Regulation
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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CONTINUE READINGRon 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.
CONTINUE READINGFederalism 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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CONTINUE READINGMore 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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CONTINUE READINGSupreme 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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CONTINUE READINGKivalina 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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CONTINUE READINGPoll 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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CONTINUE READINGThe 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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CONTINUE READINGCap-and-Trade is Alive and Well
Comprehensive climate policy is going nowhere at the federal level. That’s obvious. But U.S. inaction doesn’t mean that the rest of the world is following the U.S. lead. Instead, around the world, countries are adopting policies to transition to cleaner energy sources and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And cap-and-trade systems are as popular a …
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CONTINUE READINGKlamath dam removal bill introduced in Congress
On November 10, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced the Klamath Basin Economic Restoration Act in Congress (H.R. 3398 / S. 1851). The bill would approve two Klamath agreements and give the go-ahead to potentially remove four hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River. As we have discussed previously on LegalPlanet, this set …
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