Regulation

California Supreme Court Upholds Abolition of Local Redevelopment Agencies

The California Supreme Court waited until the very end of 2011 to issue the year’s most important land use decision. While the specific issues relate to arcane issues of public finance and state constitutional law, today’s decision in California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos is likely to have major consequences for local land use authority and …

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Congressional Dim Bulbs at Work Again

The House of Representatives is continuing its campaign to increase electricity bills, harm a domestic industry, and create regulatory uncertainty. According to E&E, the House appropriations bill “Eliminating funding for light bulb efficiency standards is especially poor policy as it would leave the policy in place but make it impossible to enforce, undercutting domestic manufacturers …

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Give to the Environmental Law Program of Your Choice, But Give!

Environmental law programs are worthy of your support because of their unique blend of teaching, research, and public service.  They educate future environmental leaders, generate new solutions to environmental problems, and engage with policy makers, courts, and the public. To begin with, environmental law programs train the lawyers who will represent governments, businesses, and public …

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Ron Paul: The Most Anti-Environmental Candidate Ever

We already tried Ron Paul’s environmental approach, and it didn’t work. This is more or less where the law stood fifty years ago. The result then was massive air and water pollution, and that’s where Ron Paul would take us back to.

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Federalism and the Electrification of the Auto Fleet

Many commentators assume that if the federal government ever adopts a national policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, states and localities will largely take a backseat to federal regulators.  But one highly necessary means to reducing carbon emissions — the electrification of the automobile fleet — will require active and involved participation by all levels of …

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More on “Distrust”

I posted a few days ago about declining public trust in societal institutions (including the courts, the presidency, big business, the military, the church, etc.)  By coincidence, Nate Silver has a post today that touches on the same subject.  He reports that Democrats tend to have more trust institutions these days than Republicans.  Moreover, Republican …

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Supreme Court Grants Review in Criminal Environmental Enforcement Case

The U.S. Supreme Court is obviously interested in environmental enforcement, or at least the legal issues arising out of environmental enforcement cases. Today, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a second environmental enforcement case it will hear and decide in its current Term. Southern Union Co v. United States, No. 11-94. This follows the justices’ …

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Kivalina and the Courts: Justice for America’s First Climate Refugees?

It’s hard not to sympathize with the Native Alaskan inhabitants of the Village of Kivalina. The 400 residents of Kivalina, a thin peninsula of land in Alaska jutting into the Chuckchi Sea north of the Arctic Circle, have the dubious distinction of being among the first climate refugees in the U.S. Their town is literally …

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Poll Results on Cap and Trade

I thought people might be interested in the results of our poll of readers on cap-and-trade: California has just adopted a cap and trade system. All things considered, do you think that cap and trade is the best strategy for controlling greenhouse gases? No, a carbon tax would be better. 56% Yes, cap and trade …

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The Local Role for Promoting Energy Efficient Homes and Businesses

One of the most cost-effective ways to fight climate change is to make homes and businesses more energy efficient. Yet this is also one of the most difficult goals to achieve. In UC Berkeley and UCLA Law’s 2010 report “Saving Energy,” we found the key barriers to be the highly individualized nature of retrofitting buildings …

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