NYT editorial: right headline, half-right story
The New York Times has an editorial today urging Congress to "build on [local and state] actions to fashion a national response to climate change." That sentiment is welcome, but the Times still doesn't quite get it. The editorial rightly lauds widespread state planning and emission reduction efforts, citing as particular examples renewable energy requirements, California's new energy-efficiency rules for televisions, and New York City's new mandate for energy audits on ...
CONTINUE READINGSalmon woes continue
The Sacramento Bee reports this morning that contrary to expectations the Central Valley fall-run chinook salmon had another weak run this year, probably no better than the record-low return a year ago. That's bad news because the hatchery-boosted fall Chinook is the main target of the commercial salmon fishery off the California and Oregon coasts. The low return suggests that we are in for a third consecutive year of little or no commercial fishing and severe restrict...
CONTINUE READINGClimate Models Still on Track
As this graph from RealClimate shows, temperature trends are well within the envelope of model predictions, and not too far off the average of the predictions. Even during the recent temperature dip that has received so much attention, temperatures stayed inside the envelope. No evidence that the models are missing something fundamental at this point....
CONTINUE READINGA look at the interim federal Delta plan
As I pointed out three months ago, the federal government has awakened from its 8-year Bush administration slumber to notice that the SF Bay-Delta is an important environmental and economic resource whose management requires federal input. On December 22, the Obama administration issued an Interim Federal Action Plan for the California Bay-Delta. The best news about the plan is simply that it was issued. It's one more sign that the feds are serious about joining in the ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Top 10 Environmental Developments of 2009
10. Cass Sunstein becomes regulatory czar. Sunstein is a true believer in cost-benefit analysis, the bête noire of many an environmentalist. Obama’s appointment of Sunstein to oversee health and environmental regulations may put the brakes on regulatory initiatves. 9. California passes AB 758. The first mandate for energy efficiency standards for existing buildings. 8. Water wars moving east. We tend to think of water disputes as Western. But that’s hanging:...
CONTINUE READING60 Minutes flubs the California water story
Last night, 60 Minutes had a long story on the California water crisis, featuring Lesley Stahl interviewing (among others) Arnold Schwarzenegger and UC Davis professor Jeff Mount. On the positive side, the story accurately portrayed the vulnerability of California's fragile through-Delta water delivery system to a major earthquake or catastrophic levee break. But CBS News flubbed the overall storyline. In typical media fashion, it oversimplified the story to "Delta smel...
CONTINUE READINGCopenhagen– The NRDC View
David Doniger, of NRDC, has posted his assessment of the Copenhagen Accord. It's more positive than a lot of what we heard right after the conference ended. His conclusion: So give up the sour and grudging reviews. The Copenhagen Accord is a significant breakthrough that signals a new era of effective cooperation between all major emitters, and opens the door to finally enacting U.S. climate and energy legislation next year. Doniger started work with NRDC thirty ...
CONTINUE READINGLegal Scholarship on Climate Change
I did a survey of all articles with "climate change" in the title in the past couple of years, and then did a rough breakdown of topics. Although the survey was unscientific, the results were intriguing: Topic Number of Articles Adaptation Biodiversity and public lands 11 Governance 5 Public health 1 Water 6 Economics 9 Ethics 10 General 41 Mitigation Energy 20 Instrument choice and design 19 Federalism 36 Land use 5 Litigation 29 ...
CONTINUE READINGAnother enviro law prof in the administration
It's a time for catching up, so here's an appointment I'm embarrassed to admit I missed when it was announced. Marcilynn Burke has taken a leave from the University of Houston Law Center to become Deputy Director (Programs and Policy) of the Bureau of Land Management. This is a terrific appointment. The BLM is the nation's largest land manager, but its more than 250 million acres, lacking the charisma of the national parks or the national forest system, have too often be...
CONTINUE READINGChristianity and Environmental Stewardship
The title of this post refers to a subject that I lack standing to discuss. But this being Christmas, I thought it might be appropriate to link to the Evangelical Environmental Network, which has this to say: The earthly result of human sin has been a perverted stewardship, a patchwork of garden and wasteland in which the waste is increasing. "There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land...Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in...
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