Events
Property Rights and California Raisins: Headed to the Supreme Court–Again
Justices To Rule on Whether Feds’ Depression-Era Agricultural Regulations Unconstitutionally “Take” Farmers’ Property Without Compensation
The media and U.S. Supreme Court watchers have understandably focused on the justices’ order yesterday agreeing to review the constitutionality of state same-sex marriage bans–automatically making it the “blockbuster” issue before the Court this Term. Largely overshadowed by that news was the justices’ contemporaneous decision to revisit the interrelated issues of property rights, the Takings …
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CONTINUE READINGAmerica’s Future on the California Supreme Court
I’m not sure that anyone has pointed this out before: as of last week, when Justices Mariano-Florentino Cuellar and Leondra R. Krueger were sworn, the California Supreme Court does not have a single white male. I believe that that is the first time in US history where that has happened on a high court in …
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CONTINUE READINGLocal Planning For Solar Energy — Berkeley Law Webinar
Free event on December 11th, 10-11am, features the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research
The webinars keep coming! Berkeley Law is hosting another free webinar next week on best practices for integrating integrating small- and medium-scale solar energy policies into local general plans. Joining us once again will be Chris Calfee from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), who will provide the latest on the general plan …
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CONTINUE READINGInfill Planning Webinar — Tuesday, December 9th, 10-11am
Berkeley Law will host the free event, which features the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research
UC Berkeley Law is hosting a free webinar on best practices for integrating infill-supportive policies into general plans. Joining us will be Chris Calfee from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), who will provide the latest on the general plan guidelines update process. This web-based event will take place on December 9th (next …
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CONTINUE READINGMono Lake at 20: Past, Present and Future
Symposium in Sacramento, November 17
Please join us as the UC Berkeley School of Law, with stakeholders in the Mono Lake Cases, convenes a symposium in Sacramento on November 17, 2014, to mark the 20th anniversary of the State Water Resources Control Board’s Decision 1631. Panel presentations feature an cast of thought leaders, including: Marty Adams (Los Angeles Department of Water …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA / UC Berkeley Law Report On Harvesting Electric Vehicle Batteries For Grid Storage
Joint law school report will be discussed at a webinar on Friday at 10am
As I blogged about last week, California and the nation may have a golden opportunity to harvest used electric vehicle batteries for inexpensive energy storage. These repurposed batteries can be stacked for bulk storage to absorb surplus renewable energy for cloudy and dark windless times. They can save ratepayers money, clean the grid, and potentially …
CONTINUE READINGCleaning The Grid With “Second Life” Electric Vehicle Batteries
Register now for a webinar on the forthcoming UCLA/UC Berkeley Law report, next Friday from 10-11am
As California faces an increasing need for more energy storage to integrate variable renewables and provide other grid services, used electric vehicle batteries could be a critical – and inexpensive – part of the solution. Sales of electric vehicles in the United States are heading toward a quarter million, with 100,000 of those purchases in …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard: Before the Supreme Court
Will the Justices Choose to Decide the LCFS’s Constitutionality?
You might think that the U.S. Supreme Court, having decided the Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA Clean Air Act case on Monday, was done for the current Term when it comes to environmental law and policy. Think again. Today the justices met in conference to decide whether to grant review in a large number of pending …
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CONTINUE READINGBreaking News: U.S. Supreme Court Renders Split Decision in Major Climate Change Case
The U.S. Supreme Court today issued its long-awaited decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency, the justices’ third encounter with climate change law and policy. In a Solomonic ruling, the Court ruled that EPA lacks authority to require the operators of “stationary sources” of greenhouse gas emissions (power plants, factories, etc.) to obtain …
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Court Upholds State Water Board’s Broad Authority to Ban Unreasonable Uses of Water
Ruling is Especially Timely, Given California’s Ongoing and Severe Drought Conditions
I recently wrote about a then-pending court case in which California grape growers were challenging the State Water Resources Control Board’s limits on the growers’ diversion of water from California rivers and streams to provide frost protection for their grapes. That litigation is important because it goes to the heart of the Board’s authority under …
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