Climate Change
Tracking U.S. Climate Change Litigation
The most famous case about climate change is Massachusetts v. EPA, which led to a key decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. But there have been dozens of other lawsuits, and more are coming all the time. Fortunately, there’s a handy on-line resource for tracking all these cases. It’s worth taking a look at.
CONTINUE READINGWhite House Draft Guidance on Climate Change and Environmental Impact Statements
The Council on Environmental Quality has issued a draft guidance to agencies on treatment of greenhouse gases. The key point is that emissions exceeding 25,000 tons per year of CO2 will be considered a “significant environmental impact” and require preparation of an environmental impact statement. Overall, of course, this is a huge step forward. One …
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CONTINUE READINGYvo gives up, quits UNFCCC
In one more sign that making climate progress on the international front has become a difficult slog of late, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer announced his surprise resignation today. NYT has the story here, and the UN statement is here. Speculation is that he was beaten down by the failure to reach a legally …
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CONTINUE READINGStormy Weather
Saying that climate change is a hoax because there’s a lot of snow in Washington is childish. Can’t we at least pretend to be grown-ups?
CONTINUE READINGThe “Write Your Own Permit” Approach to Climate Mitigation
We seem to be at an impasse. Cap-and-trade seems to be in political disrepute; market-oriented economists must find it aggravating that their idea is now considered too “liberal.” Carbon taxes give politicians cardiac arrest. “Command and control” regulation is out of fashion. Perhaps it’s time to try something new. Here’s an alternative that has some …
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CONTINUE READINGAnswering the Climategaters
Want to create a scandal? Just add “gate” to the end of any noun. Climategate is a good example. Real Climate ha an excellent post dissecting the charges of error in the IPCC report, which turn out to be quite insignificant (and some of them not even errors at all.) Of course, if you come …
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CONTINUE READINGSimple Answers to Simple Questions
After noting some positive poll results regarding climate change, Cara asks: So, can we get cracking on a clean energy and jobs bill in the Senate? No. This has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions.
CONTINUE READINGNot-horrible climate polling news
Yes, it’s been a bad few months for climate science, as Ann wrote. And it also hasn’t been great for Congressional climate politics. But, finding hope where I can, I’ll seize on some good (or — at least not terrible) polling news about US support for climate action. Last week, the Yale Project on Climate …
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CONTINUE READINGNew environmental dating site matches fossil fuel industry lobbyists, elected officials
I’ve never been involved in either of two trends that have exploded in recent years: internet dating, and lobbying of federal officials by fossil fuel-based energy-producing companies. But I just learned about a new website that links the two. The site, Polluter Harmony, says it “is the #1 matchmaking site for polluters, industry lobbyists, & politicians.” Although …
CONTINUE READINGThe New Federal Climate Agency
The administration creates a new federal climate agency; let’s put it in the right place.
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