Ecosystems
Litigating Against Trump
Trump’s agencies had a terrible litigation record the first time. It will probably get better – but not that much better.
In his first term, Trump’s litigation record was awful – winning only one case in four by some estimates.The Trump folks should do a better this time. But they may not improve that much, and could still lose more often than they win. Money invested in litigating against the Administration will be well spent. Meticulous attention to evidence and legal requirements is likely to remain a weak point.
CONTINUE READINGWhat Will 2025 Bring in Global Climate Finance?
Last year, international negotiations continued to disappoint on global climate policy, forests, and finance. This year, subnational governments must continue to lead.
As they have for many years, nations came together in 2024 at various climate-related events to push for a brighter future. From the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali, Colombia in October 2024, followed immediately by COP29 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) …
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CONTINUE READINGGood & Bad Environmental News From the U.S. Supreme Court
Escalating Legal Attacks on California’s Longstanding Clean Air Act “Waiver” Authority
This past week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued important orders in two closely-related environmental cases previously decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Last Friday the justices granted review in Diamond Alternative Energy v. Environmental Protection Agency, agreeing to decide whether fossil fuel manufacturers have legal standing to challenge an …
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CONTINUE READINGSix Things to Know about Rights of Nature
More than 500 Rights of Nature laws and policies have been passed globally. Here’s how to make sense of this nascent movement — or movements.
This Fall, I have been co-teaching a course on Rights of Nature with the historian Jill Lepore. This is the first time either of us have taught the subject and it has proven a wonderful opportunity to explore with our students this emerging movement — one that some have praised as “A Legal Revolution That …
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CONTINUE READINGMeeting information needs for water markets: Understanding water diversion and use
New CLEE report examines a prerequisite for fair and effective water markets
by Nell Green Nylen and Molly Bruce Water scarcity is a growing problem for agriculture and ecosystems across the U.S. Southwest. In many areas, unsustainable water use has overstretched local water supplies, and climate change is making these supplies more volatile. Water markets have the potential to enhance climate resilience by helping water users adapt …
CONTINUE READINGSix Sleeper Proposals in Project 2025
Project 2025 isn’t just its headline proposals. It’s a thorough, detailed attack on environmental protection.
Project 2025’s proposals involve reduced protection for endangered species, eliminating energy efficiency rules, blocking new transmission lines, changing electricity regulation to favor fossil fuels, weakening air pollution rules, and encouraging sale of gas guzzlers. There’s some pious talk about protecting the environment, but every proposal calls for weakening environmental protections.
CONTINUE READINGGovernors 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 READINGClimate, Energy, and Environment on the Ballot
Ballot measures in Washington and California are especially important but others are worth noting.
The two biggest state initiatives are a $10 billion green bond proposal in California and a proposed rollback of Washington State’s new cap-and-trade program. The outcomes of these and other initiatives will provide a barometer of public sentiment on environmental issues.
CONTINUE READINGHow to Make Trees Worth More Standing Than Cut Down
The Katoomba Group is celebrating 25 years of pioneering new approaches to realizing value in nature. Here’s what we’ve learned.
West of Sydney, Australia, lies the Blue Mountains, a range of plateaus and panoramic canyons forested with eucalyptus trees. Oil in the leaves produces a bluish haze, hence the name of the area. Twenty-five years ago, in 1999, a new NGO called Forest Trends brought together a small international group to the town of Katoomba …
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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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