Clean Air Act
Time May Run Out on Obama’s Most Powerful Climate Change Tool, Environmental Groups Threaten Suit
President Obama has a surprising amount of power to reduce greenhouse gases from the two largest categories of emitters, the transportation and electricity sectors, without getting Congress to act. He has already used that power to dramatically tighten fuel economy standards for passenger autos. But his ability to reduce emissions from the electricity sector — …
CONTINUE READINGWhat Can and Should the President do About Climate Change Without Congress?
President Obama made clear in his State of the Union that he would do everything within in his power to combat climate change even if Congress refused to go along. Here are his words: I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman …
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CONTINUE READINGDeadly spike in Beijing’s air pollution
This graph shows recent air quality monitoring data (PM 2.5) from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. As the New York Times noted, this spike—seen as a thick haze in the city—has been described as “postapocalyptic.” Thanks in no small part to the Clean Air Act, we have thus far avoided the need to walk around …
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CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Finds Public Nuisance Lawsuit Unavailable to Address Climate Change Impacts on Threatened Native Alaskan Village
Today, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion affirming a federal district court decision to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Native Alaskan Village of Kivalina that sought damages from oil and electric power companies whose greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to climate change. Kivalina contended that the companies’ greenhouse gas emissions constituted a public …
CONTINUE READINGThe D.C. Circuit’s Activist Ruling on Interstate Pollution
About ten days ago, the D.C. Circuit struck down EPA’s effort to establish a cap-and-trade system for pollutants that cross state lines. Now that I’ve had a chance to read the lengthy opinion in EMR Homer City Generation v. EPA, I’m struck by the aggressiveness of the court’s intervention, which goes well beyond the customary …
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CONTINUE READINGDrive a Stake Through Ethanol’s Heart!
Okay, that’s even worse than a mixed metaphor: that’s a Friedmanism. But it still applies today. Reuters reports: Two U.S. governors asked the United States government on Tuesday to waive this year’s mandate for making ethanol from corn, adding pressure on it to relieve meat producers from high corn prices spurred by the worst drought …
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CONTINUE READINGDon’t Knock EPA’s Knack for NAAQS
On Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit decided American Petroleum Institute (API) v. EPA, an interesting case dealing with nitrogen oxide (NO2) levels. The standard is supposed to include a margin of safety.Under the Clean Air Act, EPA sets National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for airborne substances that endanger human health or welfare. EPA set such …
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CONTINUE READINGConditional Spending and the Clean Air Act
Ann suggests that Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion today in Sebelius might open up the Clean Air Act to new challenges. That seems right, but it also seems to me that there are two key differences between Medicaid and the CAA/Highway Spending nexus. 1) Medicaid is an entitlement program; in other words, federal money flows more …
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CONTINUE READINGAnother (Mostly) Uninformed Post About the Health Care Cases and Environmental Law
I’ve only skimmed the opinion (National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius) but so far don’t think the Court’s holding that the health care law’s individual mandate violates the Commerce Clause will have any real effect on environmental law. The Court’s decision is concerned with whether Congress can require someone previously unengaged in commerce — …
CONTINUE READINGDC Circuit’s Unanimous Decision to Uphold Greenhouse Gas Rules Across the Board Major Victory for EPA
As Dan just noted, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit — in a unanimous decision — handed the U.S. EPA a sweeping victory in upholding across the board four separate components of the agency’s rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The opinion can be found here. A little background is in order …
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