Politics
Tracing Trump’s Trillion Trees
The president’s embrace of massive tree planting has a remarkable — and questionable — backstory
During last week’s State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump said: To protect the environment, days ago I announced that the United States will join the One Trillion Trees Initiative, an ambitious effort to bring together government and private sector to plant new trees in America and all around the world. Astute regular …
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CONTINUE READINGBold But Realistic Climate Actions
Here’s what a new President could actually do.
What options are available to a new President taking office in 2021? Let’s assume a favorable scenario for climate action in which Dems take unified control of the government (White House, Senate, House) in 2021. What then? The first theme to keep in mind is that the Democrats will still be subject to some significant …
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CONTINUE READINGElection 2020: The Battle for the Senate
Whatever happens to the White House, control of the Senate will be crucial.
It’s natural that the Presidential election has soaked up all the attention. But control of the Senate may be equally important — some might say even more important. If a Democrat wins in 2020, there will be little or no chance of passing significant legislation without control of Congress. It seems very likely that the …
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CONTINUE READINGBREAKING: SB 50 Voted Down By State Senators Representing Affluent Suburbs
Final vote today kills major climate-land use legislation to legalize apartments near transit
The California State Senate this morning (after an initial vote last night) narrowly and finally voted to kill SB 50, a major climate-land use bill that would have allowed apartment buildings near major transit stops and job centers, as well as fourplex conversions statewide. Despite high-profile opposition from some low-income tenants groups, the senators voting …
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CONTINUE READINGCan the Center Hold?
The Challenge to Mainstream Environmentalism
Is environmentalism facing a paradigm shift? Since the 1970s, mainstream environmentalists, lawyers, and scholars have sought incremental progress based on established law and political realities. But frustration with that approach is palpable. The face of climate advocacy is now seventeen-year-old activist Greta Thunberg rather than Establishment politician Al Gore. And there is growing frustration with …
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CONTINUE READINGLooking Ahead: Inauguration Day, 2021.
There are 3 plausible scenarios for the new balance of power.
Inauguration day is a year from today. What will the balance of power be then? The House doesn’t seem to be in play. Democrats have an uphill fight to win the Senate, so a GOP White House would probably mean a GOP Senate. That leaves three likely scenarios, with different implications for environmental law. Scenario …
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CONTINUE READINGCongress Mandates Pentagon Climate Action
The GOP’s climate denial doesn’t extend to DOD.
Everyone says climate laws can never pass Congress. But there’s a major exception. Each year since Trump took office, Congress has passed climate legislation as part of Defense Department spending. Trump has signed all of those laws. In 2017, there was a congressional finding that climate change is a threat to national security. In 2018, …
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CONTINUE READINGWe Can’t Count on Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Prevent Dangerous Climate Change
Although reducing emissions remains essential, it is time to focus on additional responses
Last month, representatives of all countries gathered for their annual meeting to prevent climate change. Despite the motto “Time for Action,” the New York Times described it as “one of the worst outcomes in a quarter-century of climate negotiations.” Should we be surprised? Disappointed? Despairing? I believe that insufficient cuts in greenhouse gas emissions — …
CONTINUE READINGBright Spots of 2019 (Yes, there were some!)
A bad year in many ways, but with promising signs for the future.
It’s been a tumultuous and often grim year in terms of environmental protection. The Trump Administration continued its onslaught against environmental protection, completing major regulatory rollbacks. Nevertheless, there were some rays of sun through the darkening clouds. State Initiatives. Progress as the state level continued, as it has throughout the Trump Administration. New York State …
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CONTINUE READINGThreat Assessment: The Supreme Court & the Environment
The current bench is tilted against environmental regulation. It could get worse.
In September, Take Back the Court issued a study entitled, “The Roberts Court Would Likely Strike Down Climate Change Legislation.” In my view, that’s too alarmist. But the current conservative majority definitely will be an obstacle to aggressive use of government regulation. That could hold true well into the 2030s, depending on who leaves the …
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