Regulation
Caveat Preemptor
President Obama issued a “memorandum” for heads of departments and agencies. (I guess this must be technically different from an “executive order” but I’m not sure it matters: an order from the Boss is an order from the Boss is an order from the Boss.) The memo contains a reminder about the importance of federalism …
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CONTINUE READINGAuto Emissions Deal–Enough Credit to Go Around?
The announcement of the deal on auto emissions was roundly hailed as a remarkable achievement of the Obama Administration. There is no arguing with the notion that it was dramatic, both in terms of the bargaining process and the outcome. The Los Angeles Times today provided a behind-the-scenes view of the months-long negotiations, including everything …
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CONTINUE READINGEnvironmental Hubris: Another Proposed “Fix” for the California Delta
Recently, California state water officials announced with considerable fanfare their latest technological “fix” for the environmental ills that have in recent years befallen the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas, the Delta is in serious environmental decline–as scientists have carefully documented and which no one disputes at this …
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CONTINUE READINGObama’s Bold New Auto Standards
In what is a huge victory for California and a strong national commitment to more fuel efficient cars, the New York Times is reporting that the Obama administration will grant California its waiver to issue tough greenhouse gas emissions standards while at the same time combining those standards with a new national Corporate Automotive Fuel …
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CONTINUE READINGDisaster Law
Disaster issues have several links to environmental law. Perhaps the most obvious is that climate change is likely to cause a sharp increase in the number of extreme weather events such as floods and heat waves. Less obviously, disaster law is the flip side of environmental law, concerned with how nature impacts us rather than …
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CONTINUE READINGWho will pay for the costs of foreign carbon dioxide in our consumer goods?
I discussed in this post the problem of GHG emissions from imported consumer products. We import and buy more and more goods from China and other countries that rely heavily on greenhouse gas-intensive coal-fired power. As a result, our consumer habits are responsible for a large and growing proportion of GHG emissions in other countries. These …
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CONTINUE READINGWhere Have You Gone, Jimmy Carter?
When Paul Simon famously asked his nostalgic question about the whereabouts of Joe DiMaggio, it was only 16 years after Joltin’ Joe had retired from baseball. It’s 28 years since President Jimmy Carter left office. Is it time to become a little nostalgic about his energy policy? The question is prompted by Carter’s testimony, this …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate bill has votes to get through key House panel, says Waxman
Breaking news: Greenwire (via the New York Times) and Grist.com are reporting that Rep. Henry Waxman said tonight he “believe[s] we’ll have the votes for passage” to move his climate bill through the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Rep. Waxman “expects” to have sufficient votes but takes a tone of skepticism.) Waxman …
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CONTINUE READING“Smoking gun” OMB memo on EPA climate change rulemaking is not what it seems
As Dan has mentioned, there has been a bit of a dust-up over a document in EPA’s rulemaking docket relating to EPA’s recent finding that greenhouse gases pose an endangerment to public health and welfare. As Dan notes, the memo, apparently originating at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is harshly critical …
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CONTINUE READINGGoing to the Dogs? Unfair Attacks on Cass Sunstein
A lot of environmentalists are uncomfortable about Cass Sunstein’s appointment as “regulatory czar” at OMB. Reasonable people may differ about the validity of those concerns. But now he’s been attacked from another direction — conservatives eager to paint him as an animal-rights fanatic who wants to ban hunting. For instance, For one particularly colorful attack, …
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