Climate Change

Climate Change and the Pope

Obviously, I need to pay more attention to news from the Vatican, since this story is a year old: Pope Benedict XVI focused his annual address to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican on the environment and the protection of creation. He denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty …

CONTINUE READING

This week it’s bad news for the oceans

I try occasionally to report good news on this site, to counteract the tendency of most environmental lawyers to suffer periodic depression. But this week I can’t find anything but bad news in the marine context. Pour yourself a glass of wine, click, and cry: The World Resources Institute has published a new report, Reefs …

CONTINUE READING

Preview of Coming Attractions: American Electric Power v. State of Connecticut

The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced the scheduling of oral arguments in the biggest (actually, the only) environmental case of its current Term: American Electric Power v. State of Connecticut. The justices will hear arguments on April 19th, and render their decision in this major climate change case by the end of June. Already, however, …

CONTINUE READING

Three Obstacles To California Climate Progress

California’s AB 32  — the Global Warming Solutions Act — is the biggest and best thing going on the domestic climate change front.  The bill is sweeping in its application and the agency charged with implementing the Act, the California Air Resources Board, has moved aggressively to chart out the path the state will need …

CONTINUE READING

The N.Y. Times Clears the Air

The Times as a forceful editorial today about pending legislative efforts to block EPA’s climate regulations and other air pollution regulations: Congress’s failure to enact a climate bill means that the E.P.A.’s authority to regulate these gases — an authority conferred by a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2007 — is, for now, the only …

CONTINUE READING

Court’s AB 32 Ruling Is Quite Narrow and At Most a Temporary Setback

Cara published a terrific summary of  a tentative California superior court decision in which the court held that the state’s Air Resources Board (CARB) violated  the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in implementing AB 32, the state’s landmark climate change legislation.  The CEQA portion of the ruling — should the judge stick with it when …

CONTINUE READING

Calif court tentatively rules AB 32 implementation unlawful

A California superior court has issued a proposed decision, not yet final, holding that ARB failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in its adoption of the Scoping Plan that is guiding its implementation of AB 32, California’s landmark climate change law.  The ruling proposes to set aside ARB’s CEQA documentation and to …

CONTINUE READING

California Environmental Blueprint: Environmental monitoring & modeling

This post is the second in our ongoing series on our Environmental Blueprint for California. In our Blueprint, we recommended that Governor Brown establish an independent, statewide agency or council devoted to compilation, modeling, prediction and presentation of environmental quality data. I want to elaborate on what this agency might look like and why we believe …

CONTINUE READING

The State of the Union Address: Good on Energy, MIA on Climate

President Obama’s State of the Union address had good news for research universities and for renewable energy: We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology – an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people. Already, we are seeing the promise of …

CONTINUE READING

There’s No Such Thing as Global Warming, Nope, None at All

From the NY Times blog today: New figures issued on Thursday in Britain show that 2010 was the second-warmest year in the historical record. That comes on the heels of reports last week from two American agencies that 2010 was tied for the warmest year in the record books. All three sets of numbers come …

CONTINUE READING

Join Our Mailing List

Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

TRENDING