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Climate and the EPA blog
Sue and Settle, the Friendly Lawsuit That Writes Rules Without You in the Room How a lawsuit between an advocacy group and an agency that agree can set the agency's rulemaking agenda, and what the 2017 reforms did about it. The Senate Voted 95 to 0 Against a Climate Treaty Before Kyoto Was Written In July 1997 the Senate unanimously warned against a lopsided climate treaty, and Washington has kept such deals away from the Senate ever since. Straws, Bags and the Other Small Sacrifices That Only Make Us Feel Green Straw and bag bans ask a lot of shoppers and deliver little measurable benefit, while the real source of ocean plastic goes largely unaddressed. Hot Day Means Climate Crisis, Cold Snap Means Weather, a Lesson in Coverage Coverage treats every heat wave as climate and every cold spell as weather. Here is the distinction scientists draw and how to check a claim yourself. Why the Endangered Species Act Punishes the Landowner Who Helps a Bird The Endangered Species Act makes habitat a legal liability, so owners have a reason to clear it early. The record says the incentive is the problem. Chevron Began as a Win for Reagan's EPA, Which Makes Its Fall So Ironic Chevron deference was born in a case the Reagan administration won, and conservatives defended it for years. Here is how the right changed its mind. The Air Got Cleaner While the Economy Grew, and the Numbers Show How Since 1970 emissions of the six common air pollutants fell sharply while the economy grew, which refutes the claim that prosperity and clean air are enemies. The Major Questions Doctrine Explained, From Tobacco to the Power Plants Congress must speak clearly before an agency claims power over a vast part of the economy. Here is where the rule came from and where Gorsuch and Barrett part. After the 1953 Flood the Dutch Built Their Way to Safety, a Lesson in Adaptation The Dutch answered the deadly 1953 flood with the Delta Works, and the story shows that wealth and engineering protect people from weather better than anything. Grant the Warming, Then Ask What Each Climate Policy Actually Buys Conservatives can accept a century of measured warming and still reject costly climate policy, because the question is what each policy changes and who pays. Does the Commerce Clause Reach a Red Wolf That Never Leaves the County The Endangered Species Act reaches animals that never cross a state line on a broad reading of the Commerce Clause. The court fights show why limits matter.