Energy
Legal Planet Hits the Top 50
LexisNexis Communities has named Legal Planet as one of the top fifty environmental and climate change blog sites for 2011. Legal Planet is one of four sites named in the Academic/Educational category. The judges had this to say about us: “A collaboration of academic giants, this blog draws upon the resources and expertise of the …
Continue reading “Legal Planet Hits the Top 50”
CONTINUE READINGChanging Course on Consumption
We need to begin rethinking how much and what we consume, as well as how we produce the goods, services, and energy used by consumers.
CONTINUE READINGHome Solar Good for More Than a Guilty Conscience
Despite all of the tax breaks, utility rebates, and net metering potential, the common assumption is that rooftop residential photovoltaics are not economical for many customers. Some people figure that you install a solar system if you want to feel good about yourself, or make a statement about the environment, but you had better expect …
Continue reading “Home Solar Good for More Than a Guilty Conscience”
CONTINUE READINGPreviewing the Supreme Court Oral Arguments in AEP v. Connecticut
On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the only environmental case on its docket this Term: American Electric Power v. Connecticut. At issue in this critically important climate change case is whether a coalition of states, New York City and several private land trusts can pursue a federal common law nuisance claim …
Continue reading “Previewing the Supreme Court Oral Arguments in AEP v. Connecticut”
CONTINUE READINGEnergy and Development
Readers of this blog may be interested in a new blog by my ERG colleague Dan Kammen. Dan is currently on leave from Berkeley to head the Clean Tech effort at the World Bank as the Bank’s Chief Technical Specialist for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. Recent subjects range from cook stoves in Africa to …
Continue reading “Energy and Development”
CONTINUE READINGRepublicans Hate Their Grandchildren
Eleven days ago, I was relieved that the Administration stood firm on anti-EPA riders, but asked, “what will the level of EPA funding be? If Congress and the White House agree to serious cuts that starve the agency of necessary personnel, then the absence of a rider is a Pyrrhic victory.” Well, now we know …
Continue reading “Republicans Hate Their Grandchildren”
CONTINUE READINGConservatives and climate change
Dan notes, in a recent post, the ways in which potential Republican presidential candidates are backwards-pedaling on whatever statements they might once have made supporting action to address climate change. (Climate change is apparently the new former mistriss — we’ve all flirted in the past with things we now regret.) Former Congressman Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) spoke at UCLA …
Continue reading “Conservatives and climate change”
CONTINUE READINGPolitical Fallout from Japan Hits Germany
According to HuffPo, BERLIN — German chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives have suffered a historic defeat in a state ballot after almost six decades in power there, partial results showed Sunday, in an election that amounted to a referendum on the party’s stance on nuclear power. The opposition anti-nuclear Greens doubled their voter share in Baden-Wuerttemberg …
Continue reading “Political Fallout from Japan Hits Germany”
CONTINUE READINGJapan Nuclear Update
The NY Times has a very good page showing the current status of each of the six reactors. All of them remain problems in one way or another, either because of the reactors themselves or the spent fuel. The Post also has an interactive, featuring an animated presentation. No one seems to expect a full …
Continue reading “Japan Nuclear Update”
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Dump Trucks v. CARB
The California Dump Truck Owners Association (“CDTOA”) filed suit in February 2011 against the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”). The suit alleges that CARB’s Truck and Bus Regulation, which is part of the suite of regulations under AB 32 to address greenhouse gas emissions, is unconstitutional. CARB’s Truck and Bus Regulation sets stricter emissions standards for …
Continue reading “California Dump Trucks v. CARB”
CONTINUE READING