Online Articles

Flooded Street

Striving for Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Equity in FEMA Climate Change Policy

December 22, 2021 by Ju-Ching Huang Climate change Regulations Sustainability

How well can FEMA's existing flood insurance and grant programs protect Americans under climate change? Background  Climate change is now impacting Americans' daily lives, and floods, in particular, are a pressing issue. Under the threat of climate…

Installation of a rooftop solar photovoltaic system. Image by Greens MPs via Flickr.

So Long, Solar? The Future of Net Energy Metering in California Will Soon Be Decided

October 19, 2021 by Jaclyn Lee Energy Renewable Energy State and Local

In September 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) began its highly anticipated proceeding to reevaluate the state’s net energy metering successor (NEM 2.0) tariff. Expected no later than January 2022, the decision from the national leader in solar electricity production could have far-reaching impacts on the future of customer-owned solar generation and battery storage.

What’s in a Number: The Social Cost of Carbon

August 19, 2021 by Garrett S. Kral, Esq. Litigation Online Supplemental Article Regulations

By Garrett S. Kral, Esq.*

*Garrett S. Kral is a former U.S. EPA official and political appointee for the Trump administration.

Texas street covered with snow after a storm.

Renewable Energy Framed as the Culprit of Texas Blackouts

April 20, 2021 by Blake Ellis Climate change Energy Fossil Fuels Renewable Energy

In February 2021, the state of Texas experienced unprecedented power outages caused by severe winter storms. Conservative politicians and media were quick to blame the use of renewable energy as the culprit of the outages. The facts present a different explanation.

The Public Trust Doctrine: A Cracked Foundation

April 15, 2021 by Myles Douglas Young Litigation Natural Resources Public Lands State and Local

The utilization of the Public Trust Doctrine in litigations is often premised on its supposed ancient Roman pedigree. This article explores the origins of the doctrine and finds that, in fact, the ancient doctrine was quite different from the one we see in the United States today. What errors do scholars make, and what do those errors mean for the survival of the modern doctrine?

By Myles Douglas Young, Administrative Editor