Regulation
Fisheries governance and sustainability
An interesting new paper by a group at Dalhousie University compares several key aspects of fisheries management with a measure of the probability that fisheries are sustainable. The authors conclude that “policy transparency” is more strongly related to sustainability than scientific robustness, implementation capability, or the extent of subsidies, overcapacity, and foreign fishing. The measure …
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CONTINUE READINGAnother environmental lawyer joins the administration
Michael J. Bean, longtime head of Environmental Defense Fund’s wildlife program and author of the classic treatise The Evolution of National Wildlife Law, has been named counselor to Tom Strickland, Assistant Secretary of Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. Bean will provide advice on endangered species and other wildlife policy issues. This appointment is very …
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CONTINUE READINGOn Renewable Energy, Is the Senate Bill Worse Than Nothing?
The energy bill passed Wednesday by the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee has renewable energy provisions so weak that a dozen environmental groups teamed up to condemn it. Marchant Wentworth of the Union of Concerned Scientists called the renewable standards in the bill “pitiful”, and added that the legislation could actually lead to less …
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CONTINUE READINGHolding Our Breath for a Test Rule for Carbon Nanotubes
Researchers recently reported new findings regarding potential occupational hazards associated with carbon nanotubes. These nano-scale cylinders have a variety of forms (single-walled and multi-walled, coated and uncoated, and so on.) They are widely available and used in a variety of manufacturing, medical and electronic applications. Previously, much attention was focused on whether when inhaled, nanotubes …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Does the CBO Report on Waxman-Markey Actually Mean?
The Congressional Budget Office issued its report on the Waxman-Markey bill recently. The Washington Times immediately trumpeted: “CBO puts hefty price tag on emissions plan: Obama’s cap-and-trade system seen costing $846 billion.” This is quite misleading. Actually, the CBO report tells us virtually nothing about the economic costs of the bill or how much consumers …
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CONTINUE READINGConfronting Uncertainty Under NEPA
Quantifying risks with confidence is often difficult. For the past thirty years, agencies and courts have struggled with the treatment of uncertainty in environmental impact statements. This problem is all the more important today. Climate change will require innovative solutions – new energy technologies, new adaptation strategies. These innovations will inevitably pose risks, often in …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Supreme Court’s Love Affair with the Takings Clause–Not Over Just Yet
One of the biggest differences between the U.S. Supreme Court under former Chief Justice Rehnquist and the Court under current Chief Justice Roberts is the comparative interest in property rights and the Constitution’s Takings Clause. From 1978 until Rehnquist’s death in 2005, the Supreme Court heard one or more takings cases each Term–culminating in the …
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CONTINUE READINGBreathless in Bombay Redux: Corruption and Environmental Law
As I mentioned a few days ago, Bombay has 55,000 taxicabs that all run on CNG. (And as I updated, the municipal buses do, too — something else that India does better than the United States.). But Bombay’s taxis present India-watchers and scholars with something of a problem: if you believe the standard story about India, …
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CONTINUE READINGNational ocean policy under construction
President Obama today proclaimed June 2009 to be National Oceans Month, a time to “celebrate these vast spaces and the myriad ways they sustain life.” The proclamation calls on “all Americans to learn more about the oceans and what can be done to conserve them.” Beyond that symbolic move, Obama took an important step toward …
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CONTINUE READINGAs Digital TV Goes, So Goes the Smart Grid?
Today, we bid a nostalgic farewell to analog television, as all broadcast stations are required to deliver a digital signal. Do the challenges the nation has faced in making this not-so-momentous transition suggest a bumpy road ahead as policymakers push for a “smart” electric grid? Should low income and minority consumers be especially concerned? Most …
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