Pritzker Brief No. 4 | September 2013
Publication Number 37 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 365 (2013)
California will begin construction of a proposed high speed rail system in the San Joaquin Valley in 2013, which will ultimately connect to Los Angeles and San Francisco. If implemented poorly, however, the system could lead to unchecked development in the Valley that could increase traffic, exacerbate the loss of farmland, and generate more air pollution.
In the Summer 2013 volume of Hasting West Northwest Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, Emmett/Frankel Fellow Megan Herzog and Environmental Law Center Executive Director Sean Hecht discuss how Southern California local governments can seize sea-level rise adaptation opportunities while minimizing legal risk.
In the Harvard Law Review Forum, Professor Ann Carlson explains how a focus on California can help President Obama to fulfill his pledge to combat climate change through executive action. Professors Richard Lazarus and Michael Gerrard also contributed reaction pieces on the President's pledge.
Faculty and researchers at the Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment, UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, and the law school's Evan Frankel Environmental Law and Policy Program have crafted the first comprehensive environmental sustainability plan for the city of Los Angeles. Vision 2021 LA addresses all the major impacts the city has on the environment — from energy, air and water to environmental justice and the green economy. It contains 11 target areas, 24 goals and hundreds of benchmarks to ensure accountability.
Long term, mass consumer adoption of electric vehicles will help California meet its renewable energy and greenhouse gas goals while boosting the economy with domestically produced fuel (in the form of electricity) and sales from California-based electric vehicle companies and suppliers.
Key policy recommendations: Industry and policy-maker coordinated education and outreach campaign about the consumer benefits of electric vehicle technology, reduced taxes and fees to lower the upfront cost of the vehicles, and a well-planned and coordinate public charging infrastructure.
In August 2011, the Emmett Center examined California's proposed cap-and-trade program. In this two-page recap, we review the program as adopted and find our conclusions still apply: the California Air Resources Board has designed a cap-and-trade program that should avoid gaming and market manipulation problems sometimes seen in other programs.
The Emmett Center partners with NRDC on a new study analyzing the benefits of smart roofing options for Southern California. Looking Up concludes that green roofs and cool roofs would save energy and money, reduce global warming pollution, and relieve stress on California’s limited fresh water supply. Coauthored by Cara Horowitz, the study quantifies these benefits and makes policy recommendations for promoting smart roofs.
Under SB 226, qualifying infill projects can avoid environmental review of impacts that were addressed in prior, program-level analysis or where local development standards already mitigate them. Project proponents can also analyze environmental impacts specific to the project through a more streamlined CEQA process.