Earth is Getting Darker. Here’s Why That’s Alarming
Some climate scientists are calling attention to yet another alarming recent climate trend: Earth’s declining reflectivity and what it may mean for feedback effects on future warming.
Some recent Earth observations are spreading new alarm among climate scientists. The observations have been reported in many scientific and environmental outlets, and have provoked a fair amount of confusion and some misrepresentation. Some scientists have been informally calling these observations “the most important climate risk you’ve never heard of.” But they have not yet been featured in major media outlets, nor much penetrated climate policy discussions. ...
CONTINUE READINGPaul Ehrlich and The Bet
The real lesson everyone misses about Paul Ehrlich and his famous wager.
Paul Ehrlich died last weekend at the age of 93. Among scientists, he was celebrated for his work on population biology, integrating economics and ecology, and for his creation (with Peter Raven) of the field of co-evolution, the study of how species influence each other’s evolution. To the public, he was much better known as a champion for addressing population growth, threats of nuclear war, biodiversity conservation. His 1968 bestseller, The Population Bomb, sol...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Happens When Trump is in Charge of Nuclear Reactor Safety?
In the Trump Era, approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission may not mean much.
Earlier this month, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued its first nuclear construction permit in a decade. It approved an innovative modular nuclear reactor by a company cofounded by Bill Gates. Will the reactor be safe? Hopefully, Gates knows what he's doing, but it's hard to give a lot of credence to the NRC these days. The NRC used to be an independent agency relying on its own expertise and judgment. Due to the unitary executive theory, it’s now un...
CONTINUE READINGA Tour of BYD’s Factory in Lancaster, California
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
Next time you travel to Mexico, look out for seals, dolphins, and sharks. Not at the beach —when you’re driving. Those are names of a few of the EV models made by China’s BYD that are quickly proliferating in Mexico. The dolphin is a hatchback mini. The seal is a 4-door that looks a little like a Tesla. And the Shark is a plug-in hybrid truck that the company advertises as una estación de carga eléctrica en cualquier lugar a cualquier hora (an electric chargi...
CONTINUE READINGWorrying Gaps in CA Climate Disclosure Implementation
Guest contributors Cynthia Hanawalt and Andy Fitch write that CARB lacks authority to exempt insurers from GHG emissions reporting.
Guest contributors: Cynthia Hanawalt is the Director of Climate and Business Law at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Andy Fitch is a Climate and Business Law fellow at the Sabin Center. We recently surveyed the empirical literature regarding the impacts of corporate greenhouse-gas (GHG) disclosure on companies’ emissions, and called for increased rigor in GHG reporting. Now, as the Environmental Protection Agency prepares to gut it...
CONTINUE READINGLaunching OPERATION EPIC FURRY
It’s time to rename the Endangered Species Act.
“They gave me a list of names. ‘Sir, you can pick the name you’d like, sir.’ I said, the name of what? ‘The name of the attack! On Iran, sir.’ And they gave me like 20 names. And I’m like falling asleep. I didn’t like any of them. Then I see Epic Fury.” — President Trump, at a campaign rally. Marketing hasn’t been an environmentalist strong point. The 1970 law requiring environmental...
CONTINUE READINGClimate Issues in the 2026 Governor’s Race: Water
Third in a series of posts outlining key challenges and opportunities facing California’s next governor
California’s next Governor will need to grapple with a complex array of local, state, and regional water issues. Climate change, shifting population dynamics, and a changing economy are stressing California’s water systems and intensifying conflict over water resources. Floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and more severe. And there are no major new sources of water to tap or other quick fixes for increasing water supply. Our water team has outlined key the...
CONTINUE READINGAffordability Is Everywhere
How affordability concerns are informing recent developments in electricity, clean energy, and housing policy.
Affordability concerns are increasingly top-of-mind for advocates, academics, and public officials with regard to electricity generation and pricing, the transition away from fossil fuel extraction, and affordable housing. Public support for improving the grid, transitioning to a clean energy economy, and expanding the supply of housing depends on whether policymakers can ensure that the costs of those efforts do not fall on the shoulders of middle- and working-class peo...
CONTINUE READINGDoes Federal Law Still Preempt State Standards Relating to Fuel Efficiency?
The answer may depend on what being “in effect” means.
[The federal government filed suit today to block California's regulations relating to EVs. The government's theory is that the regulations are preempted by federal CAFE standards. For that reason, I'm re-upping this post, which makes an argument for why that type of preemption may no longer exist.] If a tree falls in the forest but no one hears it, does it still make a sound? If a law hasn’t been formally repealed but can be violated with complete impunity, is ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Scent of Spring vs the Stench of Black Rain
Why the war on Iran is an environmental justice crisis we cannot ignore
Here in the Bay Area, the air quality is pristine today. The sky is a clear, uninterrupted blue, and the sweet scent of blooming jasmine catches on the breeze. It’s a picture of absolute peace. Yet, the country I live in is currently orchestrating a devastating war on the other side of the world, a conflict whose impacts are falling on people who had no hand in starting it. These impacts are not just military and economic, but profoundly ecological. Since the US...
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