Culture & Ethics
Eid Mubarak: Islam and the Environment
This evening, Muslims around the world are celebrating the end of Ramadan. All the talk of political Islam has overlooked the question of what, if anything, Islam says about the environment, and a short blog post can hardly be comprehensive. My initial reading of the Qu’ran reveals something that should be unremarkable to those who have …
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CONTINUE READINGIn Defense of Impact Men (and Women)
Full disclosure: I haven’t seen the new film documentary opening this weekend in LA and NY, “No Impact Man,” based on the nonfiction book of the same title, by Colin Beavan, that depicts his urban family of three trying — impossibly, of course — to shrink to nothing its environmental footprint, even going as far as to give up …
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CONTINUE READINGRising Seas: Doing the Math
Real Climate has a very interesting if occasionally highly technical post on sea level rise. There’s considerable disagreement about projections. Some projections rely on detailed modeling of the dynamics; others are based on fitting a model to past changes, more or less the way economists do modeling. The latter, “semi-empirical” projects are also in some …
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CONTINUE READINGOne Step Backward, One Nano Step Forward. . . Maybe
The action on nanomaterials continued at the federal level in August, advancing forward in one area (tentatively) and faltering in another (perhaps temporarily). First, on August 4, the Interagency Testing Committee (ITC) issued its 64th report. (The ITC is an independent advisory committee charged with identifying potentially toxic chemicals for which there is inadequate testing …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA/Berkeley Law & Attorney General’s Office release report recommending policies to encourage sustainable real estate development
For those of you who haven’t memorized the AB 32 scoping plan pie chart that details the sources of greenhouse gas emissions in California by sector, “vehicle miles traveled” (or, as lay folks call it, “driving”) represents the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state — almost forty percent. We can hope …
CONTINUE READINGUCLA environmental law journal publishes new work on personal norms and carbon emissions, and on other interesting topics
Following in Dan’s footsteps as promoters of our respective schools’ excellent environmental law journals, I’m proud to announce that the UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy Volume 27, #1 was published this summer. This journal issue features several interesting pieces. They include a thought-provoking Comment by second-year UCLA law student Jed Ela, Law and Norms …
CONTINUE READINGMore on the Chamber of Commerce’s extraordinary demand for a “Scopes trial” on climate change
UPDATE: regarding the standard of judicial review of any on-the-record hearing (discussed below), see the comments: commenter Steve Taber disagrees with my initial analysis, and he may be right (though I don’t have time to look into it further today). ORIGINAL POST: Holly has written a thoughtful post discussing the meritlessness and cynicism of the …
CONTINUE READINGNews of the Day
There’s a lot of interesting stuff out there. Not as interesting as Legal Planet, maybe, but let’s give credit where credit is due. Here’s some of the latest: What Happened to Acid Rain? How we (partially) solved a major environmental problem. China is Taking over the Solar Energy Market. Apparently somebody thinks there’s money in …
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CONTINUE READINGBisphenol-A in baby bottles . . . and in Sigg bottles (!)
The chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), commonly found in polycarbonate plastics and other household containers, is the subject of a new bill in California because of its potential adverse health effects. BPA hasbeen linked through animal testing to serious health problemsinvolving behavior, brain development, reproduction and heart function. Environmental advocacy groups such as the Environmental Working Group, …
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CONTINUE READINGNanoparticles Potentially Linked to Factory Worker Deaths in China
This week Reuters reported what are billed as the first documented clinical cases of human health effects from exposure to nanoparticles. Seven young women, two of whom died, suffered severe permanent lung damage following months of largely unprotected exposure to fumes and smoke containing nanoparticles in spray painting operation in China. The women all worked …
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