Dan Farber
@dfarber1950.bsky.social
Law professor and director of Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment at UC Berkeley
Here's how the midterms are shaping up. The outcome will determine how much room Trump will have in his campaign to eliminate environmental safeguards and kneecap clean energy. legal-planet.org/2026/08/03/e...
Election 2026: Three Months to Go - Legal Planet
SummaryAggressive gerrymandering has given Republicans a better chance of holding control of the House of Representatives. Democrats have an uphill battle in trying to take control of the Senate becau...
legal-planet.org
Trump's impact on clean energy hasn't stopped it from, expanding, but we'll need a huge increase in the 2030s. legal-planet.org/2026/07/30/f...
Strategies for the 2030s - Legal Planet
Good news: U.S. carbon emissions will continue to fall until after Trump is out of office. After that, it will all depend on us.
legal-planet.org
The Clean Air Act is inexorable: When Trump OKs more pollution from some sources, other sources have to make up for the excess. It's a zero-sum game. legal-planet.org/2026/07/27/t...
The Sting in the Tail of the Clean Air Act - Legal Planet
Under the Clean Air Act, deregulation is a zero sum game. One industry's deregulation means greater regulation for others.
legal-planet.org
What if cutting carbon emissions is only half the problem? Daniel Farber, @dfarber1950.bsky.social , Professor at @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social, argues we also need to build an entirely new energy system - and that's an equally big challenge. New episode of We Need to Act. 🎙️ shorturl.at/3eczC
Environmental Law and Climate Change: Why Collective Action Is Our Most Powerful Tool with Daniel Farber
We Need to Act · Episode
shorturl.at
For those who want to get up to speed on international climate litigation, this short course from Europe may be worth a look. www.biicl.org/events/12101...
Short Course: Climate Change Litigation
10 Sessions: 30 Sept, 7, 14, 21, 28 Oct 4, 11, 18, 25 Nov and 2 Dec 2026, Online
biicl.org
Trump's latest anti-science move: An effort to bankrupt the National Academies for telling the truth about climate change. legal-planet.org/2026/07/23/e...
Escalating the War on Science - Legal Planet
Trump is out to destroy the National Academies, which are the pinnacle of American science for an: accurate report on climate science.
legal-planet.org
What's the role of environmental law in climate action and the energy transition? Sara Rego and I discuss this question on her podcast. youtu.be/6YWuh7omPBw?...
Environmental Law and Climate Change: Why Collective Action Is Our Most Powerful Tool |Daniel Farber
YouTube video by We Need to Act
youtu.be
Choking on smoke from Canada? Here's what you need to know about the cause of the fires, their impacts, and what can be done. legal-planet.org/2026/07/22/c...
Canada in Flames - Legal Planet
The U.S. needs to cut fossil fuel use, which is like throwing gasoline on Canadian forest fires, and we need to help them with forest management.
legal-planet.org
Why was the sloop Clearwater removed from New York Harbor's July 4 parade? CPR Member Scholar Dan Farber, of @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social, chats with Board Member Rob Verchick on Blue Tomorrow to break it down. @dfarber1950.bsky.social @robverchick.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/robverch...
Inside the Clearwater Free Speech Controversy
Berkeley Law's Dan Farber and I unpack the legal questions behind the Coast Guard's removal of the sloop Clearwater from New York Harbor's July 4th Parade.
open.substack.com
The Coast Guard evicted a ship from a maritime Fourth of July parade because it had environmental slogans on its sails. Was that unconstitutional? It's a more complicated question than you might think. legal-planet.org/2026/07/20/r...
Rough Sailing - Legal Planet
The Coast Guard's removal of the Clearwater from a maritime parade may have violated the First Amendment. But we need more facts.
legal-planet.org
A new report by an MIT researcher has provocative views about what aspects of Biden's Inflration Reduction Act should be revived. It's worth taking a look. legal-planet.org/2026/07/16/p...
Pondering the Effects of Biden's Climate Policies - Legal Planet
A study of Biden's climate policies has important implications for where we should go after Trump.It may not be a replay of the IRA.
legal-planet.org
"Classic Trump" -- the Trump of 2017-2021 -- was bad. Today's "New Trump" version turns out to be much worse. legal-planet.org/2026/07/13/b...
Bring Back “Trump Classic” - Legal Planet
Trump's second term is making every past President including even himself look better. It's like New Coke versus Coke Classic.
legal-planet.org
The precautionary principle says that the existence of uncertainty isn't a basis for rejecting prudent regulation of a risk. The Trump Administration has adopted the opposite view: unless harm to health or safety is a certainty, the government should do nothing. legal-planet.org/2026/07/09/t...
The Trump Administration’s New ANTI-Precautionary Principle - Legal Planet
The Trump Administration is a following a new Anti-Precautionary Principle: “Don't regulate without complete certainty.”
legal-planet.org
Avoiding the errors of a prior 9th Cir. opinion, the 2nd Cir. has upheld a requirement that new buildings be all-electric. This is a big step forward for the East Coast. Hopefully, other circuits will follow suit. legal-planet.org/2026/07/06/8...
86ing Natural Gas in New Buildings - Legal Planet
The Ninth Circuit mistakenly struck down new that a local ban on natural gas in new buildings. A new Second Circuit opinions get it right.
legal-planet.org
this is very cool! however these kinds of headlines always make me feel sorry for the uncelebrated cadre of nameless engineers who’ve collectively figured out how to make those 20% efficiency panels for cheaper than wood, which is what has made the ongoing solar revolution possible
Ada Palmer@adapalmer.bsky.social · last mo.German researchers have built the most efficient solar panel ever, turning 34.4% of sunlight into electricity. That’s way higher than ordinary rooftop panels, which usually convert between 20-23%. buff.ly/GRh5GzJ #ShareGoodNewsToo
Our current President finds nothing more beautiful than gold leaf and huge facades. But Founders such as Adams and Jefferson were different. For them, it was Nature that offered the most sublime beauty. legal-planet.org/2026/07/02/j...
Jefferson, Adams, and the Environment - Legal Planet
The Founding Fathers were more environmentally aware than we give them credit for. Almost woke, even.
legal-planet.org
Interesting side effect of Slaughter: According to Dealbook, the FTC's loss of independence may invalidate the agreement allowing U.S. firms to import personal data from EU.
Last Friday, the Trump Administration lost a major air pollution case in a unanymous ruling from the D.C. Circuit. Next step, the Supreme Court. legal-planet.org/2026/06/30/a...
A Trump Rollback Hits a Roadblock - Legal Planet
The D.C. Circuit rebuffed the Trump Administration's effort to overturn a key air pollution standard with major public health benefits.
legal-planet.org
Trump disowned Project 2025 during the election. "In retrospect, it seems like he considered it too moderate." @dfarber1950.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/29/p...
Project 2025 Was Awful. Trump Has Been Worse. - Legal Planet
When the Heritage Foundation released Project 2025, there was a big hullabaloo, and Trump quickly disowned it. Bad as it was, however, it appears Project 2025 apparently failed to anticipate the fu...
legal-planet.org
Last Friday, the Trump Administration lost a major air pollution case in a unanymous ruling from the D.C. Circuit. Next step, the Supreme Court. legal-planet.org/2026/06/30/a...
A Trump Rollback Hits a Roadblock - Legal Planet
The D.C. Circuit rebuffed the Trump Administration's effort to overturn a key air pollution standard with major public health benefits.
legal-planet.org
When Project 2025 came out, it was so politically toxic that Trump disowned it. But what Trump has actually done has been even worse than what Project 2025 proposed. legal-planet.org/2026/06/29/p...
Project 2025 Was Awful. Trump Has Been Worse. - Legal Planet
When the Heritage Foundation released Project 2025, there was a big hullabaloo, and Trump quickly disowned it. Bad as it was, however, it appears Project 2025 apparently failed to anticipate the fu...
legal-planet.org
Along with the prior repost of UK being halfway to net zero and Australia getting free electricity from renewables there are a lot of these quiet victories going on. The fossil fuel industry is in full thrash and thunder trying to assert how irreplaceable it is but inch by inch we’re getting there.
Nicolas Fulghum@nicolasfulghum.bsky.social · last mo.At lunchtime yesterday, Texas solar and wind generation crossed over 50 GW output for the first time ever. Together, the two sources supplied nearly two-thirds of Texan power needs at that time.
How did China go from being climate policy's biggest problem child to being a potential savior? It didn't happen overnight. Sadly, the U.S. has been moving in the opposite direction. legal-planet.org/2026/06/25/c...
China’s Climate Policies: A Timeline - Legal Planet
Over the past 20 years, China has gone from climate action's problem child to the champion of clean energy.
legal-planet.org
OMB’s proposed new rule seeks to politicize research funding across the entire federal government. @dfarber1950.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/01/t...
The Next Step in Trump's War on Science - Legal Planet
OMB's new rule attempts to politicize funding for scientific research. It goes far beyond OMB's legal authority.
legal-planet.org
Suppressing the rights of free speech and association is deadly to environmental protection. @dfarber1950.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/23/t...
The Environment Dies in Darkness - Legal Planet
If we want to fight global warming, we also need to fight the chilling effects of repression on First Amendment freedoms.
legal-planet.org
On good days, I believe the clean energy renaissance is too far along for the oiligarchs to stop.
Ada Palmer@adapalmer.bsky.social · last mo.California’s new eight-hour battery is making its grid even more renewable. California has switched on Tumbleweed, the first major US battery project able to discharge power for eight hours, twice the usual duration for grid batteries. Canary Media buff.ly/jBKQxrf #ShareGoodNewsToo
How has China has gone from climate action’s problem child to a promoter of clean energy? @dfarber1950.bsky.social has a timeline legal-planet.org/2026/06/25/c...
China’s Climate Policies: A Timeline - Legal Planet
Over the past 20 years, China has gone from climate action's problem child to the champion of clean energy.
legal-planet.org
Suppressing the rights of free speech and association is deadly to environmental protection. That makes the Trump Administration's campaign to suppress its critics a danger to not only democracy but also to our planet. legal-planet.org/2026/06/23/t...
The Environment Dies in Darkness - Legal Planet
If we want to fight global warming, we also need to fight the chilling effects of repression on First Amendment freedoms.
legal-planet.org
Tax credits and direct subsidies sound like handouts. That’s not true in the case of renewable energy and electric vehicles. @dfarber1950.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/05/28/t...
The Compelling Case for Clean Energy Subsidies - Legal Planet
Clean energy subsidies aren't handouts. They're payment for real societal benefits like reducing deaths from pollution.
legal-planet.org
