Disasters
What Have We Learned About Rebuilding from Fire?
Woolsey Fire survivors reflect on the rebuilding process and what might help rebuild more resiliently after the January fires.
When I first met Nicole Fisher in 2019, her property in the Santa Monica Mountains was nothing but a driveway and a pile of cement. I was interviewing the art teacher for a radio story about her family’s plans to rebuild after the 2018 Woolsey Fire that destroyed her home and hundreds of others in …
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CONTINUE READINGThe “Big Beautiful Bill” is One Damn Dirty Deal
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
My family is about to take a road trip. Out our window we will see beaches, lakes, and a whole lot of public land that would be eligible to be sold off to developers and corporations under the recent version of a budget bill that Republicans want to rush through this week. Welcome to The …
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CONTINUE READINGHere’s How the Palisades and Altadena Can Rebuild Better
In partnership with UCLA, the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery has released its final recommendations.
The January 2025 Los Angeles fires were one of the most expensive climate disasters in our country’s history. They displaced tight-knit communities, took lives, shook our region to its core, and reminded us that as the climate continues to change, the risk of future disaster looms large. This recognition lead County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Lawsuits Now a Matter of Life and Death
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
What a week for watchers of climate litigation. Big new filings, claims of death and destruction, a landmark ruling, and a juicy hearing all in the span of 36 hours. First, there was what the New York Times described as “the first wrongful death lawsuit” to be brought against oil and gas companies over claims …
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CONTINUE READINGWillful Ignorance as Government Policy
The Trump Administration is systematically shutting down sources of vital information.
There is a deep anti-intellectualism embedded in MAGA. As RFK Jr. advises people, why pay attention to scientists when you can just “do the research” in the far corners of the internet?
There’s also the fear that data and research may not fit its political agenda. For instance, better information about extreme weather could support more robust programs to deal with those threats rather than supporting massive budget cuts. More robust government programs aren’t part of the MAGA agenda. Even worse, information about extreme weather would also shed light on climate change, a taboo subject.
Governor Narcissist
Gavin Newsom’s snub of LA Mayor Karen Bass demonstrates that he cares about only one thing: himself.
Buried deep within Evan’s morose but accurate roundup at The Drain lurked this item, which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about California Governor Gavin Newsom. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is in Sacramento lobbying legislators for relief money in the wake of January’s devastating wildfires. She probably won’t get close to …
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CONTINUE READINGMAGA vs NOAA, Executive Orders, and Growing IRA Support
The Drain is a new weekly roundup of climate and environmental news from Legal Planet.
Trump wants to “Make Weather a Mystery Again.” The news that started leaking last Friday is that the Trump administration wants to break up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and essentially end NOAA’s climate work by abolishing its primary research office and forcing the agency to instead help boost U.S. fossil fuel production, according …
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CONTINUE READINGWildfire Liability in California: A Primer
California has a unique approach to lawsuits against utilities for causing fires.
Like other states, California allows wildfire lawsuits against utilities based on negligence. When a plaintiff can prove that the utility was negligent – in other words, failed to exercise reasonable care – plaintiffs can recover for environmental damage, reforestation costs, and loss of profits. But California also allows recovery even when a utility did nothing wrong, under a theory called inverse condemnation. The PG&E bankruptcy made it clear that no-fault utility liability could threaten the financial health of the power system. The legislature created a new fund to deal with the problem.
CONTINUE READINGTwo Cheers for Tariffs
Stupid climate mitigation is better than none.
So Donald Trump has imposed massive tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and then paused them, and then imposed them again, and then paused them — as always, he is the master of political coitus interruptus. But Canada has not backed off and is maintaining its current retaliatory tariffs: Trump has already promised more and is …
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CONTINUE READINGA Disinformation Deluge on California Policies
Trump and House Republicans are trying to ‘flood the zone’ when it comes to wrongly blaming California environmental regulations for the LA fires.
Trump’s longtime strategy of ‘flooding the zone” — aka overwhelming opponents with a flurry of announcements and superficial initiatives — took a literal turn last week, when his administration ordered the release of a significant amount of water from two dams in the Central Valley to try to score political points. As the New York …
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