Environmental Justice
What the Hell Happened To The Sierra Club?
Its recent implosion over left-wing politics shows a trend that threatens environmental advocacy.
In an era of growing American fascism, for progressive organizations, there are successful strategies, and unsuccessful strategies. And then there is the Sierra Club, which appears to have destroyed itself, according to a depressing and enraging expose in the New York Times (co-written by David Fahrenthold, one of their best reporters): “Sierra Club is in …
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CONTINUE READINGAmerica’s Dirty Pictures: The Forgotten ‘Documerica’ Reminds Us How Far We’ve Come
The Documerica project, housed at the National Archives, provides a vivid window into environmental destruction circa the 1970s.
In recent decades, environmental laws have not only been challenged in courts and Congress; they’ve also taken a verbal beating. They’ve been denounced as “job killers”, “government overreach,” “radical environmentalism,” a “war on coal,” and, lately, just “woke.” It’s become all too easy to focus on the costs of regulation and forget why we adopted …
CONTINUE READINGGood COP, Bad COP in Belém, Brazil
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The United Nations mega-conference focused on climate change known as COP (“Conference of the Parties”) is well underway in Belém, Brazil with 193 countries plus the EU, 57 heads of state, 39 ministers and hundreds of governors, mayors, and local officials participating. Two of my UCLA Law colleagues are on the ground in Belém this …
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CONTINUE READINGManila Protests Over Environment Follow a Rich Tradition
Happy Filipino American History Month. Here’s a look at Filipino-led protests for environmental justice.
The Philippines made international news last month when several tens of thousands of protestors took over the streets of Manila to express their outrage over the government’s embezzlement of over a trillion Philippine pesos (approximately $17.6 billion USD) designated for flood control projects. Losing this amount of climate-designated funds to corruption would be problematic anywhere …
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CONTINUE READINGLighting Candles in Dark Times: Environmental Law Centers in the Trump Era
These law school centers show it’s possible find ways to make a difference.
Environmental law have become vibrant parts of the law and policy ecosystem. At a time when despondency seems all too common, the work of these law school centers offers beacons of hope for the future of environmental protection. Some of that work is playing defense — pushing back against deregulatory efforts — while other work plays offense by identifying innovative directions for environmental policy. A comprehensive survey isn’t practical, but I’ll provide examples from several different centers.
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Must Invest in Climate and Communities to Drive Climate Progress
The state has pioneered an approach—what’s worked, and what’s next?
As solar and other climate infrastructure construction accelerates, and with Californians concerned both about the cost of living and about seeing local opportunities result from climate projects, the conversation about community benefits (commitments to hiring and other local investments made by developers in connection with new projects) has grown increasingly animated in California and even …
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CONTINUE READINGWatch “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog”
LAPL
The American Experience’s “Clearing the Air: The War on Smog” tells an extraordinary story. It premieres on PBS this Tuesday.
A few years back, a colleague of mine, who I very much wanted to remain at UCLA, approached me because he was contemplating accepting an offer at a Washington, D.C. law school. He feared remaining in Los Angeles, even though he wanted to stay, because he didn’t want his young daughter exposed to the southland’s …
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CONTINUE READINGDear 2025 1L:
Avoiding a climate disaster isn’t something today’s students can plan on tackling “over the course of their careers.” The most critical time will be the next fifteen years, which means you’ll need to get to work quickly.What we do together between now and 2035 will determine what your lives look like in 2050 and 2080, and what your children and grandchildren will see in the next century. So grab your books, get yourselves ready, and be prepared to head for the trenches when you graduate. No time to waste!
CONTINUE READING“Hi, Can you Hear Me?” A CPUC Debrief
The California Public Utilities Commission heard an earful about neighborhood decarbonization. Here’s the input from Californians who support climate action.
More people who want climate action should attend public forums like the ones that the California Public Utilities Commission held last Thursday regarding the selection of neighborhood decarbonization projects. More of us should sit on these calls and sign up to speak. Even if we aren’t party to a specific proceeding or don’t feel expert …
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CONTINUE READINGGas Utilities Can Do Better on Neighborhood Electrification
The state’s largest gas utilities are trying to delay priority zones for decarbonization and to block public access to important data. The CPUC should push them to do more.
Last fall, I wrote about the promise of SB 1221, a law that created a pathway for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to approve pilot projects that will support priority “neighborhood decarbonization zones” to transition away from building gas service toward zero-emissions alternatives, including electrification and thermal energy networks. Now, the gas utilities have …
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