Region: California
U.S. Supreme Court Grants Review in Pacific Rivers Council Case
Today the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a major forestry and NEPA case from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals: U.S. Forest Service v. Pacific Rivers Council, No. 12-623. The case will be argued and decided in the Court’s next (2013-14) Term. The issues the justices have agreed to consider in Pacific Rivers Council are threefold: …
Continue reading “U.S. Supreme Court Grants Review in Pacific Rivers Council Case”
CONTINUE READINGOR-7 returns to Oregon
As we reported here, a gray wolf designated as OR-7 crossed from Oregon into California in December 2011, marking the first time a wolf had been confirmed in California in more than 75 years. More than a year and many travel miles later, OR-7 this week crossed back into Oregon. Both states’ wildlife agencies have …
Continue reading “OR-7 returns to Oregon”
CONTINUE READINGCity of Los Angeles will promote widespread adoption of “cool roof” technology, citing benefits documented in Emmett Center report
One of the core goals of our environmental law programs at UCLA Law is to influence and inform public policy with our research. I’m proud to say that our Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment is doing exactly that. The City of Los Angeles, influenced by the Emmett Center’s work, is moving forward …
CONTINUE READINGNew Hope for Genetically-Engineered Food Labeling?
Many observers believed that the defeat of California’s Proposition 37 at the polls last November spelled a significant–and perhaps fatal–political setback for state and national efforts to require labeling of genetically engineered food products. But two recent articles from the New York Times suggest that the GMO labeling movement is far from dead. Last week …
Continue reading “New Hope for Genetically-Engineered Food Labeling?”
CONTINUE READINGThe Future of Los Angeles and Climate Change
On Wednesday Night, I will participate in a KPCC discussion focused on climate change’s impacts on Southern California. The rest of the panel includes Jerry R. Schubel and my friend Jonathan Parfrey. What do I want to talk about? I wouldn’t mind promoting my Climatopolis but here is a sketch of my thoughts; We control …
Continue reading “The Future of Los Angeles and Climate Change”
CONTINUE READINGThe US wins the latest round in the Casitas saga
In 2008, the Federal Circuit surprised a lot of legal academics by ruling that the Casitas Municipal Water District’s takings claim, which arose from a requirement that the district construct and operate a fish ladder to allow endangered steelhead to pass its diversion dam, should be analyzed using the physical takings test. That didn’t resolve …
Continue reading “The US wins the latest round in the Casitas saga”
CONTINUE READINGThe First Day of Spring, 2013
…was today, February 28th. At least in my non-scientific, highly qualitative opinion. When I was in college during the 1980’s, spring break occurred during the second and third weeks of March. I would fly back to Los Angeles from New England, to be greeted by a southern California winter, which of course wasn’t much of …
Continue reading “The First Day of Spring, 2013”
CONTINUE READINGSecond California cap-and-trade auction sells almost $225 million worth of allowances
Results are in from California’s second cap-and-trade auction. California Air Resources Board (CARB) offered 12.9 million 2013-vintage allowances along with 9.56 million 2016-vintage allowances. CARB sold all of the 2013 vintage at $13.62 per allowance and almost half (4.44 million) of the 2016 vintage at $10.71 per allowance. In total, that amounts to a bit …
CONTINUE READINGRubio Resigns: Was CEQA “Reform” Just About Fracking?
With the news that CEQA “reform” champion and State Senator Michael Rubio resigned today to lobby for Chevron, I have to wonder if his push for CEQA reform was really just to benefit oil and gas fracking. Sure, CEQA reform proponents liked to trumpet how a weakening of the law will help businesses and infill …
Continue reading “Rubio Resigns: Was CEQA “Reform” Just About Fracking?”
CONTINUE READINGGina McCarthy, climate policy, and states
Blogs and news outlets are widely reporting today that President Obama is very close to nominating Gina McCarthy to be the new EPA administrator, replacing Lisa Jackson (WaPo post here). Since 2009, McCarthy has been the head of EPA’s division handling air pollution, a division that’s taken tremendous fire in recent years for issuing rules to limit climate emissions …
Continue reading “Gina McCarthy, climate policy, and states”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
