Clean Air Act
The Bush Ozone Standards and the D.C. Circuit
In an unsigned opinion released today, the D.C. Circuit largely upheld the Bush Administration’s revision of the air quality standard for ozone. The opinion can safely be described as dull reading, but it provides some guidance to EPA about the current round of standards revision that is now underway. The law requires EPA to set …
Continue reading “The Bush Ozone Standards and the D.C. Circuit”
CONTINUE READINGEPA and the social cost of carbon
This is Part I of a two-part series of posts discussing Eric Posner’s critiques of the role of cost-benefit analysis in climate regulation. The social cost of carbon (SCC, for policy wonks) represents the cost, in today’s dollars for the harm of emitting a ton of carbon dioxide equivalent gas into the atmosphere. Recently, the …
Continue reading “EPA and the social cost of carbon”
CONTINUE READINGThe Long, Slow Path to Improved Air Quality Standards
The regulatory process can be slow and tortuous. Consider the case of air quality standards. Since 1997, EPA has had separate air quality standards for fine particulates, technically called PM2.5. These tiny particles can penetrate deep into the lungs, making them a special public health concern. EPA has revisited the standard twice, in 2006 and …
Continue reading “The Long, Slow Path to Improved Air Quality Standards”
CONTINUE READINGLots of Rhetoric, Not Much New in Obama’s Climate Plan
The Obama Administration just released a “Climate Action Plan” to accompany the speech the President will give this morning at Georgetown University. I applaud the President for delivering a speech devoted exclusively to climate change. But for all the hooplah surrounding the President’s speech as “major,” the measures he’s proposed in the new plan to …
Continue reading “Lots of Rhetoric, Not Much New in Obama’s Climate Plan”
CONTINUE READINGSupreme Court Grants Cert. in Interstate Pollution Case
The Supreme Court agreed this morning to review a D.C. Circuit opinion that had struck down EPA’s effort to curb interstate pollution. This is welcome news. As I wrote when the lower court ruled: Now that I’ve had a chance to read the lengthy opinion in EMR Homer City Generation v. EPA, I’m struck by …
Continue reading “Supreme Court Grants Cert. in Interstate Pollution Case”
CONTINUE READINGTime 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 …
Continue reading “What Can and Should the President do About Climate Change Without Congress?”
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 …
Continue reading “Deadly spike in Beijing’s air pollution”
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 …
Continue reading “The D.C. Circuit’s Activist Ruling on Interstate Pollution”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
