Region: National
The Clean Air Act Turns Fifty
A half century of progress in cleaning up the air began New Year’s Eve 1970.
On December 31, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed the Clean Air Act. William Ruckelshaus and Russell Train, who later led the way in implementing the new law, stood by his side with beaming smiles. Nixon supported the basic features of the bill. But he had considered vetoing the final version because Senator Ed Muskie …
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CONTINUE READINGThe U.S. Supreme Court’s Most Important 2020 Environmental Law Decisions
Clean Water Act, CERCLA, Native American Law and Trump’s Border Wall Lead the List
It’s become customary for critics and observers from many disciplines to publish a wide variety of lists at year’s end, nominating the most important or best movies, music, plays, etc. of the preceding year. Why not follow that tradition in the fields of environmental law and policy? With that objective in mind, I plan over …
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CONTINUE READING2020: The Year in Review
Trump’s deregulatory reign of terror continued, but there were still some bright spots.
In terms of the environment, the big news was the election. Biden swept the popular vote and won a solid victor in the Electoral College. At this point, the Republicans have retained control of the Senate, though runoff elections in Georgia could change that. On another front, US carbon emissions were down for the year, …
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CONTINUE READINGEveryday Christmas: The Gift of the Commons
Clean air. Clean water. We receive these public goods every day without payment
One of the Christmas classics is the Jimmy Stewart movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. Stewart is despondent about his life but then learns how much he has unknowingly helped others and how grateful they are. There’s a flip side to that story: the need to remember how much others have contributed to our own lives. …
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CONTINUE READINGHitching a Ride on the Omnibus
In a holiday gift from Congress, environmental gains arrive in an overstuffed spending bill.
The massive omnibus bill that just passed Congress contains a bevy of environment friendly provisions. Despite some last-minute tweeted complaints from Trump about the bill, those provisions are likely to make their way into law. Given that the Senate and the White House are in Republican hands, it’s a wonder when such provisions sneak through …
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CONTINUE READINGPassing Green Laws in a Polarized Senate
New legislation will require threading a needle in the Senate.
How polarized is the Senate? A lot. Consider their voting records: Every Republican except one has an environmental voting score below 25%. Every Democrat but one has a score above 75%. That’s a walloping fifty point gap. Given this polarization, getting energy or environmental legislation through Congress will require tremendous finesse. That’s without even considering …
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CONTINUE READINGBiden’s Green Team
Here are the six who will lead the way on environment and energy issues.
Biden’s choices to head particular agencies have trickled out over the past few weeks. It’s only when you put them together that you get a sense of the overall time. It’s a very diverse group, all of whom seem to have strong environmental commitments. Pete Buttigieg, Department of Transportation. Buttigieg is a well-known figure from …
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CONTINUE READINGEnvironmental Justice and Climate Action
Are the two in conflict? What should we make of the attacks on Mary Nichols?
Mary Nichols, the frontrunner to head EPA, was knocked out of contention earlier this week. She would have been a formidable choice to implement Biden’s climate policies. For that reason, it wasn’t clear whether she would have the votes to get through the narrowly divided Senate. But she was ultimately taken down by the fierce …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Action on the West Coast
Three liberal states with very different climate records.
Although California, Oregon, and Washington are often considered liberal bastions, they differ widely in how much they’ve been able to do in climate policy. The scale of their responses has been pretty much proportional to how much of their populations are urban, with conservative rural areas in each state that resist climate action. California. California …
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CONTINUE READINGRestoring Agency Norms
It’s not just the White House. We also have to repair the way agencies operate.
Donald Trump prided himself on his contempt for established norms of presidential action. Whole books have been written about how to restore those norms. Something similar also happened deeper down in the government, out in the agencies like EPA that do the actual work of governance. Trump appointees have corrupted agencies and trashed the norms …
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