Land Use
Mixed results in CA medical marijuana legislation
New state law to regulate medical marijuana makes important environmental progress, still much to be done
California is moving towards marijuana legalization. This is a good and important thing for a whole host of reasons, but one important reason is the environmental impact of unregulated and illegal marijuana cultivation on the environment – something that has been discussed both in the news and here on Legal Planet. Those impacts include diversion …
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CONTINUE READINGCA Supreme Court Rejects California State University’s CEQA Dodge–Again
Justices Hold CSU Can’t Pass the Buck re: Environmental Mitigation Measures Tied to Campus Expansion
In an important decision issued last week, the California Supreme Court forcefully rejected the California State University’s efforts to avoid paying for mitigation measures needed to offset the adverse environmental impacts associated with CSU’s ambitious expansion plans. That’s welcome if predictable news from a court that has in recent years been protective of the state’s bedrock …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown: Environmental Saint or Sinner?
Brown’s National & International Environmental Reputation Disputed by Some California Environmentalists
California Governor Jerry Brown has had a most eventful 2015, especially when it comes to environmental policy. He started the year fresh from an overwhelming election victory last November, earning him an unprecedented fourth term as California’s chief executive. Brown began 2015 by declaring a state drought emergency and becoming California’s “educator-in-chief,” repeatedly warning state …
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CONTINUE READINGTragedy of the Commons–California Drought-Style
State Farmers Planting New Almond Orchards Despite Critical Water Shortages
Traveling through California’s drought-striken San Joaquin Valley repeatedly over the past year, I’ve been surprised and disheartened to see that Valley farmers continue to convert their agricultural fields to newly-planted almond orchards. (My anecdotal observations have been confirmed by various recent press accounts.) This development is a striking, current example of Garrett Hardin’s Tragedy of …
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CONTINUE READINGClem Shute to be honored by California bar
Boalt alum will follow Joe Sax as second recipient of environmental law lifetime achievement award
This just in, courtesy of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger — Clem Shute (Boalt ’64) will be honored this fall with the second Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Field of Environmental Law. (The first Award, of course, went to the late Joe Sax.) Clem richly deserves this prestigious award. He has been a major player …
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CONTINUE READINGCould a Riparian Conservation Network increase the ecological resilience of public lands?
A new article suggests river corridors could leverage existing policies to build habitat connectivity
As we try to protect biological diversity for the future, a perpetual challenge is ensuring that the strategies we adopt today will continue to work in the face of changing conditions. How can we design conservation approaches that will be resilient in the face of environmental challenges that will only become more severe in coming years? …
CONTINUE READINGSaving California’s Beaches
New expert report offers recommendations for shoreline armoring management
As California’s beach goers and residents well know, erosion and climate change are already impacting the California coastline. Eighty percent of California’s coast is actively eroding, and the latest science projects that sea levels may rise up to 5 additional feet along much of the coast by the end of this century. Higher sea levels …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Housing Ordinance
Unanimous Court Rejects Developers’ Takings Challenge to San Jose’s Inclusionary Housing Measure
The California Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision issued today, rejected state developers’ efforts to nullify the City of San Jose’s affordable housing ordinance. That decision, California Building Industry Association v. City of San Jose, is critically important for both state land use policy and for constitutional principles governing private property rights and the proper scope …
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CONTINUE READINGTracking Coastal Adaptation
Implementing CA’s Innovative Sea Level Rise Planning Database
Higher sea levels are already affecting California’s 3400 miles of coastline, millions of coastal residents, economy, buildings, and critical infrastructure. Yet, oddly enough for a state that is a worldwide leader in climate change mitigation, California has only recently begun to focus seriously on sea level rise adaptation. Recent reports have cited a lack of preparedness …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Will Driverless Cars Do To The Climate?
A Formidable Challenge for Policymakers and Modelers
It’s no longer a question of whether driverless cars will appear on the market; it’s when and how many. The answers so far seem to be: 1) soon; and 2) lots. German automakers are so confident of this that they are already negotiating with Nokia to compete to Google’s self-driving cars. For Legal Planet, that means we …
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