- Supreme Illogic: Our High Court’s Tortured Ballot-Access Ruling, with Some Direct Implicationsby 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 unprecedented threat to American Democracy presented by the MAGA movement. In particular, I stated that even a “very… Continue reading Supreme Illogic: Our High Court’s Tortured Ballot-Access Ruling, with Some Direct Implications
- 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
- A Debacle Brewing in Dubaiby Dan GalpernWe are sleepwalking towards catastrophe no longer. . . . Instead, we are now sprinting toward it, eyes wide open.
- Time to “sit up and take notice”by Dan GalpernJames Hansen warns of global warming in the pipeline The renowned climate scientist James E. Hansen, along with a slew of colleagues, have gone and done it again. Publication yesterday of their study, Global Warming in the Pipeline, will require responsible policymakers and the informed public to consider the threat presented by unarrested climate change… Continue reading Time to “sit up and take notice”
- “Let Us Bend the Arc of History”by Dan GalpernJoe Biden, September 19, 2023 at the UN General Assembly
- Not…Nearly…Enough: EPA’s Proposed Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Ruleby Dan GalpernWithout a corresponding constriction on US production of fossil fuels, their lessened use in the United States may result in an increase, perhaps a substantial increase, in the export of oil, gas and coal to nations without similar controls. Dan Galpern, General Counsel & Executive Director, CPR Initiative On Aug. 8, 2023, I submitted a… Continue reading Not…Nearly…Enough: EPA’s Proposed Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Rule
- Our Planet, On Fireby Dan GalpernWildland fires in Canada were tamped down a bit last week, particularly in north-central Quebec where a large low-pressure system was “wandering around the Hudson Bay area,” delivering some rain. Nonetheless, a great swath of Canada’s wildland remains on fire, particularly in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and even in Quebec. We produced the arresting night… Continue reading Our Planet, On Fire
- Plaintiffs Regroupby Dan GalpernIn May, together with the United States Department of Justice, we filed a “Joint Stipulation of Dismissal” of our federal lawsuit. We can summarize the proceedings to that point. In June 2022, our plaintiffs’ group filed our Petition to Phase Out Greenhouse Gas Pollution. In its September 14, 2022 response, EPA denied our petition, in part, on… Continue reading Plaintiffs Regroup
- “Moments of Crushing Guilt”by Dan GalpernA bench trial began on Monday in Helena before Judge Kathy Seeley of the Montana First Judicial District Court. In Held v. State of Montana, the question now is whether a statute barring state agencies from considering impacts to the climate system infringes on the inalienable rights established in the state constitution to “a clean… Continue reading “Moments of Crushing Guilt”
- Major Questions on Climate & the Environment
Implicating the Supreme Court and the Nation
by Dan GalpernWhat is the United States Supreme Court up to, with respect to the climate and environmental crises? Is its conservative majority hell-bent on inserting itself as the nation’s chief environmental regulator, displacing the Environmental Protection Agency – indeed, stripping EPA of authority that Congress plainly sought to confer? Or is the current majority merely, in… Continue reading Major Questions on Climate & the EnvironmentImplicating the Supreme Court and the Nation
- CPR Initiative on The Radio with Ecotopia KZFR 90.1by CPR InitiativeListen to KZFR 90.1 Chico, Ecotopia’s recording from Tuesday, March 21, 2023. General Counsel & Executive Director of CPR Initiative Dan Galpern spoke with Ecotopia hosts Susan and Stephen Tchudi about CPR Initiative’s Petition to EPA to Phase Out Greenhouse Gas Pollution, the latest on CPR Initiative’s Citizen’s Climate Lawsuit, and his upcoming event, Legal… Continue reading CPR Initiative on The Radio with Ecotopia KZFR 90.1
- Towards the Return of First Principles, at Year’s Endby Dan GalpernBy Dan Galpern, CPR Initiative General Council & Executive Director The rule of law, a prerequisite to justice and fairness, is also fundamental to the ability of governments to attend to their primary duty — “the care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction.” (Thomas Jefferson, March 31, 1809, To the Republicans of… Continue reading Towards the Return of First Principles, at Year’s End
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