Environmental Law & Climate Change Community

Title	Views
1	The race to stop mountaintop coal mining	9809
2	Statute Of Limitations Began With Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Judge Says	7946
3	LexisNexis Top 50 Blogs for Environmental Law & Climate Change – 2011 Nominations	5327

DOE Identifies Possible Carbon Sequestration Storage Sites

By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block On May 1, 2012, the Department of Energy released the North American Storage Atlas that maps the potential carbon dioxide storage capacity in North America. According to the Atlas , there is at least 500...

Published Thu, May 3 2012 2:10 PM by Steven M. Siros

Filed under: climate change, CO2, greenhouse gases, global warming, carbon dioxide, Jenner Block, Steven Siros, Jenner & Block Corporate Environmental Lawyer Blog, alternative energy, DOE, North American Storage Atlas, carbon sequestration storage sites

Supreme Court of Virginia Once Again Holds That Climate Change Lawsuit Did Not Trigger Duty to Defend by Insurer

RICHMOND, Va. - (Mealey's) An underlying complaint alleges that damages were the "natural and probable consequence" of an insured's intentional actions, the Virginia Supreme Court said April 20, upholding its finding that a commercial...

Published Mon, Apr 23 2012 7:29 PM by Jennifer Hans

Filed under: Carbon Dioxide Emissions, climate change, greenhouse gases, global warming, Virginia, occurrence, duty to defend, commercial general liability insurance, bodily injury, AES v Steadfast Insurance, accident, Virginia Supreme Court

Could the Amazon Become a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emitter Rather Than a Sink?

The Amazon has long been conceived of as a CO2 sink because of its mass of vegetation. Researchers are now concerned that drought and deforestation may make it a net emitter. Because of regular measurements of about 100,000 trees, researchers estimate...

Published Mon, Apr 2 2012 9:05 PM by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Filed under: climate change, Thomas Clarke, global warming, El Nino, drought, water shortages, deforestation, greenhouse gas, carbon sink, climate crisis, water usage, carbon emissions, water resources, Amazon

Global Warming: There are Reasonable, Cost-Effective Steps that Can Slow the Temperature Rise, but They May Be Rendered Moot by Massive Increases in CO2

First, some good news. Prior posts have noted repeatedly the key role that methane plays in global warming (the longterm trend in temperature, not seasonal or annual variations). Prior posts have also noted the role that particulates-aerosols play in...

Published Sun, Mar 4 2012 2:18 AM by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Filed under: climate change, aerosols, methane, Thomas Clarke, greenhouse gases, global warming, carbon dioxide, air pollution, soot, China, coal, electric power plants

Colony collapse disorder, has the answer finally been found? Possibly

Prior posts have discussed the various research done and theories put forth related to colony collapse disorder (see Colony Collapse Disorder for an overview). The range of potential causes includes pesticides, global warming, disease, and habitat destruction...

Published Sat, Feb 4 2012 5:53 PM by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Filed under: Thomas Clarke, global warming, bacteria, infection, immune system, pesticide, FIFRA, bees, habitat destruction, mites, Nosema, colony collapse disorder, honey, imidacloprid

California Superior Court blocks regional GHG regulations for failing to undertake CEQA review

In Nov. 2010 the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) filed suit against the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's (BAAQMD) CEQA Guidelines re GHG emissions. Among other requirements, environmental evaluations were required if a project...

Published Sat, Jan 21 2012 6:50 PM by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Filed under: climate change, Thomas Clarke, global warming, California, GHG, green house gases, global temperatures, AQMD, AB 32, urban sprawl, California Building Industry Association, EIS, Alameda Superior Court

Air pollution may be causing mega-cyclones striking India & the Middle East

It is well known that warm sea-surface temperatures can boost the intensity of hurricanes (known in the Indian Ocean as cyclones). For many decades water in the Arabian Sea has been warm, which should enhance the strength of cyclones. However, regional...

Published Fri, Nov 11 2011 6:52 PM by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Filed under: Air Quality, Thomas Clarke, global warming, air pollution, Middle east, air pollutant, vertical wind shear, India, Indian Ocean, hurricane, cyclone

Early European explorers of North America may have indirectly triggered the Little Ice Age by exposing the local population to new diseases

By the end of the 15th century, between 40 and 80 million people are thought to have been living in the Americas. Many of them burned trees to make room for crops, leaving behind charcoal deposits that have been found in the soils of Mexico, Nicaragua...

Published Mon, Oct 17 2011 3:23 PM by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Filed under: climate change, global warming, deforestation, carbon sink, global temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, disease response function, atmospheric heat, ice cores, Little Ice Age, reforestation

Environmental Citizen Groups Have No Standing to Challenge Climate Change Impacts of Federal Actions

By Gabrielle Sigel, Partner, Jenner & Block Two U.S. district courts recently issued separate decisions rejecting environmental groups' challenges to federal actions based on alleged climate change injuries. In both cases, using the same legal...

Published Tue, Oct 4 2011 11:52 AM by Gabrielle Sigel

Filed under: climate change, greenhouse gases, global warming, standing, Virginia, Gabrielle Sigel, Jenner Block, Amigos Bravos, redressability, Sierra Club, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico

Penguin decline may turn on presence or absence of krill, not the loss of sea ice per se

Researchers have been following the penguin population off the tip of the West Antarctic Peninsula since the 1970's. Winter air temperatures in the region have climbed a significant 5 to 6 degrees Celsius in recent decades with a concomitant loss...

Published Sun, Sep 11 2011 2:52 PM by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Filed under: climate change, global warming, photosynthesis, GHG, greenhouse gas, global temperatures, krill, phytoplankton, Pygoscelis antarctica, Pygoscelis adeliae, sea ice, penguin, chinstraps, Icebound Adelies

Flooding from Irene: Whither the Flood Plain?

By J. Wylie Donald, Partner, McCarter & English My train this morning usually continues to New York. Today it terminated in Philadelphia, a victim of the deluge delivered by Hurricane Irene. Amtrak explained: Most Northeast Regional service will operate...

Published Wed, Sep 7 2011 3:21 PM by J. Wylie Donald

Filed under: climate change, global warming, hurricanes, McCarter English, trains, flooding, Wylie Donald, Hurricane Irene, Amtrak, flood insurance, flood plains, FEMA

National Weather Service 30-Year Averages Confirm the Climate is Getting Hotter in the U.S.

By J. Wylie Donald , Partner, McCarter & English Half a degree doesn't sound like much. And it isn't, if you are talking about a baccalaureate. But in a world of climate change, a half a degree increase in Baltimore's average temperature...

Published Tue, Aug 16 2011 12:59 AM by J. Wylie Donald

Filed under: climate change, greenhouse gases, global warming, carbon dioxide, J. Wylie Donald, National Weather Service, average temperatures, temperature increases, climate studies, English & McCarter

New NASA Data Takes Aim at Global Warming

By Patrick Greissing, Alston & Bird LLP A recent study published in the science journal Remote Sensing shows that NASA satellite data from the last 11 years (2000-2011) indicates that the Earth's atmosphere has been able to release far more heat...

Published Mon, Aug 8 2011 3:31 PM by Patrick Greissing

Filed under: climate change, global warming, NASA, Patrick Greissing, Alston Bird, Roy Spencer, William Braswell, Terra satellite, atmospheric heat, climate models

Legal Group Urges Court to Dismiss “Climate Change” Suit

By William Perry Pendley, President and Chief Operating Officer of Mountain States Legal Foundation July 29, 2011 - DENVER, CO. A Colorado nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation today urged a Colorado state court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by minors...

Published Mon, Aug 1 2011 11:19 AM by William Perry Pendley

Filed under: climate change, CO2, global warming, carbon dioxide, standing, common law, carbon emissions, WildEarth Guardians, public trust doctrine, William Perry Pendley

More on the American Electric Power Decision

By Jonathan Wells , Senior Associate, Alston & Bird LLP The United States Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts cannot use the federal common law of nuisance to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. In American Electric Power v. Connecticut, No...

Published Thu, Jul 21 2011 9:27 AM by Jonathan Wells

Filed under: Carbon Dioxide Emissions, greenhouse gases, global warming, EPA, clean air act, electric utilities, nuisances, common law, Alston Bird, American Electric Power v. Connecticut, Jonathan Wells