It's been a rain-soaked month for us in Los Angeles, but that hasn't stopped our faculty from contributing to important public conversations on California's small water systems, prospects for the Green New Deal, and China's global impact on the environment. Read on — and make sure to see our list of upcoming events at the bottom.

Sean Hecht, co-executive director, Emmett Institute

Header photo credit: Raymond Shobe, Flickr

In an op-ed for CALMatters, Nat Logar applauds Governor Newsom's early focus on financial challenges facing small water systems across the state.

In California, water systems with the smallest number of customers face the greatest challenges in providing cheap, drinkable tap water. Logar makes recommendations for how the state can strengthen small water systems. Read the op-ed and our Pritzker Brief (co-authored by Logar , Cara Horowitz and Jim Salzman ).
Responding to the Green New Deal

Emmett Institute faculty are reacting to a new, ambitious proposal for comprehensive U.S. climate action.

Ann Carlson points to the success of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, which have made our air and water cleaner today because policymakers in the 1970s " set wildly unrealistic, ambitious, expensive goals."  Meredith Hankins analyzes the boomer-millennial divide over climate policy.
And Julia Stein hopes policymakers consider meaningful land-use policies.

Cara Horowitz will join experts in Washington, D.C. on March 14 for Green New Deal Dialogue , a daylong workshop hosted by Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, to assess how policymakers can maximize the political sustainability and institutional effectiveness of the Green New Deal . Details/RSVP .

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Following a public talk at UCLA Law, Alex Wang sat down with journalist Isabel Hilton to discuss China’s growing role in the global economy and impact on the environment. The Legal Planet Q&A covers China's Belt and Road Initiative, coal power, soil pollution, water stress, plastic waste, and more. Read the interview .

Photo credit: Maria Amaya Morfin
India and environmental justice

Environmental degradation in India has global consequences - especially due to the country's rising carbon emissions. To achieve better protections, India must improve its environmental governance.

In a new UCLA Law Review article, Jonathan Zasloff reviews Gitanjali Nain Gill’s recent book Environmental Justice in India , the first comprehensive assessment of India's National Green Tribunal, established in 2010 as a specialized environmental court. Zasloff argues for an expansion of legal assistance to underserved communities. Read the UCLA Law Review article and a blog post.

Photo credit: Brian Scott, Flickr

In an issue brief for the American Constitution Society, Ann Carlson, Meredith Hankins , and Julia Stein review the historical and legal framework for the decades-long collaboration between California and the EPA on vehicle emissions standards. The authors argue that the Trump administration's proposal to revoke California's waiver, if finalized, is likely to be overturned in court. Read the issue brief and a blog post .

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Comprehensive federal legislation to address single-use plastics does not yet exist in the United States, Julia Stein writes in an op-ed for The Regulatory Review .

Missing from the plastic waste conversation in Congress is a critical piece of the puzzle: reducing consumption of single-use plastic at the source, to limit the amount of plastic trash Americans generate. To reduce single-use plastics more effectively, Congress must step in and regulate through source control. Read the op-ed .

Stein visited Washington, D.C. with UCLA Law students Cheroula Melliou LL.M. '19 and Divya Rao '20 last month to brief Congress on legislation that could help reduce plastic pollution in oceans.

Photo credit: Bo Eide, Flickr
February trivia corner

Get your trivia caps ready for this month's question!
 
Last year, EPA's enforcement staff conducted only about 60 percent of the facility inspections the agency has averaged annually since 2001 (the fewest annual inspections in more than two decades). To the nearest thousand, how many inspections were conducted in 2018?
 
Send answers to quizmaster Daniel Melling, melling@law.ucla.edu for a chance to win an Emmett Institute notebook!

January's trivia champs were Joshua DeAnda and Robert Stanton who both named the number of Uber/Lyft rides per week at UCLA that stayed within campus bounds: 11,000 .

Photo credit: Tinker Air Force Base

  • Julia Stein critiques Bret Stephens' recent op-ed in The New York Times and its characterization of climate change.
  • Jonathan Zasloff covers new research on the relationship between upzoning, housing prices, and gentrification.
  • Daniel Melling discusses Paul Schrader's treatment of climate change in his Oscar-nominated original screenplay for First Reformed.
  • Jesse Reynolds responds to recent critiques of solar geoengineering.

Photo credit: J. Les Gainous, Flickr
2019 events and speaking engagements

Emmett Institute faculty are organizing and participating in exciting events and talks over the next few months:

March 1, 2019, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. | UCLA School of Law
Cara Horowitz will speak (and was a co-organizer) at this annual summit which brings together UCLA Law’s community of alumnae and students to share insights on advancing the profession, promoting equity, and achieving excellence. Details/RSVP.

March 6, 2019, 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | UCLA School of Law
Scott Cummings will discuss his new book, which examines a campaign by the labor and environmental movements to transform trucking at America's largest port in LA. Details/RSVP .

March 8, 2019, 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.| UCLA School of Law
Novel, radical ways of re-imagining the role of law and legal institutions in achieving racial justice and equality are urgent, and this conference will convene an interdisciplinary group of scholars to consider the place of human rights in this larger context. The Emmett Institute is supporting the conference. Details/RSVP .

Miarch 11, 2019 | Denver, CO
Ted Parson and Jesse Reynolds will present their paper, “Integrating climate engineering technologies in scenarios: A linked choice system for incorporating carbon removal and solar geoengineering.” Details . 

March 14, 2019, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Johns Hopkins University, SAIS
Cara Horowitz will speak at this event bringing together academics, civil society groups, and policymakers for a day-long workshop on the politics and implementation of Green New Deal legislation. Details/RSVP .

March 19, 2019, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Los Angeles County Bar Association
Sean Hecht will speak at this panel covering the Trump Administration's view on climate change and the effect it has had, or could have in the future, on California's air regulations. Details/RSVP. 

March 27, 2019, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | University of Louisville
James Salzman will deliver the 2019 Boehl Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Policy at the Brandeis School of Law. Learn more. 

March 28, 2019 | Oakland, CA
The Emmett Institute is co-sponsoring this conference will focus on implementing the landmark clean energy legislation under Senate Bill 100 (de León, 2018), which sets a target of carbon-free electricity by 2045. Save the date.

March 29, 2019, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Wells Fargo Center North Tower
Julia Stein will speak at this seminar covering major recent and upcoming legal developments in transportation and climate policy in California. Details/RSVP.

April 15, 2019, 12:15 p.m. - 01:30 p.m. | UCLA School of Law, Room 1347
Alex Wang will join Barbara Finamore, senior attorney and Asia senior strategic director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, will share insights from her new book on China's energy transition. Details/RSVP.

Photo credit: Manali Anne Photography
Daniel Melling writes the Emmett Institute newsletter with editing from Sean Hecht and Cara Horowitz. Sunny Rosario, a third-year UCLA undergraduate student, contributed to this month's edition. Please send any feedback to melling@law.ucla.edu .
About the Emmett Institute
The Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment is the country's leading law school center focused on climate change and other critical environmental issues. Founded in 2008 with a generous gift from Dan A. Emmett and his family, the Institute works across disciplines to develop and promote research and policy tools useful to decision makers locally, statewide, nationally and beyond. Our Institute serves as a premier source of environmental legal scholarship, nonpartisan expertise, policy analysis and training.   Learn more.