Biden Administration

The Case that Wouldn’t Die

The Juliana plaintiffs make a final effort to resurrect their case.

The district judge contemplates a wide-ranging trial about broad climate and energy policies, after which she would opine on their legality. The Supreme Court will likely think that putting an  immense swathe of government policy on trial also violates the separation of powers — especially in a case where they are  deeply skeptical of the underlying constitutional claim.

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The Harris-Trump Debate and Environmental Policy

In the ABC News debate, both candidates were asked directly, “What would you do to fight climate change?” Fracking and energy policy got most of the focus.

While abortion and immigration took center stage during last night’s presidential debate in Philadelphia, climate change and energy policy were referenced throughout the more than ninety minutes, in stark contrast to that Biden-Trump debate in June in which climate change was largely relegated to one question. From the very beginning of the debate, Trump attempted …

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The Zombie Myth of Job-Killing Regulations

Some ideas never die, no matter how much evidence piles up against them.

With the Labor Day weekend coming up, let’s talk about jobs. Some myths are like zombies in two ways.  They refuse to lie down and die, not matter what you do. And if you aren’t careful, they can eat your brain.  An example is the idea that environmental regulation kills jobs. Tragically, this brain worm …

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The Tragedy of Indifference

This election will have huge consequences for climate change. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to matter that much at the polls.

The partisan divide is real: Democrats are three times more likely than Republicans to view climate change as a major threat. Even so, a quarter of Republicans agreed with Democrats on this.  The problem is that only 37% (almost all Democrats) view climate change as their top priority. 

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Trump’s Replacement for Project 2025: The “Other” MAGA Plan

It’s not Project 2025, but the “America First Agenda” is worse in some ways.

From the perspective of those who believe in environmental protection, the Trump team’s switch from one rightwing think tank to another doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement. They would both set environmental law back by decades.

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The Ins and Outs of Kennedy’s Environmental Positions  

His campaign website is a mashup of very different perspectives, from “back to the earth” to tech bro.

Working through his website seemed to reveal a broad effort to combine distrust of government and big business), belief in free markets, and valuing nature and the land for their own sakes. Kennedy offers an unusual blend of Sixties “back to the land” environmentalism with Tech Bro libertarianism.

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In Their Own Words: Climate Policy and the Party Platforms

The GOP and Democratic Platforms take starkly different approaches.

The two major parties have very different views about energy policy and climate change. Here are their official views, in their own language. Compare and contrast!

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Did Democrats Follow Through?

 The 2020 Democratic Platform made some big promises. Four years later, where do things stand?

Many of the climate promises in the 2020 Democratic platform were kept, and large down-payments were made toward fulfilling others. The glass is definitely more than half full.

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Schedule F and the Future of the Regulatory State

What is Schedule F? Would it be legal? And why does it matter so much?

Trump has vowed to destroy the “deep state” and to wreak vengeance on his enemies. Something called “Schedule F” is one of the key tools he plans to use as soon as he takes office to “remove rogue bureaucrats,” and he promises to use that tool “very aggressively.”

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The Best Reason for Optimism About Climate Action

As the saying goes, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Renewable energy costs have plunged to an extent few people realize. If cellphone prices had dropped as fast since 2010 as the cost of solar power, you could buy a new iPhone for about thirty bucks today.

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