Academia

Standing for trees, redux

The Sunday Boston Globe includes this lengthy piece by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow on the revival of arguments first made in the 1970s that nature should be granted legal rights and perhaps even standing in court. USC law professor Chris Stone argued in a celebrated 1972 article that places like the Mineral King valley should be allowed …

CONTINUE READING

Debating the Economics of Climate Change

A blog with the great title of Greed, Green and Grains (by environmental economist Michael J. Roberts) reported an interesting national bureau of economic research debate on the economics of climate change.  The debaters were Pindyck (MIT) and Weitzman (Harvard).  It seems increasingly clear that the key factors driving economic conclusions are the treatment of …

CONTINUE READING

Eight Profiles in Courage

Eight Republicans voted to pass the Waxman-Markey bill in the House.  Some conservative groups are already threatening to punish them for this deviation from party orthodoxy.  (That sort of self-destructive retaliation used to be typical of the Democrats, who used it as part of their arsenal of weapons for shooting themselves in the foot.)  A …

CONTINUE READING

An Invitation to Review the Supreme Court’s Environmental Record

This has been a blockbuster year in the U.S. Supreme Court for environmental law and policy. In the Term that concludes this month, the justices have decided five major environmental cases, involving many of the nation’s most important environmental laws. Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE), one of the sponsors of …

CONTINUE READING

New and Noteworthy in the Eco-Blogosphere

For the environmental world at large, here are some noteworthy posts: Africa needs substantially scaled-up finance, technology and capacity-building to combat climate change 2009 Hurricane Names to Watch for, as Season Begins After a record-breaking 2008 hurricane season, the first storm has formed before the official June 1 start to the 2009 season. The hydrogen …

CONTINUE READING

No Butts About It

The New York Times has reported on a stealth environmental crisis, one that the public has heretofore regarded as the mere detritus of a serious public health controversy. But discarded cigarette butts constitute a major environmental crisis as well, and public attention to that crisis is long overdue. In its recent story, the Times notes …

CONTINUE READING

War and the Environment

Memorial Day is an apt date to think about how wars, along with their other tragic costs, impact the environment. As Peace Pledge reminds us: Images of devastated battlefields are all too familiar. A German officer in 1918 described ‘dumb, black stumps of shattered trees which still stick up where there used to be villages. …

CONTINUE READING

The Latest Issue of ELQ

As usual, an intriguing collection of articles, all available free on-line: The Silver Anniversary of the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone: Twenty-Five Years of Ocean Use and Abuse, and the Possibility of a Blue Water Public Trust Doctrine Mary Turnipseed, Stephen E. Roady, Raphael Sagarin, & Larry B. Crowder Read Article (PDF) Reducing Greenhouse Gas …

CONTINUE READING

Another Env Law Prof Goes to Washington

President Obama announced his intention to nominate Chris Schroeder to head the Office of Legal Policy at DOJ.  As the announcement indicates, Schroeder is an eminent authority on environmental law: Christopher H. Schroeder is Charles S. Murphy Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy Studies, and director of the Program in Public Law at …

CONTINUE READING

Debating Environmental Issues

The Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) sponsored a series of debates and colloquies at Berkeley in the Spring semester, all of which are now available on video: Unleashing the Clean Energy Economy Michael Shellenberger vs. Peter Barnes – February 18, 2009 Environmental Program Town Hall February 19, 2009 Climate Change & the …

CONTINUE READING

Join Our Mailing List

Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

TRENDING