Environmental Justice
L.A. City’s Oil and Gas Ban: A Major Win for Environmental Justice Communities
A vote last week by the Los Angeles City Council will initiate a process to ban new oil and gas wells and phase out existing wells within the City’s limits. This historic vote is a major victory for environmental justice communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the harmful impacts of neighborhood oil drilling for …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change and Black History
Some important people in the climate arena are Black. But there are far too few of them.
Since this is Black History Month, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about some of the prominent contributions by Blacks to understanding and addressing climate change. Blacks are badly underrepresented in STEM fields such as atmospheric science and in environmental groups, but there are some important exceptions.(STEM stands for ‘Science, Technology, Engineering, and …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Contributor Sharaban Tahura Zaman: COP26 outcome on Carbon Markets: Takeaways for the Global South
Where is the Global South heading with carbon market mechanisms in the coming decade?
As a government delegate, I have been involved in the UN climate negotiation process since 2017 to uphold Bangladesh’s and the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group’s position. After an unsuccessful COP in Madrid (2019), as a Bangladeshi citizen (a country often referred to as “ground zero” for its climate vulnerability) I had to wait another …
CONTINUE READINGDebating Environmental Racism in the Ninth Circuit
A recent case occasioned a sharp exchange about accusation of environmental racism.
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice v. FAA is a Ninth Circuit opinion decided before the Thanksgiving break. It involved to a legal challenge to the FAA’s refusal to prepare a full-scale environmental impact statement before approving a major Amazon distribution center at the San Bernardino airport. I probably wouldn’t have read the decision …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Need for Enhanced and Meaningful Confidentiality in Tribal Cultural Resource Protection
For Indigenous Peoples, the forced removal from ancestral lands coupled with the Western commodification of human remains and ceremonial objects has resulted in a devastating and ongoing loss of cultural resources. This loss includes both tangible resources and landscapes as well as intangible traditional knowledge. During the pursuit of cultural resource protection, tribes are compelled …
CONTINUE READINGAfrica in 2050
The continent will face vast challenges. Dealing with them is a global priority.
Take explosive population growth, acute vulnerability to future climate change, and social vulnerability. Stir well and bake. That’s a recipe for trouble. It’s also Africa in 2050. Overcoming the resulting problems is among humanity’s greatest challenges. Currently, 490 million Africans live below the extreme poverty level ($2/day per person). The number is rising but the …
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CONTINUE READINGLos Angeles County Passes Motions to Protect Environmental Justice Communities from Urban Oil Drilling
UCLA Wells Clinic provides legal support.
This post is co-authored by Sean Hecht, Cara Horowitz, and Beth Kent. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed three motions earlier this month that will start a process of phasing out existing oil and gas drilling on unincorporated land within the County, prohibiting new oil and gas extraction wells, and implementing a strategy …
CONTINUE READINGGreening the Land of Lincoln
Illinois passes pathbreaking energy law.
Last week, Illinois’s governor signed into law a major piece of climate legislation. The law deserves more attention than it has received. Sadly, however, Illinois seems to be something of a neglected stepchild in the media. That’s a pity, because there are some important lessons in Illinois’s experience, both for the Midwest and the country …
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CONTINUE READINGOregon Takes a Big Step Forward
New climate legislation sets a high bar for other states.
On Wednesday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a package of four clean energy bills. These bills move Oregon to the forefront of climate action. These laws ban new fossil fuel plants and set aggressive targets for the state’s two major utilities, requiring emission cuts of 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. …
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CONTINUE READINGTaxing Carbon?
Should we adopt a corporate carbon tax? Something to think about on Tax Day.
Today is Tax Day, delayed from its usual spot in mid-April due a backlog at the IRS. It seems like an apt time to think about a carbon tax. At present, it doesn’t seem to be on Biden’s agenda, but agendas can change with circumstances, sometimes unpredictably. Politically, the biggest problem with a carbon tax …
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