE READINGFinancing Lower Fares for Low-Income Bus Riders
Ethan, it's obvious where the money is: just repeal the cut in the Vehicle License Fee. No, I'm not running for anything. And that's a very good thing......
CONTINUE READINGIncreasing bus ridership by making it cheaper
Jonathan presents an interesting idea for stimulating bus ridership in Los Angeles among "choice" riders (aka affluent commuters who could drive if they wanted to). For years, San Franciscans have enjoyed real-time data on bus and train arrivals (via nextmuni.com). It makes a huge difference when trying to catch a bus by minimizing unpleasant wait times, and anything you can do to make public transit faster will attract more choice riders. For some reason, the Los Ange...
CONTINUE READINGGet On The Bus — Even in Los Angeles
A few days ago, Ann cited the newspaper story highlighting the supposed "miracle" of a 26-year-old white woman taking the bus in Los Angeles. But the funny thing is that it would be actually pretty easy to increase bus ridership in LA if the MTA was just a little smart about it. I start from one unproven but plausible presumption. Otherwise automobile-dependent people do not hate taking the bus: they hate waiting for it. Waiting time is tedious, uncomfortable and ...
CONTINUE READINGNew bill in Congress by Rockefeller (S. 3072) would delay regulation of GHGs under the Clean Air Act
As Cara and I have already discussed in detail, the Environmental Protection Agency has committed to delay the rollout of regulation of stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, and to regulate only the very largest sources. This backtracking from EPA has been a response to efforts by Senator Lisa Murkowski and others to strip EPA of its regulatory authority in this area, and also has been an attempt to satisfy more moderate senators from m...
CONTINUE READINGConservation 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...
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