California
Why Did the Mono Lake Campaign Succeed?
What Makes for Successful Social Movements, Especially in Environmental Politics?
Environmentalists celebrate the campaign to save Mono Lake as one the iconic triumphs in US environmental history. As well they should. But why did it succeed? It’s a critical question not just for environmentalists, but for any scholar or member of social movements. In a previous post, I have suggested that the identity of the …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat are California Legislators Thinking About Cap-and-Trade?
CA Senate Hearing at UCLA Focuses on Ways to Spend Auction Revenue
Today, UCLA’s Emmett Center and IOES hosted a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Climate Change and AB 32 Implementation with Senators Pavley, Correa, de Leon, deSaulnier, Lieu, and Assemblymember Bloom attending. The hearing featured testimony on climate science, on AB 32 implementation, and on opportunities to invest revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade auctions in ways that …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia High Speed Rail Slowed by Court Decisions
Judge rules the train needs a new business plan and project-level environmental review
California Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny dealt two setbacks to high speed rail yesterday that are likely to delay the project significantly. First, Judge Kenny ruled that the state committee that approved the disbursement of bond money for the project acted without sufficient evidence to justify the disbursal. California law empowers the High-Speed Passenger Train …
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CONTINUE READINGUC Berkeley / UCLA Law Report on California Renewable Energy Policies Beyond 2020
Joint law school report will be discussed at a lunchtime forum today at UCLA Law
California is among the world’s leaders in deploying renewable energy, with the state on pace to meet its target of achieving 33% of its energy from renewable sources like the sun and the wind by 2020. But the success may ironically be contributing to a stalled in-state market for more renewable power. Given the amount …
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CONTINUE READINGState Releases New Fracking Regulations Amid SB 4 Criticism, Controversy
DOGGR also wades into CEQA while environmental community questions wisdom and effects of new State law
California’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) has released its proposed regulations governing hydraulic fracturing pursuant to Senate Bill 4, controversial legislation signed into law this September. DOGGR’s November 15 public notice begins its formal rulemaking process and marks the start of a 60-day public comment period for the new rules. DOGGR also …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia cap and trade survives industry tax challenge
Auctions can proceed in one of the state’s signature climate change programs
ARB’s winning streak in climate cases continues. A California superior court has rejected a prominent set of industry challenges to the state’s cap-and-trade program, upholding a significant element of California’s suite of programs to comply with AB 32 and to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020. (Opinion here.) The cases were filed by the …
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CONTINUE READINGGreen Streets for Berkeley?
Low Impact Development (LID) or green infrastructure can be used to improve water quality in urban environments through the use of swales, bioretention basins, permeable pavement, and other approaches to managing stormwater. However, there can be challenges to actually putting green infrastructure in place. Max Gomberg and I recently published an Op-Ed in the San …
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CONTINUE READINGRenewable Energy Beyond 2020 — Lunchtime Conference at UCLA Law next Tuesday
Free event will also launch a new report from UCLA and UC Berkeley law schools on this topic
Please join us on Tuesday, November 19th at UCLA Law for a free lunchtime panel presentation on the future of California’s renewable energy policies beyond 2020. California is on pace to meet the goal of securing 33 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2020. What energy goals should …
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CONTINUE READINGEnergy and Climate Conference — Thursday November 14th at UC Berkeley Law
State Bar event will cover renewables, fuels, and markets in an era of climate change
For Legal Planet readers interested in hearing the latest on energy and climate change law and policy, the Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar will be holding a one-day conference on the subject at the UC Berkeley School of Law on Thursday, November 14th. Entitled “Energy and Climate Change: California’s Efforts to Reduce …
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CONTINUE READINGCEQA Reform 2013 Holds Promise for Improving the Environment
Despite grumblings, the new law contains significant victories for infill development and urban investment
Governor Brown recently signed into law this year’s version of “CEQA reform,” which as Eric noted was decidedly stripped down from what it could have been. SB 743 (Steinberg) got a lot of negative attention for giving the Sacramento Kings basketball arena proponents accelerated environmental review and immunity from injunctive relief unless the project is …
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