Follow the money
EPA has released its 2010 budget request. EPA is seeking $10.5 billion,which it describes as "the highest level of funding for EPA in its 39-year history," and which Science's Erik Stokstad says (subscription required) would be "a whopping 38% increase over last year’s budget." Nearly $4 billion would go toward revolving funds to support state investments in water infrastructure (that's in addition to $6 billion already dedicated to that purpose by the American Reinves...
CONTINUE READINGPolar bears, wolves, and Obama’s Interior Department
Environmentalists have been absolutely thrilled with the EPA under the leadership of President Obama and Administrator Lisa Jackson. The Department of Interior under Secretary Ken Salazar has drawn more mixed reviews so far. (Dan Tarlock and I wrote about the first 100 days at Interior on the Center for Progressive Reform blog.) Recent news out of Interior has led environmental groups to question the Department's commitment to conservation. From the outside, I find it...
CONTINUE READINGWildfires Cause Climate Change, Climate Change Causes Wildfires
An obvious question about the raging wildfire in Santa Barbara is whether climate change is the cause. While it's impossible to blame any individual fire on increasing temperatures, we know that climate change is responsible for more frequent and more intense wildfires in the southwest. But less obvious and at least as troubling is that wildfires cause climate change by burning vegetation that acts as a carbon sink. So wildfires are related to climate change in t...
CONTINUE READINGESA Does Not Address Carbon Emissions
According to news reports, the Department of Interior has reaffirmed a Bush Administration rule that excludes carbon emissions from regulation under the Endangered Species Act. The Guardian reports: The Obama administration today declined to protect polar bears from the single greatest threat to their survival – the melting of sea ice by global warming. The decision brought immediate protests from wildlife and environmental groups. The interior secretary, Ken Salaz...
CONTINUE READINGPublic Policy is Spurring Enormous Growth in the Windpower Industry – Don’t Stop Now
Worldwatch Institute reports that windpower capacity worldwide increased by 27,051 megawatts in 2008, bringing total installed capacity over 120,000 megawatts. The United States showed the greatest growth, adding 8,358 megawatts to make a current total of 25,170 megawatts. That’s a 50% increase in one year! The contribution that the U.S. windpower makes to overall domestic supplies is still relatively modest: optimistically, about 66 million megawatt hours per yea...
CONTINUE READINGWhy won’t Arnold back smog checks for motorcycles?
This is a law blog, so call this post Easy Rider v. Planet Saver. The California legislature is considering a bill (SB 435, sponsored by Sen. Fran Pavley of the clean-car "Pavley Regs" fame) requiring motorcyles to undergo bienniel smog checks, just like cars and trucks do. The bill would take aim at a significant remaining source of smog-forming emissions. Who knew motorcycles were this dirty? This from the LA Times: Motorcycles account for 3.6% of registered v...
CONTINUE READINGChemical Policy and Homeland Security Redux
The Bureau of National Affairs reported recently that the House Homeland Security Committee is considering draft legislation that would require major chemical facilities to evaluate the use of inherently safer design to reduce chemical security risks. Generally speaking, inherently safer design attempts to reduce risks associated with the storage and use of hazardous chemicals by using safer substitute chemicals or processes, or by minimizing the amount or nature of th...
CONTINUE READINGThe Supreme Court’s recent Superfund decision may have a significant impact on future cleanups
As Dan has noted, on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in a widely-watched case interpreting CERCLA, the Superfund law. (Dan posted some brief thoughts about the opinion, BURLINGTON NORTHERN & SANTA FE RAILWAY. CO V. UNITED STATES.) Dan says that the part of the opinion dealing with apportionment of liability "does not purport to establish any new principles but does display a more favorable attitude toward apportionment than many lower co...
CONTINUE READINGThe Ninth Circuit: 0-for-the Supreme Court Term
It's been a very rough U.S. Supreme Court Term for the Ninth Circuit. Four of the five major environmental cases on the Supreme Court's docket this year emanate from the Ninth Circuit. With the justices' issuance of their major CERCLA decision in Burlington Northern this week, four of those environmental cases have now been resolved, including three from the Ninth Circuit. (The other two decided Ninth Circuit cases are Winter v. NRDC [the so-called "Navy sonar" case] an...
CONTINUE READINGA Supreme Court Speed-Bump for Coeur Alaska
With the U.S. Supreme Court's issuance of its major CERCLA opinion yesterday in Burlington Northern, the Court has now decided four of the five major environmental cases on its docket this Term. But a little-noticed order from the Court--also issued yesterday--suggests that the Court is struggling mightily with the fifth and final case, Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation, Nos. 07-984 & 07-990. Coeur Alaska raises some fascinating issues about how t...
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