Legal Planet
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Legal Planet is a leading source of climate policy and environmental law insights, translating the latest developments in a way that’s understandable. Legal Planet is a collaboration between faculty at UCLA School of Law and UC Berkeley School of Law.
Wish we didn't need a climate playlist for wildfire days, but here it is, nearly 500 songs. legal-planet.org/2026/06/18/b...
Think No One Writes Climate Songs? Here are 400 - Legal Planet
Just in time for summer, the Drain's Climate Playlist is now 30 hours of music with environmental themes from pop to folk to rap.
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A new report has some unexpected implications of Biden’s climate policies. @dfarber1950.bsky.social 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.
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"It is past time for new, louder voices on behalf of wilderness, environment, public health – truly on behalf of America the Beautiful, before it simply isn’t," Ken Alex writes. legal-planet.org/2026/07/16/s...
Screaming in the Wilderness - Legal Planet
It is no surprise that, in the past couple of weeks, the Trump Administration has moved to gut habitat protection under the Endangered Species Act, opening wilderness areas to mining and oil drilling,...
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The Trump Administration’s new ANTI-Precautionary principle says to use any uncertainty as an excuse to avoid regulating. @dfarber1950.bsky.social 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.”
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The Ninth Circuit limiting EPCA preemption is a huge and important win for clean air, Cara Horowitz writes. @uclalawemmett.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/07/07/n...
Ninth Circuit Upholds South Coast Zero-NOx Emission Standard for Appliances - Legal Planet
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just limited EPCA preemption. The decision is a huge and important win for clean air.
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86ing Natural Gas in New Buildings–A new case from New York expands the power of state and local governments to mandate all-electric homes. A contrary case from California was poorly reasoned. The new decision… legal-planet.org/2026/07/06/8... @dfarber1950.bsky.social @legal-planet.org
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.
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A new Second Circuit opinions empowers bans on fossil fuels in new buildings.
Dan Farber@dfarber1950.bsky.social · last mo.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...
Jefferson, Adams, and the Environment—It wasn’t until the end of the 19th Century that the @sierraclub.org was founded, and environmentalism didn’t become a national force until the 1960s. But we tend to overlook… legal-planet.org/2026/07/02/j... @dfarber1950.bsky.social @legal-planet.org
Jefferson, Adams, and the Environment - Legal Planet
The Founding Fathers were more environmentally aware than we give them credit for. Almost woke, even.
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The Founding Fathers were more environmentally aware than we give them credit for. Woke, even! @dfarber1950.bsky.social 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.
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#1 in our new “Energy Corner” series from @uclalawemmett.bsky.social, a look at how California could design a rate structure for large load customers to join the electric grid without burdening ratepayers. legal-planet.org/2026/06/29/a...
A Tariff on Data Centers Could Help Them Pay Their Fair Share - Legal Planet
California could design a rate structure for large load customers to join the electric grid without burdening ratepayers.
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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...
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Chances are your state legislature is considering a bill to authorize plug-in solar panels for your balcony or backyard. legal-planet.org/2026/06/26/w...
Plug-In Solar Bills are Taking State Legislatures By Storm - Legal Planet
It’s worth taking notice when any clean energy legislation is passing with bipartisan support in all kinds of states. Bills on balcony solar, also called plug-in solar, have been signed or moved forwa...
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The Court held that FIFRA expressly preempts the state law failure-to-warn claims that have been brought against Monsanto for failing to warn Roundup users that glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) causes cancer. legal-planet.org/2026/06/25/t...
The Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Bayer - Legal Planet
Bayer wants to contain its vast, growing litigation exposure stemming from its best-selling product, Roundup. The Supreme Court just helped.
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UCLA Emmett Institute@uclalawemmett.bsky.social · last mo.Bayer just got the litigation relief it was looking for in the Monsanto Roundup case. Here's what is (and is not) surprising about the decision, according to our William Boyd, an expert on toxics and environmental law. ☠️1/5
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.
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My new post on the CPUC's problematic proposed decision in the SB 1221 Neighborhood Decarbonization pilot program
Legal Planet@legal-planet.org · last mo.California passed a promising Neighborhood Decarbonization Program. The CPUC’s plan for implementing SB 1221 sets it up to fail. @denisegrab.bsky.social @uclalawemmett.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/24/c...
California passed a promising Neighborhood Decarbonization Program. The CPUC’s plan for implementing SB 1221 sets it up to fail. @denisegrab.bsky.social @uclalawemmett.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/24/c...
CPUC Proposed Decision Risks Derailing Gas Transition - Legal Planet
California passed a promising Neighborhood Decarbonization Program. The CPUC’s plan for implementing SB 1221 sets it up to fail.
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The Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, the world’s largest subnational network dedicated to protecting forests, just grew from 45 to 54 member jurisdictions to cover even more of the world’s tropical forests. @uclalawemmett.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/23/t...
The GCF Task Force Expands at 16th Annual Meeting - Legal Planet
The Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force) has grown from 45 to 54 member jurisdictions to cover even more of the world’s tropical forests. The GCF Task Force 16th Annual Meeting S...
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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.
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Think no one writes climate songs? I found 419 of them (!) for 30 hours of environmental music. My summertime Climate Playlist spans from the 1960s to new releases this month. In fact, a huge number of these tracks are from the last 5 years. And they're not downers. legal-planet.org/2026/06/18/b...
Think No One Writes Climate Songs? Here are 400 - Legal Planet
Just in time for summer, the Drain's Climate Playlist is now 30 hours of music with environmental themes from pop to folk to rap.
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Hey, it’s not all gloom and doom out there. @dfarber1950.bsky.social has a compendium of good news. legal-planet.org/2026/06/18/a...
A Compendium of Good News - Legal Planet
Sorry, President Trump, clean energy is surging dramatically around the world, with solar and battery storage leading the charge.
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A new CLEE report identifies policy solutions to lower California’s electricity rates. @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/18/k...
Keeping the Energy Transition Affordable - Legal Planet
A new report from CLEE offers solutions to California's electricity affordability challenge.
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The field of SRM keeps growing. This month, UCLA’s ESI Project co-hosted a science-policy dialogue with Latin American and Caribbean parliamentarians. @uclalawemmett.bsky.social #SolarGeoengineering #ClimateChange #ClimateGovernance legal-planet.org/2026/06/16/l...
Legislating Sunlight Reflection in Latin America and the Caribbean - Legal Planet
UCLA’s ESI Project just co-hosted a science-policy dialogue with Latin American and Caribbean parliamentarians.
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Laying off 2 climate journalists and killing the Climate Desk is a step backward for NPR. The good news: local public radio stations are still doing climate journalism. These 33 local climate reporters are still at it. @coveringclimatenow.org @sammyroth.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/16/n...
NPR Cut Its Climate Desk. These 33 Local Climate Reporters Are Still at It - Legal Planet
Laying off 2 climate journalists is a step backward for NPR. The good news is that local radio stations are still doing climate journalism.
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A close look at OMB’s proposed rule only heightens concerns. @dfarber1950.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/15/o...
OMB’s New Grant Regulations: A Deeper Dive - Legal Planet
OMB's proposed new regulations for federal research grants turn out, on close examination, to be just as bad as they seemed.
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An Urban Institute Study loved by supply skeptics goes up in flames, writes Jonathan Zasloff legal-planet.org/2026/06/12/l...
Left-NIMBYs Take Another Loss - And This One Is Really Embarrassing - Legal Planet
As I wrote last year, the Urban Institute produced a study purporting to show that land use reforms did not substantially increase housing production. I noted that the study has become very influentia...
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POLITICO retiring E&E News could mean more reporting on climate politics and less on climate policy. @evanlgeorge.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/10/d...
Does More Energy Reporting = Less Climate Reporting? - Legal Planet
POLITICO is killing off the E&E News brands. Will it lead to less climate reporting? The Drain is a weekly roundup of climate news.
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The Trump Administration views science as fatally infected with woke ideas and lacking much other value. @dfarber1950.bsky.social legal-planet.org/2026/06/08/w...
Why Does the Trump Administration Keeping Attacking Science? - Legal Planet
The Trump Administration's multi-prong attack on American science seems to come down to ideology, plain and simple.
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Guest contributor Julie Binot writes that farmworkers are paying the price of California’s weaker pesticide standards. legal-planet.org/2026/06/05/c...
California Permits Pesticides the EU Has Banned - Legal Planet
Guest contributor Julie Binot writes that farmworkers are paying the price of California's weaker pesticide standards.
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The California governor’s race is still too uncertain to call. But there is one primary race where the loser is already clear... legal-planet.org/2026/06/03/o...
One Big Loser in the California Primary is Already Clear - Legal Planet
There is one primary race where the loser is already clear: data centers. The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news
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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.
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