Climate Change
Climate protester DeChristopher gets 2-year sentence
Tim DeChristopher, the young man who bid on federal oil and gas leases as a form of protest against global warming, was sentenced yesterday to 2 years in prison, 3 additional years on probation, and a $10,000 fine. DeChristopher was convicted in March of placing false bids at a federal auction, after his attempt to …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Greening of South Korea
Lincoln Davies has a nice post over at Environmental Law Prof about clean energy in South Korea. He discusses a conference relating to Korea’s planned change from a feed-in-tariff to a renewable portfolio standard as means of promoting clean energy. Most Americans aren’t aware of this, but Korea has embraced “green growth” as a national …
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CONTINUE READING“Too Darn Hot”:The Summer of 2011 and the New Normal
DotEarth, the NY Times environmental blog, has a nice posting about how the current heat wave fits into climate-change predictions. It seems clear that the “summer of 2011 is emblematic of the new climatological norms that are emerging as conditions neatly echo longstanding projections of the consequences of steadily raising the concentration of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.” …
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CONTINUE READINGWhitebark pine in ESA limbo
Cross-posted at The Berkeley Blog. Today the Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the whitebark pine, an iconic tree of the high-elevation American west, qualifies for listing as an endangered or threatened species. The combined impacts of disease, insect infestation, climate change, and fire suppression mean that the whitebark pine could disappear within a couple …
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CONTINUE READINGFrogs, Boiling Water, and Climate Change: For the Record
Catching up on my LegalPlanet reading after being gone for a couple of weeks (and who doesn’t do that first?), I noticed Dan’s post referencing the famous story about frogs not jumping out of hot water if you put them in when it’s tepid. Referring to humanity’s inability to combat climate change, Dan asks: “are humans smarter than …
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CONTINUE READINGWhite paper on Habitat Conservation Plans and Climate Change
Cross-posted at CPRBlog. Melinda Taylor at the University of Texas School of Law and I have just put out a white paper on Habitat Conservation Plans and Climate Change: Recommendations for Policy. It can be accessed here through Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, or here through UT’s Center for Global Energy, …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Debt Burden on Future Generations
According to GOP.gov, [T]he amount of debt placed on the backs of children born today is about to explode. If nothing is done, our generation will have the sad legacy of being the first to lower the standard of living of the next generation. . . . Unless drastic actions are taken to reduce spending …
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CONTINUE READINGA “Modest Proposal” for Ending the U.S. Debt Crisis: A Debt-Nature Swap with China
Debt-nature swaps allow countries with major debt over-hang and relatively weak economies to reduce their debt in return for undertaking environmental measures. The U.S. now seems to be in the same need of debt relief as many developing countries in past decades. In the meantime, the Chinese have a thriving economy and hold enormous amounts …
CONTINUE READINGSo Much for California’s Anti-Sprawl Law, Ctd.
My post on the shortcomings of SB 375, California’s anti-sprawl law, generated a swift response from NRDC’s Amanda Eaken and TransForm’s Stuart Cohen, two smart growth advocates for whom I hold a lot of admiration and respect. In their detailed post, which is largely a critique of the San Diego Association of Government’s (SANDAG) sustainable …
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CONTINUE READINGBolstering Public Transit in California: A New White Paper from UCLA / Berkeley Law
Public transit in California, while historically underfunded compared to roads and freeways, has suffered even worse as the state’s economy has tanked and Sacramento legislators have raided transit funds to pay their general fund bills. But the buses and trains that comprise the state’s transit system provide badly needed economic benefits for Californians. These benefits …
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