pollution and waste

Can federal courts help tackle global warming?

If Congress and the president fail to tackle global warming, can courts step in? Can federal judges allow people struggling with the losses of global warming to sue polluters directly? The idea may at first seem crazy. In a legal world obsessed with claims of judicial activism, the image of a judge taking on a […]

Hannah McCrea & Doug Kendall Politics

The New Bottom Line

As the economy begins to rebound, businesses are again focused on commodities that may be in short supply when manufacturing shifts back into high gear. Oil, refined fuels, steel, and electricity are among many things that may be harder to get or just harder to afford. But what about the one commodity that is needed […]

Terry Tamminen Technology

Lowering income taxes while raising pollution taxes reaps great returns

As economic decisionmakers—whether consumers, corporate planners, government policymakers, or investment bankers—we all depend on the market for guidance. In order for markets to work and economic actors to make sound decisions, the markets must give us good information, including the full cost of the products we buy. Unfortunately, markets largely ignore the indirect costs of […]

Lester Brown Climate & Energy

Louisiana environmental racism case gets hearing from Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

For the first time in history, an international human rights body has agreed to review a case involving allegations of environmental racism in the United States. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will hear a complaint filed by the New Orleans-based Advocates for Environmental Human Rights (AEHR) on behalf of the people of Mossville, […]

Sue Sturgis Uncategorized

Pollution limits are essential for clean energy investments

This piece was co-written by Kate Gordon, vice president for energy policy at American Progress. A critical element of President Obama’s domestic agenda is transforming the United States to a low-carbon-pollution economy, which would spur recovery, create jobs, and generate long-term prosperity. The president also made clear in his State of the Union address this […]

Daniel J. Weiss Politics

American Enterprise Institute accidentally makes the case for climate legislation

Several folks have already taken note of this but I wanted to add a few thoughts. Mark Perry at the American Enterprise Institute seems to be inadvertently making the case for climate change legislation. First, he lists a series of things environmentalists predicted would happen assuming business-as-usual levels of pollution. Then, using this chart, he […]

Josh Nelson Politics

EPA stands by as polluters ignore the Clean Water Act

(iStockphoto)Another entry in the New York Times fantastic “Toxic Waters” series came out on Sunday. This latest one is about the slow but tragically effective weakening of the Clean Water Act: Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are […]

Tom Laskawy Uncategorized

Abu Dhabi bailed out Dubai — is the world next?

Driving around Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, you can easily see the massive construction sites and melting pot of cultures. What is less evident is that a sustainability revolution is going on, from the most humble corner shop to the highest levels of government. Abu Dhabi may best be known in […]