Climate Change
Waxman-Markey hearings
As Dan mentioned in his post yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding hearings through Friday on the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, dubbed The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Climate Progress has the schedule here. The hearings can be viewed live or after the fact at the Committee’s website, here.
CONTINUE READINGGetting to the root of recurring water conflicts
This post is co-authored by A. Dan Tarlock, Distinguished Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, and cross-posted by permission from the Island Press Eco-Compass blog. The western United States is characterized by highly variable and seasonal rainfall patterns. To deal with the constant threat of drought, the West relies on intensively managed water …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change Legislation: Is the Train (Finally) Leaving the Station?
I posted yesterday about Rep. Boehner’s bone-headed statement about climate change. My first thought was that this was completely idiotic, making a childish argument that even George W. Bush would have scorned. The fact that some CO2 is normal and even necessary proves nothing about what happens when concentrations go beyond the normal level: salt …
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CONTINUE READINGFlunking Climate 101
John Boehner, the House Republican leader, explains his view of climate change to George Stephanopoulos: George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen, that it’s harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, uh, well, you know when they do what they …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Next for Greenhouse Gas Regulation of Cars?
There’s been a huge amount of attention — and justifiably so — to EPA’s finding of endangerment. There’s also been speculation about a follow-up finding applying to stationary pollution sources and about the political ramifications. In contrast, there hasn’t been much discussion of what the motor vehicle standards might look like. Here’s an EPA summary …
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CONTINUE READINGWebcast of Climate Law Course
Berkeley Law has begun webcasting some of its courses, including the seminar on Climate Change and the Law that Cymie Payne and I taught last spring. I was pleased to learn that this class has been picked up by the Academic Earth website. I’m not sure, however, that this is the picture that I would …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change and Environmental Impact Statements
Government agencies are struggling with how to fit climate change into the process of environmental review. At one level, this is a no-brainer. Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change, and climate change is the biggest environmental impact of all. But as always, the devil is in the details.
CONTINUE READINGStop the Presses: California Is Different
When it comes to saving energy, California has a lot to crow about. While per capita energy consumption has continued to grow nationwide over the last thirty-five years, California’s per capita consumption has stayed relatively flat — an amazing accomplishment, considering the growing reliance on electronic devices over that period of time, but only partially …
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CONTINUE READINGMore on the endangerment finding
As Dan mentioned earlier, EPA today issued its proposed finding that emissions of six greenhouse gases, taken together, endanger public health and welfare, and that emissions of four of these gases from cars contribute to the problem. The proposal rests on a robust interpretation of EPA’s authority to find endangerment, supported by a detailed and …
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CONTINUE READINGOh What A Difference A President Makes
We’re not even 85 days into the Obama Administration and yet the signs of environmental change are all around us. The EPA announced today its formal determination under the Clean Air Act that greenhouse gases are pollutants that endanger public health and welfare. This is only the latest in a string of announcements that show just how quickly Obama is …
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