That Was The Year That Was
The Biggest Environmental Stories of 2022
A lot has happened on the environmental front. Here are the biggest stories of 2022. Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, providing $369 billion in tax credit and spending to reduce carbon emissions. California banned the sale of new gas cars in 2035, with several other states now agreeing to follow suit. The Democrats lost control of Congress, eliminating the chances for significant climate/energy legislation in the next two years. The Supreme Cour...
CONTINUE READINGMethane Action in 2022: Project Climate’s Year In Review
A short summary of efforts to tackle the super pollutant.
Co-authored with Gil Damon, CLEE Methane Research Fellow. 2022 proved to be a big year for methane—the flammable gas that accounts for 30 percent of Earth’s anthropogenic warming. Methane forms when organic material decomposes in sealed spaces and is released in the agriculture, waste disposal, and energy sectors. In terms of warming, methane is a staggering 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, over a 20 year period. However, because this gas has a relative...
CONTINUE READINGThe Most Important Environmental Story Of The Week
Fossil Fuel Interests Corrupt Media
No, it’s not the Biden Administration’s successful push to electrify tens of thousands of USPS vehicles. It’s how Matrix LLC, a consultant in the southeast with significant investments in the energy sector, made massive payments to local media outlets to slant their coverage in favor of dirty power and exorbitant electricity rates. Consider Alabama Power, which runs and owns a coal-fired power plant that is the largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions i...
CONTINUE READINGClimate Rides the Omnibus
The year-end law gives a boost to climate-related spending
The omnibus spending bill is by no means a “climate law.” Because it spans the entire government, though, it has many provisions relating to climate change. They aren’t dramatic step forward. But the fact that they can pass as part of a bipartisan spending law is a sign of how climate change is slowly becoming normalized as a political consideration. One significant provision relates to agriculture. It provides for private contributions to existing funds “fo...
CONTINUE READINGKeep on Trucking
A new rule will clean up exhaust from new diesels, a major health threat.
Last week, EPA finalized its new rule imposing emission limits on new heavy trucks. The new regulation was clearly a massive undertaking. EPA’s formal announcement of the new rule is 1100 pages long. The accompanying summary of comments on the proposed rule and EPA’s responses is another 2000 pages. This is partly due to the complexity of controlling emissions from trucks, given that there is no equivalent of the catalytic converter for diesels. EPA’s analysis o...
CONTINUE READINGA Great Victory For Electric Cars
But Beware: Neanderthal GOP Judges Are Waiting To Strike It Down
With all the attention being paid to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington, and the release of the January 6th Committee, you might have missed the (second) most important environmental story of the week: The U.S. Postal Service will buy 66,000 vehicles to build one of the largest electric fleets in the nation, Biden administration officials announced Tuesday, turning to one of the most recognizable vehicles on American roads — boxy white mail trucks — to figh...
CONTINUE READINGThe Coming Ground War For Missing Middle Housing
Municipalities Continue to Maintain and Erect New Barriers To Homes For Working People
Last year, the California Legislature enacted SB 9, which required local governments to allow duplexes (and with ADUs, sometimes triplexes and quadraplexes) in single-family zones. Housing advocates rejoiced, and NIMBYs screamed that it was the end of the world and would lead to "Manhattanization" (because as we all know, Manhattan is famous for its duplexes). Now the Terner Center has a report on discussions with developers revealing that we still have quite a lo...
CONTINUE READINGUCLA Environmental Law Clinic Students’ Work Used in Litigation for Improved Refinery Monitoring
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, represented by Earthjustice, filed a petition drafted by UCLA ELC students
On Monday, environmental-justice advocates filed a petition drafted by two of our amazing UCLA Environmental Law Clinic students, Sarah Repko and Monica Heger, opening litigation to improve monitoring of petroleum refineries in Southern California. This spring, Sarah and Monica had the exciting opportunity to work with Earthjustice’s Community Partnerships program to prepare litigation enforcing state requirements for fenceline and community air monitoring near refi...
CONTINUE READINGThe Transport Decarbonisation Alliance at COP27
Call to Action on Active Mobility and Deep Dive on Clean Trucks
Last month at COP 27 in Egypt, CLEE partnered with the Transport Decarbonisation Alliance (TDA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as chair of TDA, to convene experts to discuss some of the major next steps in clean transportation. While avoiding the worst of climate change requires a rapid increase in the pace of decarbonization across the transport sector, the TDA spotlighted two important areas: a call to action on active mobility and a deep dive into accel...
CONTINUE READINGThe Passing of a Respected Water Warrior
Remembering California Water Law Attorney Clifford Lee
Clifford (Cliff) Lee, one of California's most knowledgable and respected water law experts, died suddenly late last month. His passing leaves a tremendous void in the field of California water law and policy. After earning his undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley, Cliff attended law school at U.C. Davis and quickly became entranced by water law. Upon receiving his law degree in 1976 and passing the California Bar, Cliff's first legal job was serving as a staff...
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