Pollution & Health

Can Six-year-olds Understand the Tragedy of the Commons?

Maybe not.  But perhaps eight-year-olds can. Last Wednesday morning, I showed up for my weekly library volunteering at my daughter’s first grade class.  School cutbacks meant that the librarian wasn’t there, so the teacher, another parent and I had to make do.  The display was about Earth Day, since I had to find a book to read …

CONTINUE READING

What Do Environmental Law Scholars Write About?

Some of our readers who aren’t in law schools  probably wonder what environmental law professors actually do. (Some of our readers who are in law schools might be wondering the same thing!).  I thought it might be helpful to provide a sample of recent scholarship.  Here are recent lists of working papers from SSRN.com, which …

CONTINUE READING

Remembering Rachel Carson

Earth Day seems an appropriate time to recall past leaders in environmental thought.  Few have played a greater role in the development of U.S. environmental law than Rachel Carson (1907-1964), whose books did much to spark the environmental movement.  It is good to hear that her books have been reprinted as ebooks by Open Road …

CONTINUE READING

Damage Control for the States: Predicting the Outcome in AEP v. Connecticut

Yesterday I previewed Tuesday’s oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court’s American Electric Power v. Connecticut case, and two of my Legal Planet colleagues have already posted comments on certain aspects of those arguments. But let me cast discretion to the wind and predict the outcome of the case. Actually, it’s not that difficult a …

CONTINUE READING

Reading the Mary Nichols (carbon) tea leaves

It’s undoubtedly dangerous to try to read too much into short media quotes.  But Mary Nichols, the chair of the California Air Resources Board, is in a better position than most to judge (and to influence) the political winds on the future of the State’s cap-and-trade program.   Here’s her latest public statement on the issue, made during an appearance last …

CONTINUE READING

Previewing the Supreme Court Oral Arguments in AEP v. Connecticut

On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the only environmental case on its docket this Term: American Electric Power v. Connecticut. At issue in this critically important climate change case is whether a coalition of states, New York City and several private land trusts can pursue a federal common law nuisance claim …

CONTINUE READING

Explaining EPA’s Authority Under the Clean Air Act to Address Climate Change

In a new white paper by the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR), Amy Sinden and I try to  clear up some misconceptions about climate change and the Clean Air Act. Critics of EPA maintain that the Clean Air Act is somehow an inappropriate tool to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and that EPA should be …

CONTINUE READING

The War Against State Environmental Protection

Although much of the attention has been on Congress, states have also seen major budget-cutting efforts, with a disproportionate amount of cuts targeted on state environmental agencies.  As the NY Times reports, Governor LePage summed up the animus while defending his program in a radio address. “Maine’s working families and small businesses are endangered,” he …

CONTINUE READING

Cultivating Pot A Huge Source Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

I’m not kidding.  And oh the possibilities for bad puns. “Energy Up in Smoke” is the title of a new study that finds that marijuana production in the United States results in 1 percent of all electricity production across the country. One percent of all electricity production is the equivalent of providing electricity to 2 million …

CONTINUE READING

UCLA Law Symposium: Perspectives on Climate Change

Please join us at UCLA Law School on April 15th for the 2011 Environmental Law Symposium, Perspectives on Climate Change, Pollution and the Clean Air Act. The keynote speaker will be Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. Please RSVP. You can also check out the program for more information. Panel …

CONTINUE READING

Join Our Mailing List

Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

TRENDING