Portland’s Efforts to Crack Down on Fossil Fuels just Won Big
Oregon’s Supreme Court has handed a major victory to Portland, upholding the city’s right to greatly restrict fossil fuel infrastructure.
American environmental policy
Juliana v US: Getting Ready to Rumble
Three strikes and the Trump administration is now out—or more accurately “in.” Trump and company have now been told by the US Supreme Court in a very brief 5-4 decision that they must stand in open court and defend themselves against the charge they are denying the 21 youthful clients in the court their constitutional right to a habitable environment.
A Washington Update on Climate Programs and Policies as the Midterm Elections Draw Near
As Congress leaves for its August recess and prepares for the coming midterm elections, I thought it a good time to update readers on the current goings-on in Capital City and their impact on climate-related programs and policies.
Sacrificing the Nation’s Environment in the Name of National Security
Whatever your view of The Donald, his innate understanding of where loopholes in the governance system reside and how to capitalize them to his advantage should not be under-estimated.
Winning in Court will not Win the War on Climate Change
Judicial decisions that favor climate defenders, in whatever guise, e.g., constitutional protections, compensation under tort laws, or in defense of civil disobedience [i], will fail to keep the rate of global warming within habitable bounds unless and until they lead to an aggressive and stable national integrated energy and environment policy.
Remember what the Climate War is About
Lately, I’ve been wondering if the battles being fought to maintain federal energy and environment policies and programs are clouding the nation’s collective understanding of what the war being waged against the Trump administration is really about?
Environmental Law Cases: Ruling the Far-Right Out of Order
Today I am writing about an organization—the Government Accountability and Oversight (GAO) group—determined to diminish the public’s confidence in the overwhelming consensus of the science community about the causes and consequences of climate change and the rule of law.
Clean Energy vs. the Environment: A Cautionary Tale
The impact Trump and company are having on federal clean energy and climate policies goes beyond regulatory rescissions and under-funded and mismanaged programs. Forced to make hard choices the ties that have bound the clean energy and environmental communities are fraying.
To the Elections and Beyond
In this podcast episode, guest Joel Stronberg gives a U.S. midterms election update, and outlines what might happen in Washington D.C. before November and what the renewables industry should be thinking about beyond election day.
When Winning in Court Won’t Save the Environment Looking for a Plan “C”: (Part 2)
Plan C is a concerted effort to encourage and support the use of ballot measures allowing voters to have a direct say in the climate-related laws and policies of their states. Ballot initiatives are as close to a pure democratic practice as one is likely to find.
Will Greed Be the EPA Leader’s Downfall?
Environmentalists weren’t able to block the confirmation of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator based on his horrendous record of climate change denial and plundering natural resources. But Pruitt’s growing corruption scandal has given them new hope.
When Winning in Court Won’t Save the Environment: Looking for a Plan “C” (Part 1)
I have been writing a lot lately about the rising number and variety of environmental lawsuits being filed in state and federal courts. The hundreds of active climate-related cases exhibit a wide range of purpose.