Events
Donald Trump Creates the Green New Deal
Emergency Powers Can Be Very….Flexible
Mitch McConnell announced on the Senate floor today that Donald Trump will sign the new border compromise, then declare a National Emergency at the border, and use Presidential powers under the Emergency declaration to fund at least part of his border wall. Demonstrating his central philosophical principle — party over country — McConnell announced his …
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CONTINUE READINGCommemorating a Major Environmental Disaster–One With a Transformative Legacy
1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill Sparked the Beginning of America’s Modern Environmental Era
This week marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most serious and consequential environmental disasters in American history–the Santa Barbara offshore oil spill of 1969. On January 28, 1969, an offshore oil rig (Platform A) owned and operated by the Union Oil Company and operating in federally-controlled waters in the Santa Barbara Channel off …
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CONTINUE READING2019 California Water Law Symposium Set for February 2nd in San Francisco
This Year’s Edition of the Award-Winning Event Focuses on Groundwater Management
The 15th Annual California Water Law Symposium will convene on Saturday, February 2, 2019. This year’s Symposium venue is the UC Hastings College of the Law in downtown San Francisco. The theme of next month’s Symposium is California groundwater, with a focus on implementation of the state’s landmark 2014 legislation, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”). The Water Law …
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CONTINUE READINGNew CEQA SB 743 Transportation Guidelines Finally Finalized
Critical revisions will be discussed at March 1st Conference in Los Angeles — register now!
It took five years, but California has finally ditched an outdated and counter-productive metric for evaluating transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). With the guidelines finalized on December 28th, a mere half-decade since the passage of SB 743 (Steinberg) in 2013, the state will ditch “auto delay” as a measure of project …
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CONTINUE READINGAssessing–and Celebrating–California Governor Jerry Brown’s Environmental Legacy
Governor Brown Easily Ranks as the Top Environmental Governor in State History
Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got `Til it’s gone –Joni Mitchell (“Big Yellow Taxi”) On this, the last day of Jerry Brown‘s tenure as California’s governor, it’s appropriate to reflect on Governor Brown’s environmental legacy. And a most formidable legacy it’s been. Brown has, quite …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Proposition 6: Bad Policy & Nefarious Politics
Proposed Repeal of California’s Landmark “Gas Tax” Legislation Would Be Disastrous for State
Politicians don’t like to focus on infrastructure maintenance. It’s not sexy, doesn’t command media headlines, and captures little public attention. But maintaining a functioning, safe public infrastructure system is vital to ensuring a strong economy, protecting public safety and promoting long-term environmental goals. That’s why Proposition 6, a measure on California’s November 6th general election …
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CONTINUE READINGU.C. Davis Law’s Environmental Law Center Releases Proposition 3 White Paper
Report Analyzes California’s Newest, Multi-Billion Dollar Water Bond Initiative
The U.C. Davis School of Law’s California Environmental Law & Policy Center has published a detailed analysis of one of the most controversial initiative measures facing California voters on the November 6, 2018 general election ballot: Proposition 3. California’s Proposition 3: A Policy Analysis provides a detailed summary and analysis of the proposed “Water Supply …
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CONTINUE READINGSupreme Court Stays Upcoming Juliana Trial
Chief Justice Roberts’ Order a Major Win for the Trump Administration
The presently-constituted U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t seem to care for climate change litigation or regulation. On Friday the Supreme Court took the extraordinary step of freezing pending discovery and the scheduled October 29th trial date in the closely-watched Juliana v. United States litigation. In a brief order, Chief Justice Roberts stayed all district court proceedings …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Wild & Scenic Rivers Act Turns 50
Celebrating a Half Century of Protecting America’s Rivers–& Hoping for More River Conservation Ahead
1968 was an especially tumultuous year in modern American history. The nation endured the assassinations of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy; then-President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek reelection due to growing public dissatisfaction with the government’s conduct of the Vietnam War; and protests and riots consumed Chicago, Detroit, Washington, …
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CONTINUE READINGReflections from Climate Conference No. 2: The Global Climate Action Summit
Similarly inspiring, with an added dollop of controversy
Last week’s Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco was at once exciting, inspiring, thought-provoking, and controversial. While I was reinvigorated to push my career in climate change and environmental law and policy, it also forced me to critically think about the nuances in climate change policymaking. As promised, here is an overview of my …
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