Climate Change
Four Years Later, and Still No Real Plan
A new report by the National Research Council gives “thumbs down” to the Army Corps’ plans for preventing another Katrina disaster. This is the kind of planning that we simply have to learn to do right– not just for the sake of those immediately at risk, but because rising sea level and more extreme weather …
Continue reading “Four Years Later, and Still No Real Plan”
CONTINUE READINGWaxman Markey, the Clean Air Act and State Climate Legislation
As I suggested last week, the prospects for the Waxman-Markey bill passing Congress this term don’t seem particularly high. President Obama is expending significant political capital on health care reform. The Senate is occupied with the Sotomayor Supreme Court hearings. And the politics of climate legislation may be even tougher in the Senate than in …
Continue reading “Waxman Markey, the Clean Air Act and State Climate Legislation”
CONTINUE READINGA Silver Lining to the Supreme Court Term for Environmentalists?
In assessing the environmental train wreck that was the just-concluded Supreme Court Term, the question arises: is there anything from that Term from which environmental interests can take comfort? The answer is at least a qualified “yes.” Somewhat lost in the attention focused on the justices’ five major environmental decisions–all of them clear defeats for …
Continue reading “A Silver Lining to the Supreme Court Term for Environmentalists?”
CONTINUE READINGThe Sotomayor Hearing and the Climate Nuisance Case
The NY Times reports that one issue in the confirmation hearing may be a case involving climate change. The plaintiffs sued under the federal common law of nuisance for injunctive relief against public utilities for their carbon emissions. The case has now been pending before a panel including Judge Sotomayor for several years. It’s definitely …
Continue reading “The Sotomayor Hearing and the Climate Nuisance Case”
CONTINUE READINGSetbacks for Coal
Two setbacks for coal this week: First, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued an order that will result in further delay of the Longleaf coal-fired power plant proposed for Early County, Georgia. Second, U.S. EPA notified the state of Kansas and Sunflower Electric Power Corp. that a new air quality permit will be required before …
Continue reading “Setbacks for Coal”
CONTINUE READINGBad News for Climate Reductions, Troubling Prospects for Copenhagen
President Obama’s failure at the G-8 summit to get the largest developing countries to agree to set goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was only one piece of bad news this week for efforts to attack global warming. Although the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey bill last week, prospects in the …
Continue reading “Bad News for Climate Reductions, Troubling Prospects for Copenhagen”
CONTINUE READINGEdith Jones Declares War on America’s Coastline
Edith Jones, the 5th Circuit Chief Judge who makes wingnuts swoon, is at it again, this time in Severance v. Patterson, a Takings test case brought by the Pacific Legal Foundation. For environmentalists, Severance is also a test case in who is going to have to pay for coastal damage from climate change. Edith Jones …
Continue reading “Edith Jones Declares War on America’s Coastline”
CONTINUE READINGPlastic Trees Revisited
Thirty-five years ago, Larry Tribe wrote an article called “Ways Not to Think About Plastic Trees,” probing the foundations of environmental law. The article prompted an equally interesting response from environmental philosoper Mark Sagoff. The issue was whether we should preserve nature simply for its utility to humans or whether it had other types of …
Continue reading “Plastic Trees Revisited”
CONTINUE READINGIt Depends on What the Meanings of “Are” Are
Bill Clinton once famously said that the truthfulness of a statement depended on “what the meaning of ‘is’ is.” There’s a similar usage issue in a recent spat over climate data. A dispute between Roger Pielke and RealClimate seems to turn in part on whether a statement about current climate trends has to be proven …
Continue reading “It Depends on What the Meanings of “Are” Are”
CONTINUE READINGClimate change breaking news: EPA grants California waiver to regulate GHG emissions from cars
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken an important step toward addressing climate change and improving our nation’s automobile fuel economy, by granting California and at least 14 other states a waiver allowing them to regulate automobile greenhouse gas emissions. This was not unexpected, given the recent passage of federal legislation with standards similar to …
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
