Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 30th, 2011
Richard Ottinger, Dean Emeritus and founder of the Pace Energy and Climate Center, is in Durban, South Africa for the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol. He [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 30th, 2011
According to a complaint filed today by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the Bureau of Land Management set out to perform a comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts of its activities . . . but purposefully omitted any consideration of the impacts of the grazing permits it issues on 157 million acres of federal land. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 17th, 2011
What do you call a team that wins the league pennant and then throws the World Series? Today’s New York Times article about the behind the scenes lobbying that lead to the abandonment of revised health-based ozone standards is revealing if unsurprising. What is interesting is that the exact same phony cost benefit arguments that [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 10th, 2011
Energy and Environment News this week reported on a letter from the GOP congressional leadership urging EPA to scrap its proposed Waters of the United States guidance document, noticed for public comment last May. No surprises there. The proposed guidance takes the view that the scope of jurisdictional waters of the United States (and wetlands) [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 8th, 2011
I’m back from the Rio + 20 preparatory conference held in Limoges, France that was organized by Prof. Michel Prieur. You may find our call for action of interest. It was collectively drafted and will be shared with the UN and its member states. If you would like to sign, you can fill out the [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 4th, 2011
Three years ago, the rupture of a coal ash pond in Kingston, Tennessee sent 5.4 million cubic yards of a toxic slurry into neighborhoods and the Emory River. That spill focused attention on EPA’s persistent failure to come up with regulations governing disposal of coal ash waste, which EPA exempted from regulation as hazardous waste [...]
Posted in Emerging Issues, Litigation and Dispute Resolution on Nov 4th, 2011
by Daniel E. Estrin Supervising Attorney, Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Inc. Adjunct Professor of Law, Pace Law School The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit last month issued two well-reasoned and important opinions regarding the enforcement and application of federal environmental statutes. First, on October 3, 2011, the court considered federal court abstention [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 2nd, 2011
Federal and state policies should encourage localities that contain neighborhoods with the potential for district energy systems and transit oriented development to rezone these areas as Energy Conservation Districts calibrated to achieve multiple objectives of sustainable development. This they should do with the support of the state and federal government. In the orchard of energy [...]
