Regulation
Delay on marine engines upheld
In the latest round in a long-running battle, the D.C. Circuit has upheld EPA’s foot-dragging on regulation of emissions from large marine diesel engines against a challenge brought by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District, and Friends of the Earth. Large ships are major sources of air pollution …
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CONTINUE READINGMore on OMB and Regulatory Policy
President Obama wants a new executive order on OMB oversight of regulation. He has issued the following directive: I therefore direct the Director of OMB, in consultation with representatives of regulatory agencies, as appropriate, to produce within 100 days a set of recommendations for a new Executive Order on Federal regulatory review. Among other things, …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Smart Can You Get?
It is said that it cost $3 million to air a 30 second advertisement during last weekend’s Superbowl. If that is the case, then General Electric chose to spend that much (plus change for production cost) to run a cute little musical piece based on the Scarecrow’s song from the Wizard of Oz — “If …
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CONTINUE READINGAre Law Professors Good Political Appointees?
I just got off the phone with a Bloomberg News reporter asking me about Harvard Law Professor Jody Freeman’s appointment as counselor to Carol Browner. After singing Jody’s’ praises (of which there are a great many) he asked me a more general question that has me thinking. Is it a good thing for Obama to …
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CONTINUE READINGIrresponsible fisheries
WWF has a new report out on compliance with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization‘s voluntary Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, which was issued in 1995. The report details the extent to which 53 countries, responsible for more than 95% of the world’s wild fish harvests, complied with the code between 2003 and 2005. …
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CONTINUE READINGObama Addresses Efficiency Standards
President Obama is pushing for the adoption of better efficiency standards, the Times reports: Over the last three decades, Congress has demanded stricter efficiency standards on 30 categories of products, as varied as residential air-conditioners and industrial boilers. But successive administrations have failed to write regulations to enforce the laws, even when ordered to by …
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CONTINUE READINGNew Federal Nanotechnology Bill Takes Small Steps Towards Addressing the Environmental and Health Implications of Nanotechnology
The House Science and Technology Committee recently introduced H.R. 554, National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2009. The Committee hailed the bill, which is virtually identical to last session’s H.R. 5750, as serving to “strengthen and provide transparency to the federal research effort to understand the potential environmental, health, and safety risks of nanotechnology.” It …
CONTINUE READINGWow, things really have changed in Washington: a Cabinet official speaks about climate change’s impacts on California
The Los Angeles Times has a story today in its (venerable but soon-to-be-axed) California section discussing new Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s public statements on the dramatic challenges California will face as a result of climate change. From the story: Chu warned of water shortages plaguing the West and Upper Midwest and particularly dire consequences for California, …
CONTINUE READINGA Public Lands Agenda for the New Administration
Given the overarching issue of climate change, it’s probably unrealistic to assume that the question of how best to manage the nation’s public lands will be an immediate priority of the Obama Administration. And the economic crisis currently confronting the U.S. likely pushes environmental issues off the top tier of the Administration’s priority list as …
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CONTINUE READINGOcean Acidification and the Clean Water Act
Dan’s post today on ocean acidification discusses findings by an international scientific panel that ocean acidification is a very serious problem. This week, according to the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the U.S. EPA just agreed to review whether and how the federal Clean Water Act can or should be used to address ocean acidifcation. …
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