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50 Years Ago: Environmental Law in 1973

Legal Planet

In the previous three years, Congress had passed NEPA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. Continuing the legislative wave, 1973 saw the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA. Like today, 1973 was a time of political turmoil. The first EPA Administrator took office in 1971.

Law 176
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What Next for the Climate Tort Cases?

Legal Planet

That brings us to the second argument that companies could make, that any deception claims relate to speech intended to influence the political process and that political speech is exempt from liability even if it is false. Are the lawsuits preempted by federal law? The arguments come in two forms.

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Environmentalism and the Supreme Court

Legal Planet

The same is true in environmental law. Was it a fundamental paradigm shift, re-centering the law on new values? With all this in mind, here are the cases that I see as making up the canon and anti-canons of environmental law. The case involved the lynchpin of the Clean Air Act, EPA’s power to set national air quality standards.

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The Supreme Court’s Latest Decision Is a Blow to Stopping Climate Change

Union of Concerned Scientists

The petitioners who brought this case include state-level political officials and coal companies who are single-mindedly determined to block climate action and perpetuate fossil fuel dependence to serve their narrow political or business interests.

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Happy 50th Anniversary, Federal Clean Water Act

Legal Planet

The Clean Water Act (CWA), one of the nation’s most important environmental laws, is 50 years old today. In virtually all other nations, enforcement of water pollution control and other environmental laws is the sole responsibility of government regulators. ” That obviously did not, and will not, happen.

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Supreme Court Sidelines Science, Threatens Public Health: These Rules-in-Progress Show What’s at Stake

Union of Concerned Scientists

If governments bypass or undermine science and public comments in policy making, our health could be in jeopardy from increased pollution, cases of foodborne illnesses, politically-driven medicine approvals or disapprovals, and more. This is a major federal law that governs if a chemical will be regulated, limited, or even banned.

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Livestock Operations Are Responsible for Over Half of California’s Methane Emissions—Why Won’t CARB Regulate Them?

Legal Planet

In these “carbon intensity” calculations, CARB is not allowed to count reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are already required by law. At the federal level, agricultural operations are exempt from laws intended to prevent pollution to water and to the air. To CARB, installing digesters is a win-win.