Regulatory Policy
Developing a Decision-Support Framework for Curtailment
Part 5 in a Series on Improving California Water Rights Administration and Oversight for Future Droughts
During a drought, California’s limited water supplies should be allocated transparently, efficiently, and predictably in accordance with the priorities that flow from state and federal law. But what does this mean in practice? What happens when there is not enough surface water to go around in a watershed? California water rights law says that certain …
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CONTINUE READINGGenetically Modified Organisms Return to the International Policy Agenda
This first in a series begins by looking back at GMOs and environmental law
Although the big news in international biodiversity this week was the release of the summary of the first global assessment from a relatively new UN-affiliated body, the topic of another report warrants attention as well. Yesterday the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published its findings on “the potential positive and negative impacts of synthetic …
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CONTINUE READINGYou Can’t Fool All Of The People All Of The Time
California Cleans Trump’s Clock In Court
Sometimes judges can read: In its rush to delay, repeal and rewrite rules it considers unduly burdensome to industry, the administration has experienced significant setbacks in court. Federal judges have sided with California and environmental groups in cases concerning air pollution, pesticides and the royalties that the government receives from companies that extract oil, …
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CONTINUE READINGUnanswered Questions About Cost-Benefit Analysis
We have only fragmentary evidnece about how CBA actually functions in government decision-making.
Considering that people have been debating cost-benefit analysis at least since Reagan mandated its use in 1981, you would think we would have the answers to some basic questions about how it works. Yet we have very fragmentary information, generally based on the perspevtives of people at the agencies or in the White House Office …
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CONTINUE READINGIs Socialism Good for the Environment?
The answer is: “Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much.”
Some of the people who are most fervent about the environment these days describe themselves as socialists. But is socialism actually a good thing for the environment? That seems like a significant question in a political context where people on both sides are throwing around the word “socialist” so much, so I decided to see …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia groundwater management, science-policy interfaces, and the legacies of artificial legal distinctions
By Dave Owen and Michael Kiparsky
One of the many noteworthy features of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is that it requires local government agencies to consider and address the effects of groundwater management upon interconnected surface water. That requirement is an important step towards rationalizing California water management, which has long treated groundwater and surface water as separate resources. …
CONTINUE READINGTrump’s Campaign to Gag Activist Shareholders
His recent executive order tries to “protect” oil companiy management from smart climate planning.
Exxon management was not pleased when shareholders forced them to produce a report on how climate change would impact their business. In May, Exxon is facing another shareholder vote on whether to form a climate change committee on the Board of Directors and whether to disclose how sea level rise will impact its investments on the …
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CONTINUE READINGHappy Tax Day!
It’s the perfect time to talk about a carbon tax.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said that taxes are the prices we pay for a civilized society. A carbon tax, if we ever get one, might turn out to be the price we pay for a sustainable planet. I’m not wedded to it as a tool for cutting carbon, and I don’t think it would …
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CONTINUE READINGCleveland, City of Light, City of Magic
Newspaper Layoffs Claim The Plain Dealer’s Energy Reporting
On Tuesday, I wrote about the demise of local newspapers nationwide and in particular the collapse of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, arguing that universities need to fill the gap of quality journalism. I also suggested that this is an environmental issue, as it is local newspapers’ coverage of the environment that often drives the conversation. …
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CONTINUE READINGTrump Administration’s Cold Water War With California Turns Hot
Feds’ Curious New Lawsuits Against State Water Board Likely Just the Opening Litigation Salvo
When it comes to California water policy, the federal-state relationship has always been both strained and challenging. That intergovernmental tension harkens back at least to the Reclamation Act of 1902. In section 8 of this iconic federal statute that transformed the American West, Congress declared that the federal government “shall proceed in conformity with” state …
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