Pollution & Health Archives - Page 18 of 69

Pollution & Health

Idling Cars, Dirty Air

The pollution isn’t just indoors. It’s also inside the car or bus.

Being stuck in traffic is even worse than you thought. A new study, reported in yesterday’s NY Times, “pollution levels inside cars at red lights or in traffic jams are up to 40 percent higher than when traffic is moving.” But things could be worse: you could be a kid on an older school bus. …

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“We’re Not, You Know, People That Don’t Want Those Things”

Trump promises clean air, clean water, safety, and a free lunch.

Every now and then, you see a car with one bumper sticker that says “Support Our Troops” and another that says “Abolish the IRS.” It doesn’t seem to have occurred to the car’s owner that supporting our troops includes paying and equipping them, and that someone is going to have to collect the taxes to …

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Rio’s Dirty Water

Everyone seems to be talking about the pollution in Guanabara Bay

With the Opening Ceremonies for the 2016 Summer Olympics set for tomorrow night, the world’s attention is turned to Brazil. For someone with a great love for the country, it is disheartening to see the series of articles in the run-up to the Olympics emphasizing the negatives—challenges due to political turmoil, security concerns, the Zika …

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Do water managers’ perceptions influence innovation?

New survey probes the innovation deficit

Climate change and population growth are rapidly increasing stress on our water systems, challenging their ability to deliver critical services. To respond to this, we need more than simple course adjustments in how we manage our water – we need entirely new paradigms that will improve resource efficiency and support more sustainable urban water systems. Considerable …

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Major Settlement Announced in Volkswagen Emissions Fraud Litigation

$14.7 Billion Civil Enforcement Settlement is a Victory for Consumers, Environmental Prosecutors

Federal and state environmental prosecutors today announced a proposed settlement of government civil enforcement litigation they’ve pursued against Volkswagen in response to the automaker’s acknowledged efforts to cheat federal and state auto emission standards and defraud consumers. The complex settlement, lodged with the assigned U.S. district court judge in San Francisco, requires Volkswagen to pay …

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Barry Goldwater, Environmentalist

Goldwater was passionate about saving the planet.

Barry Goldwater’s views on the environment didn’t have much in common with those of the present-day conservatives who are his ideological descendants. His 1970 book, The Conscience of a Majority, has half a chapter about the environment. “Our job,” he said, “is to prevent that lush orb known as the Earth . . . from …

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The Irony of a Developing Nation’s Climate Agenda

The challenge of developing and decarbonizing at the same time

Mexico has been busy. Or at least, its energy and environmental ministers have been. Over the last several years, Mexico has held its first auction for renewable energy contracts, opened its energy market to private competitors, and increased its renewable energy capacity by more than thirty times the level in 2008. At the same time, …

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Statutory Standing After the Spokeo Decision

A non-environmental case opens the door to new arguments about standing.

One of the recurring questions in standing law is the extent to which Congress can change the application of the standing doctrine. A recent Supreme Court opinion in a non-environmental case sheds some light – not a lot, but some – on this recurring question. The Court has made it clear that there is a …

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Reinventing Parks & Rec.

We need to protect city parks, not just rural wilderness.

“The few green havens that are public parks” is a phrase from the Supreme Court’s opinion in the Overton Park case. The case involved a plan to build a highway through the middle of a major park in Memphis. The Court put a heavy burden on the government to justify the project: “The few green havens …

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California Fines SoCal Gas for Corroded Pipe Casings

The CPUC issued the fine after finding dozens of violations

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a citation for violations of a federal regulation on Southern California Gas Co. (SoCal Gas) totaling $2.25 million. The citation is based on forty-five violations of a federal regulation requiring that operators “take prompt remedial action to correct any deficiencies indicated by” external corrosion monitoring. According to the May …

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Here We Go Again! (Maybe)

The possibility of a second Trump presidency looms ahead. Time for some contingency planning!

Is 2025 the Year of the Carbon Tax?

Carbon border adjustment mechanisms are increasingly the talk of Washington. UCLA Law’s Kimberly Clausing explains some of the options on the table.

Renewable Energy: A Timeline

Today’s wind and solar resources didn’t come out of nowhere.

Understanding Loper: A Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing?

The real world effects may be limited. Or they may undercut presidential power, to the surprise of advocates of the unitary executive.

Understanding Loper: The Grandfather Clause

Hundreds of past federal cases relied on Chevron. They remain good law.

Understanding Loper: The Primacy of Skidmore

A previously obscure 1944 case will now be central to judicial review.

$10 Billion Climate Bond Heads to the California Ballot

Prop 4 would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10 billion toward safe drinking water and groundwater, wildfire and forest programs, and to combat sea level rise.

Understanding Loper: Delegation & Discretion

Something similar to Chevron deference may still apply to many (most?) regulations.

Playing fast and loose with reality

How the US Supreme Court’s recent decisions enable greater reliance on “alternative” facts

(Energy) Independence Day

A post in which I surprise readers — and myself — with strong praise for George W. Bush.

Losing Chevron: What Does It Mean for California?

The Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright will not necessarily impact how California courts review our state agency determinations. But we’ll feel it in other ways.

Pollution & Health

The pollution isn’t just indoors. It’s also inside the car or bus.

Trump promises clean air, clean water, safety, and a free lunch.

Everyone seems to be talking about the pollution in Guanabara Bay

New survey probes the innovation deficit

$14.7 Billion Civil Enforcement Settlement is a Victory for Consumers, Environmental Prosecutors

Goldwater was passionate about saving the planet.

The challenge of developing and decarbonizing at the same time

A non-environmental case opens the door to new arguments about standing.

We need to protect city parks, not just rural wilderness.

The CPUC issued the fine after finding dozens of violations

TRENDING

The possibility of a second Trump presidency looms ahead. Time for some contingency planning!

Carbon border adjustment mechanisms are increasingly the talk of Washington. UCLA Law’s Kimberly Clausing explains some of the options on the table.

Today’s wind and solar resources didn’t come out of nowhere.

The real world effects may be limited. Or they may undercut presidential power, to the surprise of advocates of the unitary executive.

Hundreds of past federal cases relied on Chevron. They remain good law.

A previously obscure 1944 case will now be central to judicial review.

Prop 4 would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10 billion toward safe drinking water and groundwater, wildfire and forest programs, and to combat sea level rise.

Something similar to Chevron deference may still apply to many (most?) regulations.

How the US Supreme Court’s recent decisions enable greater reliance on “alternative” facts

A post in which I surprise readers — and myself — with strong praise for George W. Bush.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright will not necessarily impact how California courts review our state agency determinations. But we’ll feel it in other ways.

Perplexed? Worried? Here’s a guide to a fraught area of law.

The Supreme Court has already grabbed power from agencies through the major questions doctrine.

We used to have the Chevron test? What test do we have now?

Today’s wind and solar resources didn’t come out of nowhere.

Hundreds of past federal cases relied on Chevron. They remain good law.

A previously obscure 1944 case will now be central to judicial review.

Something similar to Chevron deference may still apply to many (most?) regulations.

How the US Supreme Court’s recent decisions enable greater reliance on “alternative” facts

A post in which I surprise readers — and myself — with strong praise for George W. Bush.