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Lemonade
Can the COVID Crisis Benefit Climate Response?
Former Obama chief of staff and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel has been cited quite a bit for this quote: You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before. COVID-19 certainly meets the criteria of a serious …
CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Hands California Local Governments Big Climate Change Win
Local Governments’ Climate Change Lawsuits Against Big Energy Belong in State Courts, Court of Appeals Rules
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed numerous California local governments a major win over major oil, gas and coal companies in several of the nation’s most consequential set of climate change lawsuits. The Ninth Circuit did so in two separate opinions; County of San Mateo v. Chevron Corporation and City of …
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CONTINUE READINGDay In/Day Out, Our Continuing Troubles
Some things are episodic. Others just go on and on. And on.
You might think a massive disease outbreak or skyrocketing unemployment would make our other troubles come to a halt or at least slow down. But no, not so much. Here are a dozen examples of things that refuse to stop, regardless of the day of the week, the presence of an epidemic, or a collapsing …
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CONTINUE READINGNetworks of Misinformation
How Anti-Public Health Messages and Activities Spread
Like a virus, misinformation can spread within a population. It has its super-spreaders, just like the coronavirus. It can mutate in ways that make it more contagious. And it can be weaponized. Research into networks of coronavirus-related communication has revealed how both true and false information spread through social media . Misinformation can spread like …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Contributors Rosa Hayes and Samantha Peltz: Silver Linings in the 9th Circuit’s Juliana Decision
Juliana Litigation Provides Clues for Establishing Standing in Future Cases
For many aspiring environmental litigators, such as ourselves, the bold Juliana litigation was the little-case-that-could: it presented a novel constitutional theory to redress the climate crisis, survived a motion to dismiss against all odds, and went up to the Supreme Court not once, but twice. But on January 17, 2020, Juliana hit a significant roadblock …
CONTINUE READINGWhat Are The Benefits Of Phasing Out California’s Oil & Gas Production?
Emissions should decrease but multiple factors complicate any predictions
It might seem obvious that phasing out oil and gas production in California would benefit the climate. But the reality is much more complicated, in terms of emissions, economics and even geopolitics. CLEE just released the report Legal Grounds with policy options to reduce in-state production, but the question of how much a phase out …
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CONTINUE READINGDo Epidemic-Based Business Closures by Government Trigger an Unconstitutional “Taking”?
Longstanding U.S. Supreme Court Precedents Indicate the Answer is an Unequivocal “No”
Lately, an increasing number of public and private voices have been raised in opposition to business closures ordered by state and local governments in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. In many such cases, that opposition has taken the form of lawsuits filed by business owners, claiming a violation of their constitutional rights. Gun shops across …
CONTINUE READINGClimate’s Future in the Face of COVID
Even as emissions decrease, climate activists shouldn’t get comfortable
As many have pointed out, air and water pollution have plummeted because of COVID-19. My colleague Ben Harris wrote about the many positive environmental impacts that global-scale quarantine has caused – and they’re truly inspiring. Some have pointed to this massive pollution reduction to illustrate that “we are the virus”. Perhaps the pollution reduction is …
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CONTINUE READINGA Solar Geoengineering Milestone Goes Largely Unnoticed
The first explicit, meaningful outdoor test garnered little attention in the news or from environmentalists
In response to insufficient cuts in greenhouse gas emission, some scientists and others are researching solar geoengineering. These techniques would reflect a small portion of incoming sunlight to cool the planet and counter climate change. A major step in solar geoengineering was recently taken, although you probably wouldn’t know it from reading the news or …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Looming Liability of Orphaned Oil Wells
Abandoned wells pose a rising risk to the state as the industry struggles
Recent reports are highlighting a looming environmental threat from the ongoing struggles of the oil and gas industry, which derive from a combination of the demand impacts of the covid-19 pandemic and long-running price wars and financing challenges. As more operators face bankruptcy, states including California may face a boom in “orphaned wells”: oil and …
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