Politics
California Passes Landmark Corporate Climate Transparency Bills
SB 253 and SB 261 would be first-in-the-nation laws meant to pull back the curtain on emissions and climate risks.
After a hard-fought battle, the California Legislature passed the second of two nation-leading corporate climate accountability bills yesterday afternoon. The bills, SB 253 and SB 261, are important transparency measures that would, for the first time, allow Californians to meaningfully assess the carbon footprint of thousands of companies—and what those companies plan to do about …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Contradictory Attacks on Biden’s Climate Programs
“Job Killing” or “Overheating the Economy” — Which Is It?
“Job-killing regulations” is a longtime conservative meme. That attack has now been joined by the claim that major new spending for clean energy is overheating the economy. The inflation claim is new, prompted by the passage of the 2021 Infrastructure law and the 2022 IRA. And if they were both right, the two problems would …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change is Finally Heating Up Politics – But Not in a Good Way
Pitting defence of our ‘way of life’ against climate policies is a recipe for division and inaction
Climate impacts are growing rapidly in this El Niño affected summer. Despite calls to declare a climate emergency, President Biden has responded only with new measures to help Americans cope with extreme heat. The measures announced include hazard alerts, improved prediction of heatwaves, funding for air-conditioning and cool centers for low income groups, and guidance …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change Got 4 Minutes in the GOP Debate
Ron DeSantis is right: Stop asking candidates if they “believe in climate change” and ask them what they will do so we learn about their environmental deregulation agenda.
The topic of climate change got about 4 minutes of airtime during the first half of the first presidential primary debate held this week by Fox News. That’s actually a pleasant surprise when you think about it: human-caused global warming came up before Donald Trump’s indictments. In case you missed it, the full transcript of …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change & the 1st GOP Debate
Mostly, they didn’t want to talk about the issue. They certainly didn’t want to talk about solutions.
Somewhat to my surprise, there was a question at the first GOP debate about climate change. The candidates’ pre-debates views, which the NY Times helpfully collected, provided insight into possible directions for GOP energy policy. It’s even possible that reality has started to make a dent into the party;’s reflexive climate denial. The climate question …
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CONTINUE READINGGOP Contenders and the Climate Issue
Flat-out denialism seems to be fading in the face of reality.
The first Republican presidential debate will be on Wednesday. I doubt moderators will ask about climate change. It turns out, however, that there’s some spread of views among the candidates. Apart from Trump, each of them is jockeying to pick up enough GOP support to be a serious contender. Their views, which the NY Times …
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CONTINUE READINGMontana “Youth Citizens” Win Landmark Climate Change Trial
Court rules Montana’s state constitutional guarantee of a clean & healthful environment for Montanans prevails over state officials’ fossil fuel-centric policies
A Montana state district court has issued its long-awaited decision in a major climate change case brought by Montana children against state officials. In Held v. State of Montana, a Montana trial court ruled that the state Constitution’s guarantee of a healthy and clean environment prevails over Montana’s longstanding fossil-fuel-based state energy policies. The “youth citizen” …
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CONTINUE READINGDonald Trump vs. The MQD
Ironically, a conservative legal doctrine might block some of his excesses.
Trump hasn’t been at all secretive about plans for a possible second term. He has plans, big plans. So big, in fact, that they may collide with a conservative judicial rule called the Major Question Doctrine (MQD). Since the Court has mostly used the MQD to block initiatives by Democratic presidents, it would be more …
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CONTINUE READINGRFK Jr. and Climate Change
Even on the environment, his views are strange and unsettling.
Robert Kennedy, Jr., has polled surprisingly well so far. That may well be a fluke, but it may be worth taking a look at his views at this point. Unlike his views on vaccines, his views on climate change don’t involve blanket denial of science. But they do involve some of the same populist fears …
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CONTINUE READINGSackett and the Dangers of a New ‘Clear-Statement Rule’
The Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA will be bad for the nation’s wetlands. It is just as bad for democracy.
The Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA limits the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to defend a large portion of the nation’s wetlands and waterways from pollution. The decision strips key environmental protections from the Clean Water Act by narrowly defining which bodies of water can be regulated under the Act, making it the most …
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