Greenwire is reporting that “[t]he leading candidate to become chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today boosted his conservative credentials, laying out a plan to cut federal government spending levels including freezing programs that support energy efficiency retrofits in homes and efficiency labeling for appliances.” This is unfortunate given the continued democratization of carbon emissions and the need to make such sources more energy efficient (e.g., homes, cars), and the need to influence individual behavior that impacts the envirionments by providing consumers with better information (e.g., eco-labeling, Energy Star labeling).
Climate Change
Archived Posts from this Category
November 16, 2010
Freezing Weatherzation and Energy Star Programs is Short-sighted
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, Consumption, Energy, Environment, LawLeave a Comment
November 12, 2010
Czarnezki Chosen as Stegner Center Distinguished Young Scholar: To Present on ‘Climate Policy and U.S.-China Relations’ & ‘The Environment, Law, and Food’
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Announcements, China, Climate Change, Consumption, Energy, Environment, Food, Law, Law Schools[3] Comments
I have been chosen as the 2010 Stegner Center Distinguished Young Scholar. See here (page 8). The announcement is here about my CLE presentation in Salt Lake City on ‘Climate Policy and U.S.-China Relations’ on Nov. 17. I’ll also be presenting on ‘The Environment, Law, and Food’ on Nov. 16 at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law next week as well. See schedules here.
November 7, 2010
Climate Impacts in Vermont
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources1 Comment
The Times Argus has an article about climate change impacts in Vermont entitled, “Climate change affects fall and winter transitions in Vermont” (subscription required). An excerpt (note the last paragraph):
Data taken over the past four decades show significant changes in Vermont’s climate. The fall transition is coming later by about 2 days per decade. Over the past forty years, the growing season for frost-sensitive plants has increased by 2 weeks; and for frost-hardy plants the growing season may have increased by as much as three to four weeks.
This fall was very unusual. We had a remarkable 10 inches of rain in October, and so there were few frosts because the ground and air were so wet. This extended the fall foliage season. The first part of November has been marked by several hard frosts and most recently, the first snowfall of the season.
Autumn is considered by many the most beautiful season in Vermont. The leaves turn brilliant colors of red, orange and yellow — a seasonal burst that attracts many tourists to the Green Mountain State. Forests cover almost 80 percent of Vermont, and roughly one in every four trees is a maple. Almost half of the Northeast’s commercial woodlands consist of maple, beech and birch.
The USDA Forest Service projects that oaks and hickories, which predominate in warmer placers like Virginia and now account for less than 15 percent of Vermont woodlands, will overshadow the state’s maples by the end of the century. Leaf-peepers attracted by the red, yellow and orange foliage of maple, birch and beech may see those colors shifting to the blander browns characteristic of oaks and hickories.
A recent report “The Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment,” sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists, explains that Vermont’s climate is warming and is in for significant changes. Between 2040 and 2069, Vermont’s climate will shift to that of Pennsylvania’s now. And if we continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels, by late century Vermont’s climate will shift farther to the south, more similar to that currently experienced in the Mid-Atlantic states.
November 5, 2010
California’s Cap & Trade Program
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, Environment, LifeLeave a Comment
Legal Planet has an interesting post about how California’s cap-and-trade program will go forward. See here.
November 4, 2010
Will the new Congress block Obama’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act?
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Law, Politics, Supreme CourtLeave a Comment
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mass. v. EPA and absent new federal climate legislation, the EPA has begun to create rules to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Now Greenwire is reporting that the new Congress may attempt to block EPA climate rules pursued under the Clean Air Act. The article states:
For the Republicans, the first order of business could be legislation to stop EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Supporters of measures to block EPA’s climate regulations say it is a foregone conclusion that the Republican-controlled House will pass such a bill during the next session. And in the Senate, where Democrats have spent the past two years bemoaning the rule requiring 60 votes to defeat a filibuster, that threshold appears to be the only thing that could stop such a measure from passing.
The article then provides this useful table. The key question is whether the Dems have 40 votes and the intestinal fortitude to use at least 40 votes to filibuster any attempts to stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.
| From Greenwire:
Counting the ‘Ayes’ |
| Based on previous stances and the results of yesterday’s election, a measure to prevent EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act would be likely garner at least 57 votes in the Senate during the next session, close observers say. That number includes the entire bloc of 47 Republican senators, the eventual winner of the Senate race in Alaska and at least 9 Democrats who have already pledged their support for one or more proposal. They are: |
| Voted for Murkowski resolution (4) |
| Mary Landrieu (D-La.) Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) |
| Co-sponsored Rockefeller bill (6) |
| Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) Jim Webb (D-Va.) |
| Critical newcomers (1) |
| Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) |
November 3, 2010
What’s so scary about trains? The future of high speed rail in WI
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under China, Climate Change, Energy, Transportation[4] Comments
Despite my post yesterday, it seems the GOP-elects in WI are still determined to stop high speed rail in the state. I’m just going to say it: This is short-sighted. Mass transit, especially high speed rail, is a key component to energy independence, ending addiction to fossil fuels, and improving the nation’s infrastructure and economy. China, for example, is spending signifiant resources on high speed rail across the country.
UPDATE: For more about here, see http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/a-high-speed-derailment/.
November 3, 2010
Politics and Climate Change
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Politics1 Comment
This could get ugly fast. Reports Marc Ambinder via Political Wire: “The GOP plans to hold high profile hearings examining the alleged ‘scientific fraud’ behind global warming, a sleeper issue in this election that motivated the base quite a bit.”
October 24, 2010
Vermont Law LLM Fellow Sparks Debate: China’s Energy Goals as Circus or Savior?
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under China, Climate Change, Energy, Environment1 Comment
I’m thrilled to see that Vermont Law School’s own Adam Moser, our LLM Fellow in the US-China Partnership in Environmental Law, has sparked a blog post by Alex Wang, NRDC’s China program director, that has been picked up on Huffington Post. In response to a post by Moser that compared arguably divergent views on China’s actions (circus v. savior), Wang suggested there are two distinct issues in evaluating China’s efforts. “First, what is China doing to address its contribution to global climate change? Second, are these efforts achieving the reported levels of success?” I would suggest that there is a third question. Even if China’s efforts are achieving reported levels of success, given China’s rate of development and economic growth, might China’s greenhouse gases emission alone have the potential to lead to catastrophic climate events? If so, does this and should this influence our views about China’s energy efficiency efforts?
October 18, 2010
2010 Tied (So Far) for Warmest on Record
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, EnvironmentLeave a Comment
…reports Green blog.
October 14, 2010
Regulating Greenhouse Gases through the Clean Air Act
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, EnvironmentLeave a Comment
The working paper Avoiding the Glorious Mess: A Sensible Approach to Climate Change and the Clean Air Act attempts to “identif[y] a viable approach to GHG regulation through the current Clean Air Act in the event that Congress does not act on comprehensive climate legislation.”
Hat tip: Greenwire.
JASON J. CZARNEZKI 