Culture & Ethics

UCLA/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 …

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UCLA 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 …

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More 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 …

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News 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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Bisphenol-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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Nanoparticles 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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Noah’s Art

Having just made my first trip to the Art Institute in Chicago, I was primed for this feature in Grist on the state of climate art.  If one can judge a movement by its artists, it seems we still have a fair ways to go–though I like this Venus. Also like this slideshow of climate activists around …

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Managing Technology and Dangerous Climate Change

The risk of catastrophic climate change puts uncertainties associated with innovative energy and carbon sequestration technology in a new light, and the short time for effective greenhouse gas emission reduction challenges public decision-making processes. Interest in this topic has been spurred by the drive to bring new energy and green house gas emission reduction technologies …

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Cronkite on Climate

Some people are calling him “the last journalist” because his breed of even-handed, fact-based report seems to be an endangered species. Be that as it may, it’s interesting to note that he spoke out on the subject of climate change a few years ago in the pages of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Not surprising, his perspective …

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Science, the public, and policy

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press today released the results of a survey (full report here) of American scientists and the public. The survey lands at a time when both scientists and politicians are actively questioning how science can play a more effective role in the policy process, so it’s not …

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