Disasters
Governors Present Bold Vision for Investing in a New Forest Economy
As global leaders gather in Cali for COP16 and devastating fires continue across the Amazon, we should look to subnational groups for solutions to both the climate and biodiversity loss crisis.
The world has continued to watch as fires burn – yet again – across much of the Amazon basin. With historic droughts and ongoing lack of resources to tackle these fires and their underlying causes, they have ravaged millions of hectares of forests, communities, and wildlife habitat in Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and beyond. These fires, …
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CONTINUE READINGHurricane Milton and this Climate Moment
We’re witnessing the collision of extreme weather, climate science, national news and politics. The question of “Who pays for climate disasters?” is about to become even more important.
When President Biden addressed the nation yesterday from the White House, he warned that Hurricane Milton could be one of the most destructive storms in more than a century, but he stopped short of explaining why — that climate change, fueled by our burning of fossil fuels, is making oceans warmer and storms stronger, capable …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Walz-Vance Debate and Environmental Policy
After Hurricane Helene, Vance and Walz were pressed on climate change during the VP debate. Here’s everything they said on energy and the environment.
The subject of climate-fueled disasters figured prominently in the vice presidential debate. The CBS News moderators asked a question about climate change within the first few minutes, although the multi-faceted answers weren’t always factual and much of the post-debate discussion in newsrooms and spin room interviews centered on contentious yet civil exchanges on immigration and …
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CONTINUE READING“Salt Lakes in Crisis: Legal Responses to Ecological Catastrophes”
Upcoming U.C. Davis Law Review Symposium To Provide Interdisciplinary Focus On Threatened Western U.S. Lakes
On Friday, September 20th, the student-run U.C. Davis Law Review will host a most timely conference examining an environmental crisis facing many of the American West’s iconic “terminal lakes.” That term refers to lakes that have no natural outlet. For many years, protracted droughts and human diversions from freshwater rivers and streams feeding those lakes …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Hawai’i Youth Climate Trial
Thirteen youth plaintiffs say the Aloha State is failing to live up to its ambitious climate goals. Here’s what to watch for as Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation goes to trial this month.
Last summer, many Americans were glued to the events unfolding in Maui as a raging inferno overtook the town of Lahaina, trapping thousands and killing at least 99 people. This summer, we’ll see 13 youth plaintiffs in Hawaiʻi take the state’s Department of Transportation to court for allegedly failing to implement climate policies meant to …
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CONTINUE READINGDid the COVID Response Poison the Well for Climate Action?
Sadly, the answer may be yes, at least for one conspiracy-minded segment of the population.
One meme that seems to be popping up is that the “evils” of the COVID response reveal some dark reality behind climate policy. Whatever its roots, these dark fantasies threaten the welfare of current and future generations.
CONTINUE READINGFlorida Governor DeSantis’ Head-In-The-Sand Climate Change Policies
New Florida Law Strikes Term “Climate Change” From State Laws, Promotes Fossil Fuels & Rejects Renewable Energy Projects
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in coordination with an equally myopic and partisan Florida Legislature, has approved new state legislation (HB 1645) that eliminates the term “climate change” from numerous existing Florida statutes that former Republican Governor Charlie Crist signed into law in 2008. The legislation, which takes effect on July 1st, is not just symbolic: …
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CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Short-Circuits Juliana v. U.S. Climate Change Lawsuit
Iconic Children Plaintiffs Lack Legal Standing to Pursue Case, Court of Appeals Rules
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order that likely ends one of the most closely-watched climate change lawsuits in recent American legal history: Juliana v. United States. The background of this litigation–which was filed in federal district court in Oregon in 2015–has been analyzed at length in …
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CONTINUE READINGTemporary Takings and the Adaptation Dilemma
Current law penalizes adaptation measures because of the risk of takings liability.
Is it unconstitutional for the government to build a levee that reduces the risk of urban flooding but diverts the water to nearby farmlands? The answer could be yes, unless the government pays for flood easements on the rural lands. But if the government doesn’t build the levee, it faces no liability from the urban …
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CONTINUE READINGLGBTQ People Face Greater Climate Risks
A new study by the UCLA Williams Institute finds that LGBTQ people in same-sex couples are at greater risk of exposure to the harms of climate change compared to straight couples.
In August of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi, the combination of torrential rain and flawed infrastructure proved deadly. More than 1,800 people died and the price tag for the damage quickly rose to the tens of billions of dollars. In the chaotic disaster response that followed, several communities were disproportionately …
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