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The Environmental Law and Policy Reading Group meeting this week is focusing on livestock, agriculture, and climate change. The meeting information is below. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions: Wednesday, November 11 2009 Agenda: A question of growing concern in the discussion of climate change is the NYPIRG, the New York Public Interest Research Group, has sent out a very useful summary of the current status of climate policy, which is posted below. It’s part of a partnership with 1Sky, a national climate advocacy group, to fight for climate solutions. You can (and should!) get involved by signing up [...] On September 25th, a CIA press release announced the opening of its new Center on Climate Change and National Security. On October 6, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) announced his intent to block funding for the center though an amendment to the FY 2010 Defense Appropriations bill. However, Barrasso’s amendment failed, and the spending bill was approved. [...] On September 30, 2009, the EPA proposed a new rule under the Clean Air Act that would require permits certifying that the best-available control technologies have been implemented for new or significantly facilities emitting over 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year. This will cover almost 70% of stationary sources, and is tailored to avoid [...] Tom Friedman’s op-ed this morning underlines the importance of developing an approach to climate change that is integrated into a broader strategy for addressing global environmental problems. He interviews Glen Prickett, of Conservation International: “We need to stop thinking about these issues in isolation — each with its own champion, constituency and agenda — [...] The NYT has been emphasizing the national security frame for climate policy this month. Following Aug. 9’s front page story about increasing attention to climate-related security issues at State and DOD, today the paper’s editorial board laments lack of progress on greenhouse gas regulations and recommends that framing the issue in security terms could be [...] Joe Romm writes that the ACES climate bill is due to be considered by the Senate on September 8th. There had been earlier talk about trying to get the bill passed in August, but this delay provides a window for further pressure to be put on fence-sitters. Nate Silver has put together an excellent analysis of [...] An old image of the Senate is that of an institution designed to dilute the passions of the House of Representatives by moderating bills before passing them on to the President’s desk: An oft-quoted story about the “coolness” of the Senate involves George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who was in France during the Constitutional [...] The passage of ACES represented a historic achievement, the first ever cap on greenhouse gas emissions passed by a house of Congress. However, the process of building support for the bill entailed significantly diluting the bill’s strength. One excised provision was the section providing for citizen suits to compel implementation of the law. The Global Climate [...] The New York Times reports that the Waxman-Markey ACES climate bill passed the House Friday night, and even garnered votes to spare: The 219-212 vote marked the first time that either house of Congress has approved a bill aimed at curbing the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change, and it could lead [...] |
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Creative Commons BY-NC-SA Devin McDougall unless otherwise noted.
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