Emmett Institute Earth Week series
In Support of Public Health Federalism
Reactionary State Responses to COVID-19 (and Other Threats to Public Health) Don’t Mean Federalism Is For Suckers
For decades, “states’ rights” has been a rallying cry of the right wing. Most Americans are familiar with the dynamics that required the federalization of civil rights law, both in the 1860s and again in the 1960s, the protection of much of our nation’s federal lands, and the national crises that necessitated the federal government …
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CONTINUE READINGFlint Five Years On
What has happened with Flint’s drinking water?
The history of environmental policy can well be told by place names. Love Canal – hazardous waste. Los Angeles – air quality. The Cuyahoga River – water quality. And, most recently, Flint – drinking water. The tragedy in Flint, Michigan, entered the 24/7 national news cycle five years ago, led President Obama to visit the …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Can We Learn from Modeling a Pandemic?
Individual-based modeling offers untapped opportunities for policymakers and researchers
With the emergence of the corona virus, modeling – the science of representing processes and systems for purpose of analysis—has been at the center of debate how to respond to this public health crisis. Experts and non-experts alike follow the latest modeling predictions, and federal and state public health policies are grounded, at least in …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Do Tomorrow’s Leaders Think About This Mess?
Listening to student voices on the pandemic, climate change, and the future
One thing I’ve always loved about teaching is the opportunity to see important issues through my students’ eyes. So for my last Climate Law and Policy class at UCLA Law this week, I asked my students to tell me what they are thinking about the future of climate policy in light of today’s global circumstances, …
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CONTINUE READINGNever Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste
Coronavirus, Climate Change, and the Global Energy Transition
There has been no shortage of commentary on what the Coronavirus pandemic means for climate action and for the energy industry. Obviously, it is too early to draw firm conclusions, but the last several weeks have made clear that the crisis is affecting the entire energy economy in profound ways and that our collective response …
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CONTINUE READINGDespite COVID-19, This Earth Day Brings Animals Closer to Human Society
Sheltering in place during the pandemic has had dramatic impacts on various wildlife, raising questions about our relationship with animals in urban spaces.
Two months into a global pandemic, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on human society. But outside of the monumental human suffering and disruption to our livelihoods, Earth continues to turn at the same rate, and the natural ecosystem continues to operate as it normally does. Except this time, the human influence on the natural environment is …
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CONTINUE READINGEvery Day I’m Hustling, Or: What To Do For Earth Day?
Environmental Voter Project’s Election Engagement Is The Best Way To Celebrate The Day
What to do for Earth Day? For me, the answer is obvious: send 2,000 text messages. That is neither as difficult nor as ridiculous as it sounds. I do it most days, actually. For the last several weeks I have been volunteering with the Environmental Voter Project, to me one of the most interesting and …
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CONTINUE READINGGreen Stimulus?
Why so many coal plants are still being built in China.
During this Earth Week, it is encouraging to see glimmers of environmental ambition in various jurisdictions around the world. The EU is rolling out a European Green Deal with the goal of “striving to be the first climate-neutral continent.” South Korea, the world’s 7th largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter, recently announced a 2050 net zero …
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CONTINUE READINGLos Angeles Air Quality in the Time of Covid-19
Headlines from across the world have trumpeted one of the few benefits of the Covid-19 shutdown: cleaner air quality. Los Angeles has starred in those headlines, with many reporters calling attention to the fact that the region had some of the cleanest air in the world during a period in April. EPA data also confirm …
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CONTINUE READINGEarth Day in the Time of Covid-19
Emmett Institute Addresses How the Pandemic and Lockdown Affect Environmental Issues
This Wednesday, April 22, marks the 50th time we have celebrated Earth Day. This year’s celebrations will, of course, look nothing like the first Earth Day in 1970, when 20 million people took to American streets to raise public awareness about environmental issues. Given the global lockdown because of the covid-19 pandemic, large public gatherings …
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