Environmental Justice
How Should We Implement the New Federal Climate Laws?
An upcoming symposium by the Emmett Institute will explore the key climate impacts of IIJA and the IRA and unpack some of the obstacles and controversies around their implementation.
This is the first of a series of posts previewing the Emmett Institute’s 2023 Symposium, coming up on April 12. Check out the second post, on transmission infrastructure, and the third post, on transportation; and RSVP for the Symposium here! The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act of …
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CONTINUE READINGCritical Native American Water Rights Cases Come Before the Supreme Court: Arizona v. Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation Has the Equities on Its Side, But the U.S. Department of the Interior May Well Have the Law in Its Favor
Today the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the last natural resources cases on its docket this Term: Arizona v. Navajo Nation and U.S. Department of the Interior v. Navajo Nation. These consolidated cases are consequential for several reasons: to determine the scope of the federal government’s trust obligations to Native American tribes; to …
CONTINUE READINGHow Garden-Variety Air Pollution Regulation Promotes Environmental Justice
Cleaning up our nation’s air benefits the disadvantaged most of all.
Evidence is mounting that air pollution regulation is an effective way of reducing health disparities between disadvantaged communities and the population as a whole. The basic reason is simple: Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to poor communities and communities of color. As the American Lung Association has said: “The burden of air pollution …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy the Bay Area’s Zero-Emission Appliance Rule is a Big Deal
BAAQMD’s trailblazing rule will ban the sale of new gas furnaces and water heaters to combat nitrogen oxide pollution. It marks a big victory for public health and the planet.
Air quality officials in the San Francisco Bay Area just made history by moving to adopt the nation’s first rules phasing out new gas-fueled water heaters and furnaces in homes and businesses within about eight years. This action serves as a major step in the effort to curb health-harming and planet-warming emissions from buildings. Several cities …
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CONTINUE READINGDeregulation, Normal Accidents, and the Airborne Toxic Event
What can we learn from the East Palestine train wreck?
Source: Wikimedia Commons The East Palestine train derailment is the story that won’t go away. Images of enraged residents shouting at company executives and government officials about the inadequacy of the response remind us all that across our vast industrial economy accidents of one sort or another are always waiting to happen while private firms …
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CONTINUE READINGDid Biden have to approve the Willow oil project?
ConocoPhillips has existing lease rights. But the Biden administration had tools to curtail those rights to limit harms.
Although the Biden administration has approved the Willow oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope—the largest proposed oil drilling on U.S. public land in several decades—the legal questions are far from settled. Much of the media coverage so far has focused on the political dynamics driving the decision (as noted with some alarm here and …
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CONTINUE READINGCutting 290,000 Tons of Water Pollution a Year, One Coal Plant at a Time
Coal is a dirty fuel. It’s not just air pollution or climate change.
EPA proposed new regulations next week to reduce the water pollution impacts of coal-fired power plants. As EPA regulations go, these count as fairly minor. They got a bit of news coverage in coal country and industry publications. But they will eliminate the discharge of thousands of tons of pollutants, including a lot of metals …
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CONTINUE READINGUnraveling LA’s Hydrogen Combustion Experiment
Combusting hydrogen could keep natural gas plants online, but they won’t be “green” for years––if ever.
This is Part II of “Unraveling Hydrogen,” a series covering the basics of hydrogen policy. The first post, introducing the series and covering how hydrogen is produced, is available here. Led Zeppelin’s eponymous 1969 album featured an iconic photo of the Airship Hindenburg going up in flames above Lakewood, New Jersey in 1937. By all …
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CONTINUE READINGOil’s Fate is in CA Voters’ Hands
A measure backed by the oil industry to overturn an oil and gas ban will appear on the ballot in 2024. There are lessons from the plastic bag ban referendum.
The impacts of oil and gas production on the environment and communities, particularly low-income communities of color, are well-documented. The health effects associated with living near oil and gas wells include asthma, nose bleeds, headaches, birth defects, cancer, and premature death. Oil and gas operations also pollute the air and water and contribute to climate …
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CONTINUE READINGNeed Quick Climate Solutions? Check Out Our “Climate Break” Podcast
Berkeley Law production also airing every Thursday on NPR-affiliate KALW in San Francisco
Climate change news is often quite depressing, with frequent stories on the science and ever-worsening impacts. What gets lost in this otherwise important coverage is the amazing and inspiring tales of innovation and solutions happening all around us, in every sector and walk of life. That’s why Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the …
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