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The D.C. Circuit’s Sleeper Decision in CBD v. EPA

Before I even get to the majority opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA, a quick word about the concurring opinion by Judge Brett Kavanaugh.  Kavanaugh may be the most outspoken conservative on a court composed almost entirely of Republican appointees.  So what he has to say about climate change is really noteworthy:  In …

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The Social Cost of Carbon

I participated in a NPR interview on Marketplace on the topic of the “Social Cost of Carbon”.   A different way to say the same thing is; “What is the benefit of not producing another ton of carbon?” While President Obama will ask a “Dream Team” of economists and climate scientists to answer this question …

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The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council’s “Draft Comprehensive Plan for Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy” does not actually include any restoration projects.

Everyone knows that life is just a little bit slower in the South; as it turns out, so is ecosystem restoration. On this date three years ago, you likely were continuing to monitor distressing television footage of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, wondering if the millions of barrels of oil …

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We Have Met the Unknown Unknowns and They are Us

There are uncertainties about climate science such as tipping points and feedback effects.  But these pale in comparison to the biggest source of uncertainties: people. Here are some of the major things we don’t know and really can’t know about future society: Will economic growth continue, and if so, how quickly and how uniformly?  Richer …

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Waiter, What’s This Fly Doing In My Soup?

This is the sort of thing that gives environmentalism a bad name: The UN has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects. The Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday hailed the likes of grasshoppers, ants and other members of …

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WARNING: Individual Research Findings and Economic Models May Not Be Fully Grounded.

A couple of weeks ago, a major paper on the economics of government deficits turned out to have huge flaws. Matt and Jonathan have already had something to say about this, but I’d like to add some thoughts about the implications for environmental issues.“Interesting,” you say, “But what does that have to do with the …

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Leave Agribusiness Lobbyists ALOOONE!!!

A few weeks ago, I posted about the Obama Administration’s effort to change outrageous and wasteful food aid rules that line the pockets of agribusiness and shipping companies.  The more you look at the absurd policy preventing USAID from purchasing food locally for famine relief, the worse it looks: it wastes money, it prevents getting food to people …

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California’s Unspent Water Funds: An Instinct for the Capillary

The AP reports today that California has failed to spend $455 million of federal money for improving the state’s water infrastructure, even though many of the state’s communities suffer from unclean water. The state has received more than $1.5 billion for its Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund over the past 15 years, but has failed …

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Obama Administration Releases National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan

Yesterday, the National Ocean Council released the Obama Administration’s much anticipated plan for implementing the National Ocean Policy.  The newly released National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan identifies practical, efficient, and responsible actions that Federal agencies will take to support healthy, productive, and resilient ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters, thriving coastal communities, and a robust, …

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US Food Aid Rules: If You’re Not Outraged, You’re Not Paying Attention

The Obama Administration announced yesterday that it wants to change US food aid rules to allow for more “local procurement” of food aid in the countries that need it.  Predictably, the special interests are aghast.  But the administration is right: current food aid rules are among the most egregious special interest legislation in the world …

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