An Invitation to Explore the Connections Between Constitutional & Environmental Law
These days, more and more of the most important environmental law disputes arise in the crucible of constitutional law. Preemption, the Dormant Commerce Clause, the foreign powers doctrine, constitutional principles of standing to sue and the separation of powers doctrine are all doctrines of constitutional law that have been invoked in much of the most critical environmental litigation of our generation. Yet, surprisingly, there's been precious little systematic disc...
CONTINUE READINGU.S. state insurance regulators take step toward addressing climate risk
I've spent some time over the past two years studying the relationship between the insurance industry and climate change. Yesterday there was an important development in this area: the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) , the group of state regulators that collectively regulate insurance in the U.S., adopted for the first time a requirement that large insurers complete an annual climate risk disclosure survey. The insurance industry bears much o...
CONTINUE READINGWas it worth it?
Sometimes environmental litigation becomes strikingly divorced from the underlying facts that give rise to it. And sometimes the hardest fought litigation seems to have the least impact on what the parties are ostensibly fighting about. When that litigation creates bad precedents that are difficult to reverse, you have to wonder whether anything of value has come out of the process. Take, for example, the litigation that produced the Supreme Court decision in Department...
CONTINUE READINGTime for NMFS to lead on hatcheries
Demonstrating once again the importance of presidential elections and appointments, the 9th Circuit has upheld the National Marine Fisheries Service’s policy on considering hatchery fish in listing Pacific salmonids. (Hat tip: ESA blawg.) Hatchery fish can be a boon or a bane to salmon conservation. Because hatchery programs have emphasized production of fish for harvest, on the whole they have been far more harmful than helpful to wild fish over the last century. ...
CONTINUE READINGGood news for right whales
It's easy for environmentalists to get depressed, given the amount of bad news about climate change, species losses, and the like. But sometimes there is unexpectedly good news. This morning's New York Times has one of those stories. The Atlantic right whale, which not long ago was thought by many to be a lost cause, appears to be rebounding. Last year brought a record number of calves, and "probably for the first time since the 1600s, not one North Atlantic right whale ...
CONTINUE READINGEd Glaeser Should Get Out More
Harvard's Ed Glaeser has long been regarded as one of the most astute economists around: economics Nobel laureate George Akerlof thinks he's a "genius." But if he keeps writing posts like this, it will serve as evidence less about him and more about the collapse of economics as a serious profession. Glaeser and my UCLA colleague Matt Kahn compared the carbon footprints of urban dwellers versus suburbanites: In almost every metropolitan area, we found the central city re...
CONTINUE READINGOcean Law Developments
If you're interested in ocean issues, you might want to take a look at the new symposium in Issues in Legal Scholarship: Frontier Issues in Ocean Law: Marine Resources, Maritime Boundaries, and the Law of the Sea. Issues in Legal Scholarship is on on-line, peer-reviewed publiation of Berkeley Law, featuring symposiums organized by Berkeley faculty and research centers. This particular symposium was organized by Harry Scheiber on behalf of the Law of the Sea Instit...
CONTINUE READINGNo wavering in waiver battle
No one is backing down yet in the multiple battles over California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver to allow it to implement its rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. EPA's announcement that it would reconsider the Bush administration's denial of that request was published in the Federal Register on March 6. The agency held a public hearing on the waiver issue on March 5. The transcript has now been posted in the public docket -- it's do...
CONTINUE READINGDon’t Judge a Book By Its Title
Some months ago, the publisher sent me a free copy of a book by Fred Pearce, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner. I left it sitting around but didn't plan to read it -- the title sounded unpleasantly self-righteous and simultaneously self-flagellating. I finally did leaf through it and ended up reading the whole thing. It's not only a good read but very interesting, and not at all the exercise in eco-piety that I expected. The subtitle, "Tracking Down the Sources of M...
CONTINUE READINGMust Be Green to Apply — Unless You’re Not Green
Not all "green" transmission lines are good for the environment. E&E Daily reports on Thursday's hearing before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commitee discussing separate transmission siting and planning bills circulated by Senators Reid and Bingaman. Both would expand Federal siting authority and require regional planning for transmission lines intended to deliver renewable energy. The plans differ, however, when it comes to making sure the new l...
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