Region: National
Remembering Electric Vehicle Pioneer Ryan Popple, 1977-2021
Former Proterra CEO was a major contributor to UC Berkeley/UCLA Law EV report
Ryan Popple, former CEO and co-founder of electric bus company ProTerra, venture capitalist for transportation electrification, early Tesla employee, Iraq War veteran and father of three, passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 44, for reasons unknown. I had the good fortune to meet Ryan back in 2012, when UC Berkeley Law and …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Renaissance of Energy Law
An esoteric field of law has become exciting and important.
Energy law used to be an obscure niche subject. It was devoted to subjects like oil and gas leases, the proper inflation adjustments in utility rates, and depreciation schedules for power plants. Utilities were famously set in their ways, using nineteenth century technologies to produce and deliver their products. Only specialists really paid much attention. …
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CONTINUE READINGLosing Justice Hobbs, Western Water Expert and Valued Mentor
When former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory J. Hobbs passed away recently, just weeks shy of his 77th birthday, he left a gaping hole in the hearts of many. Not just family and close friends. But people across the Colorado legal community, the broader Western water community, and a far-flung network that includes Berkeley Law …
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CONTINUE READINGArguments over Solar Geoengineering Research
Science Magazine weighs in
Doing research on environmental issues or responses is usually an easy call for policy-makers and gets wide political support, even if there’s disagreement what to do about the issue. But there is now one big exception: research on solar geoengineering (SG). SG would cool the Earth, temporarily and imperfectly offsetting some of the climate effects …
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CONTINUE READINGCornhuskers Go Green
Nebraska has become the first solid Red state to adopt climate targets
Last week, Nebraska became the first state under complete Republican control to adopt a 2050 goal of net-zero emissions from the grid. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried the state in almost fifty years (and the last previous time was before World War II). Republicans have controlled the state legislature and governor’s mansion since this …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Should EPA Do After Repealing the Clean Power Plan?
The CPP has been overtaken by events, but EPA does have some options.
My last post argued that EPA should immediately repeal the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan. The Plan was Obama’s signature climate policy. It attempted to move away from fossil fuels and toward zero-carbon sources like solar power to supply electricity. The Plan has been overtaken by later events, and it seems clear that the Supreme …
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CONTINUE READINGIt’s Time to Repeal the Clean Power Plan
The CPP no longer serves any useful purpose, and keeping it on the books invites mischief by the Supreme Court.
The Clean Power Plan (CPP) was the Obama Administration’s signature climate effort. This 2015 regulation aimed to move state power grids away from coal and toward renewable energy. It immediately became ensnared in litigation and never went into effect. It’s now considered irrelevant for all practical purposes. Yet the Supreme Court is now set to …
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CONTINUE READINGDebating Environmental Racism in the Ninth Circuit
A recent case occasioned a sharp exchange about accusation of environmental racism.
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice v. FAA is a Ninth Circuit opinion decided before the Thanksgiving break. It involved to a legal challenge to the FAA’s refusal to prepare a full-scale environmental impact statement before approving a major Amazon distribution center at the San Bernardino airport. I probably wouldn’t have read the decision …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat to Be Thankful For (2021 edition)
Here’s the one thing environmentalists should be most thankful for this year.
If there is a single thing for environmentalists to be thankful for this year, it is simply this: the virulently anti-environmental Donald Trump is no longer in the White House. My Thanksgiving post last year began, “Nearly four years into the Trump Administration, we’re now accustomed to waking up every morning to learn about a …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat’s in the Reconciliation Bill?
The House takes an important step toward transforming the energy system
Last Friday, the House passed its version of the Build Back Better Act. Due to a quirk in parliamentary procedure, the Senate will be able to consider the $1.7 trillion bill under the “reconciliation” process, which means no filibuster is allowed. It remains unclear whether anyone can wrangle all fifty Senators into supporting some version …
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