Today the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously in American Electric Power v. Connecticut that the Clean Air Act displaces suits alleging global warming constitutes a public nuisance under federal common law. As I’ve discussed before (see posts here, here and here), this conclusion was hard to avoid once the Supreme Court held (erroneously in my […]
Archive | Climate Change
Don’t Blame EPA for What the Clean Air Act Requires
By Jonathan H. Adler on June 4, 2011 5:37 pm in Climate Change, Congress, Environment, Regulation, Uncategorized
At a recent press conference touting House GOP plans to reduce regulatory burdens on business, members of Congress expressed dismay that the Environmental Protection Agency may tighten the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone (aka urban smog) without considering the economic costs. Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-Mo) remarked: I received this week a letter from […]
Don Boudreaux Offers a Bet
Noted environmentalist Bill McKibben believes there is a link between recent natural disasters, including the rash of deadly tornadoes, and global warming. GMU economist Donald Boudreaux is skeptical. In an op-ed in today’s WSJ he notes that 2011 has yet to see more F5 tornadoes (those with windspeeds between 261-318 mph) than 1953 or 1974. […]
Standing in Connecticut v. AEP
One of the issues in American Electric Power v. Connecticut is whether the state and environmentalist group plaintiffs can satisfy the requirements of Article III standing. One might have thought this issue was settled in Massachusetts v. EPA, at least with regard to the state litigants, but it was not. Although both cases concern injuries […]
More on AEP v. Connecticut Oral Argument
Last night I reviewed the transcript of the oral argument in American Electric Power v. Connecticut, which poses the question of whether several states (and private groups) may sue the nation’s largest utilities for contributing to the “public nuisance” of global warming under federal common law. I agree with most commentators that things don’t look […]
AEP v. Connecticut Oral Argument
Lyle Denniston and the AP report on today’s oral argument in American Electric Power v. Connecticut. Neither suggests the state and environmentalist plaintiffs have much chance of prevailing, as even the Court’s most liberal justices seemed skeptical of the arguments in favor of letting these lawsuits proceed, though it is unclear what rationale will attract […]
Climate Change Back in the High Court
Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in American Electric Power v. Connecticut, which presents the question whether states and environmentalist groups may sue utilities seeking injunctive relief for contributing to the “public nuisance” of global warming. This case languished before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for years before […]
The UN’s 50 Million Missing Refugees
In 2005, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) predicted that there would be 50 million refugees in 2010 due to climate change. An enterprising reporter wondered what happened to UNEP’s prediction, and found that those areas UNEP claimed were most at risk have actually gained population. How did UNEP respond? According to Anthony Watts, UNEP […]
Review of R. Pielke’s “The Climate Fix”
The latest issue of Regulation contains my review of Roger Pielke Jr’s The Climate Fix: What Scientists and Politicians Won’t Tell You about Global Warming. I found the book to be a very welcome contribution to the discussion of climate policy, particularly given Pielke’s unblinkered assessment of the climate challenge. Here’s the conclusion from my […]
Independent Assessment Finds Warming Too
The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project was launched to conduct a re-evaluation of the surface temperature record in order to resolve persistent debate over the reliability of prior analyses and provide an open record that could form the basis for future scientific research. The effort is led by several respected scientists, including UC Berkeley physicist […]
The GOP’s Climate Anti-Policy
Yesterday the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to remove the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The NYT covers the vote here. This is a good first step on climate policy — but it should be just that, a first step. […]
Climate Libel in Canada
The NYT Green Blog reports on libel suits a Canadian climate scientist has filed against a skeptic and the National Post, a Canadian paper.
Obama Administration Defends Bush Polar Bear Position
By Jonathan H. Adler on December 24, 2010 4:48 pm in Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environment
Politico reports that the Obama Administration is defending the Bush Administration’s decision to list the polar bear as a “threatened” species, rather than “endangered” species, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). As I discussed in this series of posts, environmentalist groups petitioned to have the polar bear listed as an endangered species due to the […]
The EPA’s Christmas Present
Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was entering into two proposed settlement agreements to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants and oil refineries under the Clean Air Act. The two agreements resolve lawsuits filed against the EPA by several states and environmental groups seeking the imposition of new source performance […]
D.C. Circuit Denies Stay Request in Greenhouse Gas Cases
Today the D.C. Circuit (panel of Ginsburg, Tatel, Brown) denied the request of those challenging the EPA’s suite of greenhouse gas regulations to stay the regulations pending the outcome of the litigation. The order is available here.