Regulation
The “Write Your Own Permit” Approach to Climate Mitigation
We seem to be at an impasse. Cap-and-trade seems to be in political disrepute; market-oriented economists must find it aggravating that their idea is now considered too “liberal.” Carbon taxes give politicians cardiac arrest. “Command and control” regulation is out of fashion. Perhaps it’s time to try something new. Here’s an alternative that has some …
Continue reading “The “Write Your Own Permit” Approach to Climate Mitigation”
CONTINUE READINGPesticides, Science and Politics
Those three can make for a toxic environment, literally and figuratively. Take the case of methyl iodide, a material so obviously toxic that scientists use it to induce cancer in laboratory experiments. Arysta LifeScience Corporation has obtained a federal pesticide registration from EPA for use as a fumigant, despite a letter from 50 scientists, including five …
Continue reading “Pesticides, Science and Politics”
CONTINUE READINGNew environmental dating site matches fossil fuel industry lobbyists, elected officials
I’ve never been involved in either of two trends that have exploded in recent years: internet dating, and lobbying of federal officials by fossil fuel-based energy-producing companies. But I just learned about a new website that links the two. The site, Polluter Harmony, says it “is the #1 matchmaking site for polluters, industry lobbyists, & politicians.” Although …
CONTINUE READINGThe New Federal Climate Agency
The administration creates a new federal climate agency; let’s put it in the right place.
CONTINUE READINGThe Best Defense….
Ann cautions about downplaying the findings that the IPCC report erred in predicting the melting of Himalayan glaciers by 2035, and in the resistance of researchers to respond to FOIA requests from a climate skeptic site. She’s right. We shouldn’t downplay the reports: instead, we should ridicule them. So the glaciers won’t actually melt by …
Continue reading “The Best Defense….”
CONTINUE READINGTime for a TREES Agreement?
The nexus between trade and the environment is huge: border tax adjustments, subsidies, eco-labelling, international technology standards, etc. etc. Little wonder, then, that many observers have called for a new international agreement to tie them together. That’s complicated. But naming it is easy. The WTO treaty on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is abbreviated …
Continue reading “Time for a TREES Agreement?”
CONTINUE READINGThe Obama Administration’s Push for High-Speed Rail
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJhM3BpBPp8] Fresh from a State of the Union Address that focused heavily on domestic economic issues, President Obama and Vice President Biden journeyed to Tampa, Florida last week to announce federal support–and $8 billion in government funding–for high speed rail projects across the country. That’s a most welcome development. American train buffs who’ve traveled in …
Continue reading “The Obama Administration’s Push for High-Speed Rail”
CONTINUE READINGThe California Supreme Court examines technology-based air quality emissions standards
The California Supreme Court granted review last week in a potentially important environmental case, National Paint and Coatings Association v. South Coast Air Quality Management District. The opinion of the Court of Appeal – certainly among the most colorfully-written appellate opinions I’ve ever read, and worth checking out for that reason alone – held that the …
CONTINUE READINGPlastic, plastic everywhere . . . .
Several months ago, I noted a controversy about the chemical bisphenol-A and its former ubiquity in water bottles. Up until very recently, despite reports by the Environmental Working Group and others that suggested significant health risks from BPA, our federal government showed no inclination to regulate the use of the chemical in consumer products. The …
Continue reading “Plastic, plastic everywhere . . . .”
CONTINUE READINGWhy Scott Brown’s Victory Helps Climate Legislation
Really. The debacle in Massachusetts may have turned the Democrats into a bunch of sniveling, spineless wimps — or simply reaffirm their identity as such — but it might actually help climate change legislation. How? A one-word answer: reconciliation. A budget reconciliation bill cannot be filibustered: according to the Budget Act of 1974, the Senate …
Continue reading “Why Scott Brown’s Victory Helps Climate Legislation”
CONTINUE READING