Politics
A republican moment on climate change? Maybe not yet
The environmental community has been understandably excited about the prospect of finally getting U.S. legislative action in light of the popularity of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, the development of a public consensus on the reality of global warming, the election of Barack Obama, and strong Democratic majorities in both House and Senate. That optimism, …
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CONTINUE READINGEnergy and Environment Issues in the House
According to Energy and Environment Daily, House members have organized to promote energy and climate legislation “Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) are co-chairmen of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, a new caucus designed to push for policies that promote renewable energy and domestic manufacturing, create “green collar” jobs, help curb global …
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CONTINUE READINGMore accusations of politics trumping science and law at Interior
The Washington Post reports that officials at the Department of Interior ignored “key scientific findings” and the views of National Park Service officials “when they limited water flows in the Grand Canyon to optimize generation of electric power there, risking damage to the ecology of the spectacular national landmark.” The Post story, written by Juliet …
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CONTINUE READINGA Wavering Federal Policy on Climate Change?
President Obama yesterday made official (sort of) his plan to fulfill a campaign pledge to grant the State of California authority to adopt pioneering greenhouse gas emission controls for vehicular sources. That announcement, while expected, is a breath of fresh air when it comes to state-federal environmental policymaking. It comes after eight frustrating years in …
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CONTINUE READINGThe perfect political storm
Co-blogger Dan Farber points to a story in Tuesday’s NY Times about a new study by NOAA’s Susan Solomon and others of the environmental effects of allowing carbon dioxide to equilibrate at levels much above its current 385 ppm. As Dan points out, the prospects for already dry areas are frightening. There’s another important lesson …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Awesome Power of the Blogosphere
Very early this morning, the good folks at the Northwestern Law Review published my article suggesting that the US Trade Representative serve as the lead agency for subsequent international climate change negotiation. A few hours later, President Obama announced that Todd Stern will serve as his international climate change representative, and work under Hillary Clinton …
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CONTINUE READINGNew federal appointees’ sharp differences will make EPA/OMB relationship one to watch
As Dan notes in an earlier post, Cass Sunstein has been selected to direct the White House office that oversees regulation by agencies, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and budget. An in-depth article in today’s Los Angeles Times discusses the controversy over his nomination among environmental and labor advocates. From the Times: …
CONTINUE READINGLisa Heinzerling to EPA
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has appointed Georgetown law professor Lisa Heinzerling to be her chief advisor on climate change. Heinzerling was editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review and clerked for Judge Richard Posner. She co- authored Priceless, a critique of cost benefit analysis, and also wrote the lead brief for the plaintiffs in …
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CONTINUE READINGGood News for California
According to the Washingston Post: Obama will instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider whether to grant California a waiver to regulate automobile tailpipe emissions linked to global warming, sources said, and he will order the Transportation Department to issue guidelines that will ensure that the nation’s auto fleet reaches an average fuel efficiency of …
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CONTINUE READINGSunstein and the Environment
To the dismay of many environmentalists, President Obama has selected Professor Cass Sunstein to head a key department at OMB. This department has been in charge of applying cost-benefit analysis to environmental regulations. For example, the Center for Progressive Regulation (CPR) has issued a report expressing great concern about the selection. According to CPR: …
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