A recent study of injection wells and earthquakes got a lot of press, but the reports missed an important nuance. The study, published in the June 19 edition of Science, found a definite connection between well injection and earthquakes. But there was an interesting wrinkle: “The scientists found that disposal wells were 1.5 times more likely to be … Continue reading »
environmental law
Justice Thomas declares war on rulemaking
It didn’t get much attention, but Justice Thomas’s dissent two weeks ago in the Amtrak case was extraordinarily radical, even for him. The case involved a relatively obscure issue about the legal status of Amtrak. Justice Thomas used the occasion for a frontal attack on administrative law, including most of environmental law. The heart of … Continue reading »
Happy endings and promising starts on the environment
In most ways, 2014 was a good year for environmental protection, with progress on several fronts. True, there are warning signs for 2015 — primarily the Republican sweep of the mid-terms and the Supreme Court’s puzzling decision to review toxics regulations for coal-fired power plants. And of course, there were losses as well as victories, … Continue reading »
This challenge to the Endangered Species Act is a case to watch
The federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) is widely known for being the primary law in the United States that focuses on protecting biodiversity, and also for being a “pit bull” of environmental laws that has few exceptions and broad sweep. (For instance, the ESA was a major component of the litigation strategy by environmental groups … Continue reading »
A ray of hope on climate change (breaking news from China)
President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a major deal on climate change this morning. As summarized by the Washington Post: China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, pledged in the far-reaching agreement to cap its rapidly growing carbon emissions by 2030, or earlier if possible. It also set a daunting goal of … Continue reading »
State releases new fracking regulations amid SB 4 criticism, controversy
California’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) has released its proposed regulations governing hydraulic fracturing pursuant to Senate Bill 4, controversial legislation signed into law this September. DOGGR’s Nov. 15 public notice begins its formal rulemaking process and marks the start of a 60-day public comment period for the new rules. DOGGR also … Continue reading »
Monitoring problems again
I’ve posted a lot on how important monitoring of environmental conditions is for environmental law, and how difficult it can be to do monitoring well. Here is another recent example from the news: After the Deepwater Horizon blowout, there was a lot of concern about how much oil was leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, … Continue reading »
Fat City, U.S.A.
The graphic below, from the Economist, shows the amount of excess biomass due to obesity and overall population. As the chart shows, obese North Americans are carrying around an extra 263 million kilograms of fat — or just about 290 thousand tons of fat. That’s a daunting thought. That’s a pattern that definitely isn’t going … Continue reading »
EPA unveils carbon standard for new power plants
On March 27 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its anticipated rule limiting carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants. The proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act purports to set national limits on the amount of carbon pollution new power plants can emit. Today we’re … Continue reading »
When we found the right words
It’s hard to talk about something if you don’t have the right words to designate it easily. So it’s interesting to look for the first appearance for some of the key words in the legal literature. Presumably, this words were in non-legal use a bit earlier, but their first use in law reviews tells us … Continue reading »
Whitebark pine in ESA limbo
Today the Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the whitebark pine, an iconic tree of the high-elevation American west, qualifies for listing as an endangered or threatened species. The combined impacts of disease, insect infestation, climate change, and fire suppression mean that the whitebark pine could disappear within a couple of its generations. But the pine … Continue reading »