New York Times vs. the Wall Street Journal on Shale Gas
On Sunday, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal published pieces that provided starkly different portraits of the natural gas industry. The NYT's article, the first of a two-part series, suggested that projected shale reserves might be inflated, which could in turn lead to an Enron-esqe bust. Journalist Ian Urbina cites emails from industry analysts, Energy Information Administration (EIA) staff and geologists to support his contention that extracting shale gas may be more costly and difficult than claimed by the industry. The WSJ editorial, on the other hand, contended that the shale gas boom is creating jobs and enhancing energy security. The article suggests that sustainability concerns related to new development are unfounded and are being pushed by environmentalists and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's "anti-fossil fuel" agenda.
Continue Reading...Rio Plus 20: Can International Environmental Law Evolve?
Yesterday, I attended a luncheon at the National Press Club and listened to a reasoned yet passionate speech from Sha Zukang, Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development - Rio+20 to be held next summer. The original Rio Summit provided the foundations for modern international law including Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. For all the promise of these lofty agreements, progress on the most pressing sustainability issues we face such as climate change and loss of biodiversity have made little tangible progress in the past two decades. Today’s global economic and political challenges only make things more daunting heading into 2012.
Continue Reading...Comer Strikes Again - Comer State Law Claims Refiled
In a move that is largely flying under the radar, Ned Comer and fellow plaintiffs refiled their climate change tort action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on May 27, 2011. See Case No. 11-220. The new action, based on diversity jurisdiction, alleges public and private nuisance, trespass, and negligence causes of action under Mississippi law. The complaint claims that plaintiffs suffered damages in Hurricane Katrina as a result of the production, exploration, mining, or combustion activities by the coal, oil, and chemical companies. As in the prior action, they argue that the defendants’ GHG emissions made Hurricane Katrina more ferocious and damaging.
Continue Reading...SCOTUS Holds That Plaintiffs Cannot Maintain Federal Common Law Nuisance Claims Against GHG-Emitting Utilities but Leaves Window Open for State Common Law Claims
On June 20, 2011, the Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit’s decision in American Electric Power, Co., Inc. v. Connecticut, No. 10-174, but on narrower grounds than some had hoped. The Court held 8-0 that Connecticut and a coalition of seven other states, the City of New York, and three land trusts could not proceed with their federal common law public nuisance claims against carbon dioxide emitters (four private power companies and the federal Tennessee Valley Authority).
Continue Reading...Ancillary Benefits of a "Golden Age of Gas"
On Monday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report entitled “Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas?” Much of the initial coverage on the report has been focused on the potential for natural gas to displace coal in the power sector, and IEA’s conclusion that increased use of natural gas “on its own” will not limit average global temperatures from rising by 2 degrees Celsius.
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