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The international Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, is housed at the Peace Palace in The Hague. Here I will just refer to it as “the Court” for the simple reason that, despite its exceptionally rarified air, the ICJ is indeed a court after all.1As for the Peace Palace itself, it… Continue reading A Small Flame, Burning Bright

The World Court Takes On the Climate Crisis What difference would an Order from the World Court make to the domestic and international struggle to arrest dangerous climate change? We should find out soon. That is because, commencing on Dec. 2, 2024, the International Court of Justice (known widely as the World Court) meeting in… Continue reading What’s International Law Got to Do With It?

I flew to Philadelphia last Friday to walk precincts in that key city in an important swing state. It was necessary to urge people to get out and vote in the then-pending, now-completed, national election. Many addresses had broken doorbells, and front windows with cracked or missing panes. A number of them fronted micro-porches littered… Continue reading Walking Philadelphia

On a cold, clear night in Washington D.C., some three years ago, I ended our first nation-wide speaking tour on the climate crisis. To mark the moment, I walked the city’s most iconic path. At its start, framed by the flag and the moon, our illuminated Capitol presented itself. Coupled with recognition of our darkening… Continue reading The American Way

We Seek Your Considered Feedback

Update on my previous post, in which I mentioned the exploding Park Fire of Northern California: Earlier this week the New York Times reported that the Park Fire is rapidly developing into the 4th largest wildfire in California recorded history. And indeed, by the time this short update is posted, the Park Fire may have… Continue reading Across a Hot, Bone-Dry Landscape

Increasingly our wild lands are ablaze. On Thursday, I used a fire mapping tool from NASA and the US Forest Service to garner a current image of active North American wildland fire. Fig. 1, below, indicates that these now pocket vast stretches of the American West, and nearly every Canadian province. The widespread severe wildfire… Continue reading The American West, and Canada, Burning

Speaking from the Oval Office in the wake of Saturday’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump, a cogent Joe Biden made the case that violence has no legitimate place in America. Addressing “the need to lower the temperature in our politics,” he observed that the political arena “has gotten so heated. . . [i]t’s time to… Continue reading California, Burning: Is it time to cool down?

Loss of Chevron Deference is No Excuse

Former President Trump has promised repeatedly that, should he retake office, he will assume dictatorial powers, if only on Day One, in order to launch a massive expansion of oil and gas drilling, among other things…

Our unenviable predicament with respect to our planet’s climate system is the direct consequence of scores of critical decisions taken by government and industry. Can we expect to soon learn more about how these key actors interact? In an important 2021 article, Benjamin Franta, then a Stanford University-based researcher, established that the disinformation campaign launched… Continue reading On the Duty to Tell the Truth About Oil, Gas and Coal

Mark. It. Down. April 25, 2024 On this day, oral argument was held before the Supreme Court, in Trump v. The United States. The critical question: whether former President Trump was (and is) immune from prosecution under the criminal law. I predict this extraordinary argument will redound in history as a reflection point for our… Continue reading “A Key Assumption”

I had hoped that EPA’s proposed methane Waste Emissions Charge, intended to implement a part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — and to complement the just-published oil and gas rules — would be a step in the right direction. The new CH4 charge, after all, will amount to the first national fee imposed on… Continue reading A Real Methane Fee (Not)

Several months ago, from Dubai, I offered an elementary observation in a talk to a number of climate activists: We simply cannot, and must not, depend on the US judicial system to rescue the nation from the present unprecedented threat to American Democracy. In particular, I stated that even a “very well-grounded effort” to invoke Section… Continue reading Supreme Illogic: Our High Court’s Tortured Ballot-Access Ruling

We are pleased to announce publication of our Third Public Hearing on Climate Action. Please see here for the full archive. (The hearing index to it is still being completed). Held in Santa Barbara on January 25, the public hearing on climate was hosted by our local partner, the Community Environmental Council of Santa Barbara,… Continue reading CPR Initiative’s Third Public Hearing on Climate Action

On Tuesday, in a closely reasoned and narrow ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously rejected the most extravagant assertions of immunity from federal prosecution that I’ve ever heard. In particular, criminal defendant Donald Trump had argued to the lower district court that, as a former President, he enjoys “absolute… Continue reading Not a King, and Not Immune:
the DC Circuit Court’s Clarion Order

Our joint letter of January 15, 2024, Toward a New Year & Hope for Peace in the Middle East and Beyond, seeks an end to US support of Israel’s assault on Gaza. Please add your name to the signatories if you wish. On Tuesday, February 6, 2024, CPR Initiative General Counsel Dan Galpern conveyed a… Continue reading Regarding the Siege of Gaza

At the outset of COP28, CPR Initiative’s Dan Galpern warned that the nations had “better not fail,” and specifically pointed to the recent study, “Global Warming in the Pipeline,” as relevant context for the hard negotiations to follow. Dan is CPR Initiative’s General Counsel and Executive Director. His December 3, 2023 remarks were taped at… Continue reading Contending with Global Warming in the Pipeline,
and Beyond

On December 6, 2023, smack dab in the middle of COP28, a powerful, clearly written, and rather comprehensive report, Global Tipping Points, was released by the University of Exeter and the Bezos Earth Fund. The team of some 200+ researchers clearly sought to call to the attention of world leaders, then meeting in Dubai, a… Continue reading Tipping Again

In my last post, here, I raised what I considered a singularly-critical question arising  from the recently-concluded COP28:  Why did the recently-concluded 28th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC abjectly fail to agree to a global phase out of fossil fuels?  Admittedly, a strong commitment by the nations would have been a heavy lift.… Continue reading A Petrostate-Captured COP