Environment
California Legislature may decide L.A. football stadium can go forward, despite allegations of inadequate environmental review
Great minds may disagree about whether a new professional football stadium (or team, for that matter) would be good for Los Angeles. But a new last-minute bill that the California State Senate is considering today, which would eliminate further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act for a newly-approved stadium complex in the City …
CONTINUE READINGUCLA environmental law journal publishes new work on personal norms and carbon emissions, and on other interesting topics
Following in Dan’s footsteps as promoters of our respective schools’ excellent environmental law journals, I’m proud to announce that the UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy Volume 27, #1 was published this summer. This journal issue features several interesting pieces. They include a thought-provoking Comment by second-year UCLA law student Jed Ela, Law and Norms …
CONTINUE READINGMore on the Chamber of Commerce’s extraordinary demand for a “Scopes trial” on climate change
UPDATE: regarding the standard of judicial review of any on-the-record hearing (discussed below), see the comments: commenter Steve Taber disagrees with my initial analysis, and he may be right (though I don’t have time to look into it further today). ORIGINAL POST: Holly has written a thoughtful post discussing the meritlessness and cynicism of the …
CONTINUE READINGBisphenol-A in baby bottles . . . and in Sigg bottles (!)
The chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), commonly found in polycarbonate plastics and other household containers, is the subject of a new bill in California because of its potential adverse health effects. BPA hasbeen linked through animal testing to serious health problemsinvolving behavior, brain development, reproduction and heart function. Environmental advocacy groups such as the Environmental Working Group, …
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CONTINUE READINGMeat and climate change redux
Back in January, I blogged about the link between meat production and GHGs. Grist.org has taken up this issue recently, with an interesting article by Tom Philpott making the case that U.S. livestock production is a significant contributor to GHG emissions, and a rebuttal from farmer Eliot Coleman. As Philpott’s article notes, a U.N. FAO …
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CONTINUE READINGNAFTA gold mining opinion upholding California environmental regulation issued by arbitration tribunal
As I previously discussed in detail in this post, a NAFTA arbitration tribunal recently decided a closely-watched case in a way that will further environmental protection. The panel’s 355-page opinion in the Glamis Gold case has been made public: here it is. The panel decided in favor of California’s right to regulate in-state mining by foreign …
CONTINUE READINGArmy Corps finds environmental humor unfunny: Conan O’Brien and Los Angeles River navigability
As Holly has mentioned, last month, Conan O’Brien made humor out of the navigability of the Los Angeles River by attempting to canoe down it. Holly’s post describes the legal controversy over the “traditional navigable waters” determination for the L.A. River, an appeal of which is still pending. (I note that there’s a small …
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia environmental justice advocates sue Air Resources Board over climate scoping plan
UPDATES: California Air Resources Board Chair (and former UCLA colleague) Mary Nichols comments below. The Complaint in this action is available here (caption page separately available here). A coalition of California environmental justice advocates has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the California Air Resources Board‘s scoping plan for AB 32, the landmark climate …
CONTINUE READINGRegulatory Fees in California: Killing Two Birds with One Stone?
The meltdown of the State of California’s budget raises a host of questions about governance, taxes and politics in the state and beyond. One of those questions implicates other concerns regarding the design and implementation of effective environmental regulation. As my father used to say, “Sometimes cheap is too expensive,” an adage that is borne …
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CONTINUE READINGIdle Chatter
WBUR’s Here and Now radio show recently covered the story of George Pakenham, the self-named “Verdant Vigilante.” Pakenham roams the streets of New York City engaging in citizen enforcement of the city’s anti-idling law. The law, which has been on the books in various forms since 1971, prohibits idling for greater than 3 minutes (1 …
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