Academia

Environmental Law in US Law Schools

There are strong programs in schools up and down the pecking order.

Although I’ve taught environmental law for a long time, my knowledge of the programs at U.S. law schools is pretty hit or miss. In the hope of finding out more,  I did a quick survey of U.S. schools.  The results make it clear that environmental law has a foothold at law schools of all kinds. …

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Stanford’s Sustainability School: A Good Model?

There are pros and cons, but it makes sense to bring the university org. chart into the 21st century.

In my last post, I wrote about universities like Stanford that are creating new programs in sustainability.  Stanford’s move may inspire others to follow.  There are pros and cons, but it seems inevitable that the organization of universities will ultimately take account of one of the biggest problems facing humanity. Administrative reorganizations, whether in government, …

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Stanford and Beyond

Organizing Universities Around Sustainability

In May, Stanford grabbed headlines by announcing a billion dollar gift to launch a new School of Sustainability. There hasn’t been much written about the details of Stanford’s effort, or about what other schools are doing along similar lines. There’s little in the way of systematic information, but there does seem to be a lot …

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An Abundance Research Agenda

If we need to build lots of things fast to address climate and housing crises, how will we do that?

There’s been a lot of buzz about this column by Ezra Klein in the New York Times.  Klein’s basic argument: We need to do a lot of infrastructure and other development projects to make the world a better place.  For example, we’ll need to build power lines and renewable projects to address climate change.  But …

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Our Common Ground

New book on history of federal public lands is an essential contribution

America’s public lands are a national, and even international, treasure.  Over a quarter of the United States is owned and managed by the federal government.  Public lands provide recreational opportunities for all Americans.  They provide valuable habitat for species and ecosystems.  They provide important natural resources, such as timber and minerals, that are both important …

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Registration Is Open for the 2022 California Water Law Symposium

California’s Most Important Annual Water Law Conference–Law Student Organized!–Set for April 9th

Registration is now open for California’s 2022 Water Law Symposium, scheduled for Saturday, April 9th. U.C. Davis School of Law has the honor of hosting this year’s Symposium, which is an extraordinary event in two respects: first, it is organized entirely by law students (rather than law firms, water organizations, law professors or commercial vendors).  …

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CLEE’s New Executive Director

Louise Bedsworth

Louise Bedsworth brings a unique depth of experience in environmental policy to the job.

I’m excited to announce that Louise Bedsworth is CLEE’s new Executive Director. It was no easy task to find the right person to run the center during such a crucial time for environmental and energy policy. Louise was previously the head of our land use program and a senior advisor to the California China Climate …

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Jason Gray Joins the Emmett Institute as Project Director, Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force

Jason Gray

Climate policy expert brings regulatory expertise to project focused on tropical deforestation and low-emissions development

This month, the Emmett Institute is excited to welcome climate policy expert Jason Gray as the newest member of our team. In his new role as Project Director of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, Jason will help direct a major sub-national coalition focused on reducing tropical deforestation and advancing inclusive, equitable, low-emissions development …

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Climate Change and Black History

By Oregon State University

Some important people in the climate arena are Black. But there are far too few of them.

Since this is Black History Month, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about some of the prominent contributions by Blacks to understanding and addressing climate change. Blacks are badly underrepresented in STEM fields such as atmospheric science and in environmental groups, but there are some important exceptions.(STEM stands for ‘Science, Technology, Engineering, and …

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Positive Signs That California’s New Housing Laws Will be Enforced

Recent Actions by California Courts & State Officials Are Encouraging, & Push Back Against Local Government Recalcitrance on the Housing Reform Front

In a recent post, I analyzed the California Legislature’s recent passage and Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing into law of two important bills–SB 9 and SB 10–designed to confront California’s well-documented housing crisis.  Those laws represent but the latest chapter in the Legislature’s record-setting enactment of numerous statutes in recent years to incentivize and mandate construction …

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