Environmental Law

On October 22-25, I was joined by 20 current King Hall environmental law students in attending the California State Bar Environmental Law Section's annual Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite.  This was a record turnout of King Hall students at what is California's premier environmental law conference.  It provided this record number of King Hall students a fabulous opportunity to gain a comprehensive overview of California environmental law and policy; to enjoy the spectacular natural resources of Yosemite National Park; and to network with 500 of California's top environment

I just returned from Washington, D.C., where I testified before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. Senate in a hearing on drought relief bills H.R. 2898 & S. 1894. While in the nation's captal, I also met with Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield), former Deputy Secretary of the Interior, to discuss those bills and other potential drought relief measures.

Here is text of my testimony on October 8:

Here is a look at some of the most recent scholarship from UC Davis School of Law faculty from the Social Science Research Network's Legal Scholarship Network. Click through the links to download the works.

LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP NETWORK: LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES
UC DAVIS SCHOOL OF LAW

Our Environmental Law Society's symposium on the future of CEQA received a nod from the Sacramento Bee today:

This month marks the 40th anniversary of California's landmark Warren-Alquist Act, which created the state Energy Commission and triggered a transformation of energy policy in California, across the U.S., and abroad.

The 11th Annual Water Law Symposium was held last weekend at Golden Gate University Law School in San Francisco.  The event drew a standing-room-only crowd of water law scholars, practitioners and policymakers, who devoted the day to a thoughtful and lively examination of how California’s constitutional law doctrine of reasonable use affects all facets of water rights in the state.

Technology matters. It affects every aspect of our lives, sometimes becoming pervasive before we are even aware of it and have a chance to consent - or not. Those in charge of governing technology must adapt when innovation evolves faster than lawmaking and ensure that the public has a role.

Two seemingly unrelated headlines illustrate how new technology - widely and stealthily - has permeated our society: Edward Snowden's revelations of massive electronic surveillance and Washington state's failed ballot initiative to mandate labeling of genetically modified foods.

Professor Albert Lin has written an exciting new book. Here is the recent media announcement:

From Climate Change to GMOs, UC Davis's Albert Lin Calls for Public Input in Laws Governing New Technologies

November 19, 2013

When the October oral argument session at the Supreme Court begins, in a few weeks, most of the attention will be focused on Fisher v.

President Obama’s State of the Union Address last Wednesday was, like many such speeches, full of generalities regarding the President’s policy priorities.  But there were also a few tasty tidbits for those wondering about the fate of climate change and energy legislation.  Not surprisingly, the President cast such legislation as a means of job-creation and argued for “incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy.”  More interestingly, the President went on to make