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

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: Recent Report Quantifies the Market for Energy Efficiency Retrofits

By J. Cullen Howe, Environmental Law Specialist, Arnold & Porter LLP In March, The Rockefeller Foundation and DB Climate Change Advisors released a research paper entitled United States Building Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Market Sizing and Financing...

Published Mon, Apr 23 2012 5:44 PM by J. Cullen Howe

Filed under: greenhouse gases, green buildings, Columbia Law School, Cullen Howe, energy savings, energy efficient buildings, retrofitting, building reuse, historic buildings, Property Assessed Clean Energy, Energy Service Agreements

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: Mississippi Supreme Court Reverses Approval for Lignite Plant with Carbon Capture and Storage

By Danielle Sugarman, Fellow, Center for Climate Change, Columbia Law School On March 15, 2012, the Supreme Court of Mississippi handed down its decision in Sierra Club v. Mississippi Public Service Commission and Mississippi Power Company, Inc ., 2012...

Published Mon, Apr 16 2012 2:31 PM by Danielle Sugarman

Filed under: greenhouse gases, clean power, coal gasification, carbon capture, coal fired power plant, Sierra Club v. Mississippi Public Service Commission, Mississippi Power Company, Danielle Sugarman, Columbia Law Climate Change, lignite coal, Mississippi

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: Urban Green Council Releases Report Finding That Green Codes Task Force’s Recommendations Have Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Saved Energy

By J. Cullen Howe, Environmental Law Specialist, Arnold & Porter LLP On February 2, 2012, the Urban Green Council released a report finding that New York City is on track to meet its goal of lowering carbon emissions, energy consumption, and waste...

Published Wed, Apr 11 2012 5:51 PM by J. Cullen Howe

Filed under: greenhouse gases, GHG, energy efficiency, green buildings, Columbia Law School, Cullen Howe, energy savings, Urban Green Council, Green Codes Task Force, Center for Climate Change Law, Arnold & Porter

EPA Green-House Gas Regulation Argued Before Court

By William Perry Pendley, President and Chief Operating Officer of Mountain States Legal Foundation A hard-hitting brief filed by a western, nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation challenging the attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA...

Published Fri, Mar 16 2012 3:18 PM by William Perry Pendley

Filed under: climate change, greenhouse gases, EPA, GHG, emissions, William Perry Pendley, Mountain States Legal Foundation, green-house gas, clean air, endangerment rule

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

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: California Air Resources Board Adopts Regional Cap-and-Trade Program

By Julia Dobtsis, JD Candidate, 2012, Cornell Law School On October 20, 2011, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced the adoption its long awaited Air Resources Board Emissions Trading Program. The state-administered program is the first...

Published Wed, Dec 7 2011 9:20 AM by Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law

Filed under: greenhouse gases, emissions, cap and trade, California Air Resources Board, Adam Riedel, clean technology, CARB, clean power, Julia Dobtsis

Cap-and Trade War Coming Our Way

By Robert F. Lawrence, Partner, and Dustin Till, Associate, Marten Law Cap and trade is a market-based framework under which aggregate emissions are capped and regulated businesses must obtain (through government allocations, auctions, or secondary trades...

Published Tue, Nov 8 2011 3:22 PM by Robert Lawrence and Dustin Till

Filed under: greenhouse gases, California, renewable energy, emissions, cap and trade, leakage, California Air Resources Board, utilities, Dustin Till, Robert Lawrence, Marten Law

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Prepares for 2012 Program Review

By Shelley Welton, Deputy Director & Fellow, Center for Climate Change, Columbia Law School On Tuesday, October 11, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) held one of a series of stakeholder learning sessions devoted to possible program reforms...

Published Fri, Oct 14 2011 12:35 PM by Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law

Filed under: greenhouse gases, cap and trade, electric utilities, dormant commerce clause, leakage, RGGI, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, electricity imports, Shelley Welton, carbon, Federal Power Act

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

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: Department of Energy Will Use Full-Fuel-Cycle Analysis When Determining Energy Conservation Standards for Appliances

By J. Cullen Howe, Environmental Law Specialist, Arnold & Porter LLP On August 18, 2011, the Department of Energy said in a policy statement (Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products and Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment: Statement...

Published Wed, Aug 31 2011 11:18 AM by J. Cullen Howe

Filed under: greenhouse gases, GHG, energy efficiency, Columbia Law School, Cullen Howe, Department of Energy, energy conservation, full fuel cycle, appliance efficiency, National Energy Modeling System

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

The Debt Ceiling Furor Will Change the Climate of Climate Change Responses

By J. Wylie Donald, Partner, McCarter & English We hope you don't come to this blog for stock tips but it doesn't take John Bogle to know that the debt ceiling impasse and the budget furor do not bode well for renewable energy stocks. Citing...

Published Thu, Aug 11 2011 9:11 AM by J. Wylie Donald

Filed under: climate change, greenhouse gases, EPA, energy efficiency, renewable energy, J. Wylie Donald, carbon emissions, BULB Act, debt ceiling, McCarter English, ethanol

Full-Scale CCS Project Put on Hold by AEP

By Patrick Greissing, Alston & Bird LLP Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been deemed a technology that can help fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; however, it has had trouble getting off the ground. The cost of CCS, legal...

Published Mon, Aug 8 2011 5:35 PM by Patrick Greissing

Filed under: climate change, greenhouse gases, emissions, electric utilities, Patrick Greissing, Alston Bird, American Electric Power, Mountaineer Power Plant