- The American Wayby Dan GalpernOn 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
- Towards Effective U.S. Action to Protect and Restore Our Climate Systemby Dan GalpernWe Seek Your Considered Feedback
- Across a Hot, Bone-Dry Landscapeby Dan GalpernUpdate 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
- The American West, and Canada, Burningby Dan GalpernIncreasingly 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
- California, Burning: Is it time to cool down?by Dan GalpernSpeaking 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?
- Agencies Can, and Must, Protect the Nationby Dan GalpernLoss of Chevron Deference is No Excuse
- Now a King, Above the Lawby Dan GalpernFormer 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…
- On the Duty to Tell the Truth About Oil, Gas and Coalby Dan GalpernOur 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
- “A Key Assumption”by Dan GalpernMark. 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”
- A Real Methane Fee (Not)by Dan GalpernI 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)
- Supreme Illogic: Our High Court’s Tortured Ballot-Access Rulingby Dan GalpernSeveral 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
- CPR Initiative’s Third Public Hearing on Climate Actionby Dan GalpernWe 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
- Not a King, and Not Immune:
the DC Circuit Court’s Clarion Orderby Dan GalpernOn 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 - Regarding the Siege of Gazaby CPR InitiativeOur 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
- Contending with Global Warming in the Pipeline,
and Beyondby CPR InitiativeAt 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 - Tipping Againby Dan GalpernOn 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
- A Petrostate-Captured COPby Dan GalpernIn 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
- Was it the ‘Beginning of the End’? COP28 & the Phantom Fossil Fuel Phase Outby Dan GalpernI fervently hoped to be proven wrong. In a blog post on Nov. 30, two days before my arrival in Dubai, I had predicted that the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“Framework Convention,” or “UNFCCC”) would fail miserably. There was always the chance (as well… Continue reading Was it the ‘Beginning of the End’? COP28 & the Phantom Fossil Fuel Phase Out
- New and Young Voters: Do not Sit It Outby Dan GalpernI direct myself to new and young eligible voters in the United States, though I speak today from Dubai—a city-state that is suffused right now with a toxic brew of empty rhetoric and particulate pollution. Both those features stem from an embrace of fossil fuels, including their continuous and even increased production. That deadly embrace… Continue reading New and Young Voters: Do not Sit It Out
- Breathless in Dubaiby Dan GalpernThe relevant authorities here declared yesterday to be “COP28 Health Day.” An explanation is warranted. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCCC, or “Framework Convention”) was produced at the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro, in June 1992. Thereafter, on a roughly annual basis, its signatories meet at a Conference of the Parties (COP)… Continue reading Breathless in Dubai
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