Academia
How “Passive Virtues” Destroy the Constitution
Judicial restraint has become a license for dictatorship.
Never has the adage that A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words been more appropriate. Donald Trump has destroyed much of the federal government and much of the Constitution, so now he is destroying the White House – in this case, to build a horrific 90,000 square foot ballroom paid for by “private contributors,” who …
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CONTINUE READINGManila Protests Over Environment Follow a Rich Tradition
Happy Filipino American History Month. Here’s a look at Filipino-led protests for environmental justice.
The Philippines made international news last month when several tens of thousands of protestors took over the streets of Manila to express their outrage over the government’s embezzlement of over a trillion Philippine pesos (approximately $17.6 billion USD) designated for flood control projects. Losing this amount of climate-designated funds to corruption would be problematic anywhere …
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CONTINUE READINGOur National Parks are Open — and Openly Threatened
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
“I’m still here working.” That’s what a park ranger at Yosemite National Park told me last Friday, as he made his rounds. Anyone who thinks they can flagrantly break the park rules during the government shutdown is in for “a rude awakening,” he said. Literally. He and other rangers have been using noise to wake …
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CONTINUE READINGLighting Candles in Dark Times: Environmental Law Centers in the Trump Era
These law school centers show it’s possible find ways to make a difference.
Environmental law have become vibrant parts of the law and policy ecosystem. At a time when despondency seems all too common, the work of these law school centers offers beacons of hope for the future of environmental protection. Some of that work is playing defense — pushing back against deregulatory efforts — while other work plays offense by identifying innovative directions for environmental policy. A comprehensive survey isn’t practical, but I’ll provide examples from several different centers.
CONTINUE READINGThe Dark and Quiet Skies Campaign
What does Space Law have to do with environmental law? Satellites pollute in more ways than you think.
When you walk outside at night, do you ever wonder how many stars you can see? For most of human history, this would have been a foolish question. The night sky was filled with stars. Today, though, in any major city you may be lucky to see only a handful. For years, astronomers have warned …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Compact for Censorship
The so-called compact is a thin front for massive incursion into free speech and academic freedom.
A key First Amendment principle prohibits the government from discriminating on the basis of viewpoint. This Compact contains a string of viewpoint-based rules. That’s a threat to any view the government doesn’t like, which definitely includes a belief in climate change or the benefits of renewable energy. Because violation of the agreement triggers draconian sanctions, and the Administration is the judge of what constitutes a violation, the chilling effect will be tremendous.
CONTINUE READINGFederalism Is For Suckers, Part The Millionth
Donald Trump’s latest constitutional rewriting puts the lie to venerable constitutional scholarship
Here’s a good legal Rule Of Thumb: whenever anyone makes a federalism argument concerning any dispute, do not take them seriously. It’s a mug’s game. The Venn Diagram of “people who argue for federalism” and “people who lack control over the federal government” is pretty much a perfect circle. And the positions will completely flip …
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CONTINUE READINGHow We Teach Environmental Law is Changing
UCLA Law faculty talk about how they are teaching environmental law differently in challenging times.
Environmental law is still relatively new and keeps changing all the time. After all, the field of environmental law didn’t really exist in the U.S. until pollution fears in the 1950s and ’60s spurred political activism. From 1970 to 1978, Congress passed more than a dozen of the most important environmental laws by overwhelming bipartisan majorities. …
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CONTINUE READINGWatch “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog”
LAPL
The American Experience’s “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog” tells an extraordinary story. It premieres on PBS this Tuesday.
A few years back, a colleague of mine, who I very much wanted to remain at UCLA, approached me because he was contemplating accepting an offer at a Washington, D.C. law school. He feared remaining in Los Angeles, even though he wanted to stay, because he didn’t want his young daughter exposed to the southland’s …
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CONTINUE READINGStates Should Not Wait to “Make Polluters Pay”
Guest contributors Laura Fox and Doug Kysar write that now is the right time for more states to adopt climate accountability laws, despite ongoing legal challenges.
As states weigh whether to adopt climate accountability legislation like Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act, some are hesitating out of concern that the Second Circuit’s decision in City of New York v. Chevron Corp., 993 F.3d 81 (2d Cir. 2021), dooms such efforts. That concern is misplaced. In fact, now is precisely the time for states …
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