Events

The BP Deepwater Horizon Blowout and the Social and Environmental Erosion of the Louisiana Coast

  In a lecture that I gave last week at the University of Minnesota, I discussed how the Louisiana Coast was under grave threat from erosion, rising seas, and pollution even before the explosion on the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon platform. Whole communities have vanished under the rising water, and the livelihoods and communities of …

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The New Yorker on Climate Legislation

Read the whole thing.  Really.  Because if you don’t, and all you do is read the subtitle — How the Senate and the White House missed their best chance to deal with climate change — or just read the tag line — “Everybody is going to be thinking about whether Barack Obama was the James …

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Major Berkeley Conference on Climate and Energy

Today and tomorrow, Berkeley is hosting a major conference featuring leading scientists, engineers, and policy analysts.  The keynote speakers include: Ralph Cicerone, President, National Academy of Sciences Chris Field, Co-chair, IPCC Working Group 2: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Arun Majumdar, Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, DOE A live webcast is available here.

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State AGs Ready to Attack Constitutionality of California’s AB 32

An important postscript to my earlier post regarding Berkeley Law’s/CLEE’s newly-published white paper on Proposition 23. That’s the California initiative measure that, if approved by voters this November, would suspend implementation of that state’s Global Warming Solutions Act, better known as AB 32. The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that the Attorneys General of Alabama, …

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Travel Is Broadening–2010 Edition

Having just returned from a trip to Northern Europe, a couple of experiences resonate with me that, I hope, are worthy of sharing here. The first relates to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, British Petroleum, and the distinct ways in which BP’s role and responsibility for the spill are viewed, depending on one’s geographical roots. …

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World Environment Day

It may well have escaped your notice — I have to admit it had escaped mine — but today is World Environment Day.  UNEP has chosen Rwanda as the main site for this year’s celebration, which is one reason you might not have known about this if you’re in North America.  You may also be …

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More Intrigue for India’s Environment Minister

India’s current Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, is not a man to hold his tongue, and has become the most powerful minister in that post since it was founded.  Recently, he’s been in a lot of hot water for a speech he gave in China, where he castigated other government ministries for being “alarmist” and “paranoid” …

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Deepwater Horizon and the Dark Side of the Stevens Legacy

If John Paul Stevens was the architect of modern environmental law, the Deepwater Horizon disaster shows the effects of one of his worst building projects.

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The Offshore Oil Drilling Debate–Revisited (Again)

Earlier this month, the Sacramento Bee published an interesting point-counterpoint debate over the wisdom of re-commencing offshore oil drilling in the U.S., with a particular focus on California and the West Coast.   Arguing in favor of the proposition was U.C. Santa Barbara Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies Eric R.A.N.  Smith, who maintained that …

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India and Climate Change law and policy event – April 9 at UCLA

Please excuse the shameless promotion, but readers in the LA area may be interested in an all-day symposium on India and Climate Change being held at UCLA Law next Friday.  We’re excited to host cutting-edge conversations about India’s domestic climate change work and about how best to engage with India internationally, post-Copenhagen. More information on …

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