Legal Planet

JUNE 13, 2025

Arthur C. Clarke: Technology and Magic The great speculative fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law reads: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” This principle came to me the other day when considering this interesting Wall Street Journal piece on Deep Sea Desalination (which we can call DSD for short). Virtually alone among environmental law professors, I am a desalination booster (which I explain below).

Technology

PA Environment Daily

JUNE 13, 2025

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” -- Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution [It’s Not A Suggestion] PA Environment Digest Will Be CLOSED June

Fossil Fuels

Acoel

JUNE 10, 2025

Posted on June 10, 2025 by J.B. Ruhl On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court—minus recused Justice Neil Gorsuch—decided Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County , the first major NEPA dispute before the Court in 20 years. It’s a really big deal—coverage is all over the headlines and blogs—but it’s potentially an even bigger deal than that. I’m skipping over most of the case background and Court’s reasoning (no doubt other Fellows will give us that coverage, right Seth?

2025

New Scientist

JUNE 11, 2025

From geoengineering to anti-methane cow vaccines and green aviation fuel, meet the former nuclear physicist deciding which climate change technologies hold the most promise

Climate Change

Speaker: Jason Chester, Director, Product Management

In today’s manufacturing landscape, staying competitive means moving beyond reactive quality checks and toward real-time, data-driven process control. But what does true manufacturing process optimization look like—and why is it more urgent now than ever? Join Jason Chester in this new, thought-provoking session on how modern manufacturers are rethinking quality operations from the ground up.

2025

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 12, 2025

Why did the power go out for nearly 100,000 Louisianans over Memorial Day weekend? An Entergy-operated nuclear power plant unexpectedly went offline, meaning it was not providing power to the grid. This happened while another Entergy nuclear plant was offline for scheduled routine maintenance, and in the midst of other power plant and transmission outages.

Regulations

Environmental News Bits

JUNE 13, 2025

Hosseini, Z., Blanchet, P., Laratte, B., & Cogulet, A. (2025). Evaluating circular economy strategies at the end-of-life stage of a mass timber building: Pathways for sustainable construction. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 1–21.

2025

New Scientist

JUNE 9, 2025

Extreme weather, pest outbreaks and overharvesting are turning forest carbon sinks into carbon sources across Europe, undermining a crucial part of countries’ net-zero plans

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 10, 2025

Due to a history of systemic racism, discrimination, and segregation, BIPOC and low-income communities are more likely to live in areas that are disaster-prone, with under-invested infrastructure, and closer to polluting energy facilities like power plants. Addressing these disparities requires a focus on energy justice , the principle that access to energy that is reliable, affordable, and clean is a basic right.

Electricity

Nature

JUNE 10, 2025

Nature, Published online: 11 June 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01769-7 Building scientific capacity in the global south is key to solving today’s most pressing planetary challenges.

2025

PA Environment Daily

JUNE 13, 2025

PA Environment Digest Will Be CLOSED June 14 to 19. “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” - - Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution [It’s Not A S

Natural Resources

Speaker: Kevin Kai Wong, President of Emergent Energy Solutions

In today's industrial landscape, the pursuit of sustainable energy optimization and decarbonization has become paramount. ♻️ Manufacturing corporations across the U.S. are facing the urgent need to align with decarbonization goals while enhancing efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, the lack of comprehensive energy data poses a significant challenge for manufacturing managers striving to meet their targets. 📊 Join us for a practical webinar hosted by Kevin Kai Wong of Emergent Ene

2024

Environmental News Bits

JUNE 9, 2025

by Brad Reisfeld, Colorado State University A vast number of chemicals are registered for production and use around the world. But only a portion have been thoroughly evaluated for their toxicity due to time, cost, ethical concerns and regulatory limitations. To safeguard public health, researchers at organizations such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. … Continue reading How do researchers determine how toxic a chemical is?

Environmental Protection

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 10, 2025

Maybe a better question to start with is, what is a state transmission authority? State transmission authorities are public entities focused on helping states develop transmission, particularly around public financing and planning. For more context about transmission financing, I suggest reading through my previous blog post on status quo transmission financing in California.

Clean Energy

Inside Climate News

JUNE 9, 2025

Ocean acidification has crossed “planetary boundaries” in some parts of the ocean, deepening a crisis facing the planet’s marine ecosystems. By Georgina Gustin A critical measure of the ocean’s health suggests that the world’s marine systems are in greater peril than scientists had previously realized and that parts of the ocean have already reached dangerous tipping points.

Ocean

A Greener Life

JUNE 10, 2025

By Anders Lorenzen New forest loss data has revealed that in 2024, wildfires have overtaken deforestation activities, such as industrial logging, as the primary reason behind forest losses. Graph showing the rapid increase in forest loss between 2023 and 2024. Graph credit: Global Forest Watch and World Resources Institute. Staggering forest losses in 2024 The data produced by the University of Maryland’s Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) , and published by Global Forest Watch (GFW), par

2024

Speaker: Antoine M. Thompson, Executive Director of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition

Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion (DEJI) policies, programs, and initiatives are critically important as we move forward with public and private sector climate and sustainability goals and plans. Underserved and socially, economically, and racially disadvantaged communities bear the burden of pollution, higher energy costs, limited resources, and limited investments in the clean energy and transportation sectors.

Clean Energy

PA Environment Daily

JUNE 10, 2025

On June 10, the Department of Environmental Protection announced 19 projects completed by schools, businesses, and community organizations around the state are being recognized with the 2025 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence. The award winners will be recognized at an awards banquet tonight hosted by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council at the Harrisburg Hilton starting at 5:00 p.m.

2025

Legal Planet

JUNE 13, 2025

Last year, legislators passed, the governor signed, and California voters approved, a ten billion dollar climate bond (the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, SB 867 (Allen), which appeared on the November ballot as Proposition 4). While the bond act’s full title largely tells the story of its contents, the water- and resilience-focused spending may not be what all Californians expected from the state’s first self-proclaimed climate bon

Clean Energy

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 11, 2025

When tornadoes and severe storms fueled by a changing climate swept through Chicago last summer , I was panicking—not for me, but for my parents. They live 45 minutes northwest of me, and the power had gone out. My dad, who needs to regulate his blood sugar closely and depends on medication, was locked out of the house. The keys were inside their car, which was inaccessible in the garage without power.

Cooling

Environmental News Bits

JUNE 10, 2025

Lu, H., Ge, J., & Yu, L. (2025). Nudging through persuasive technology in social media to promote low carbon travel behavior in commuting and non-commuting situations. Cities, 162, 105974. [link] Abstract As transport is an important field in carbon emission reduction, practitioners have often adopted nudging measures, such as persuasive technologies, to reduce carbon emissions.

Technology

Speaker: Laurie Schoeman Director, Climate & Sustainability, Capital

As households and communities across the nation face challenges such as hurricanes, wildfires, drought, extreme heat and cold, and thawing permafrost and flooding, we are increasingly searching for ways to mitigate and prevent climate impacts. During this event, national climate and housing expert Laurie Schoeman will discuss topics including: The two paths for climate action: decarbonization and adaptation.

2022

PA Environment Daily

JUNE 8, 2025

Opportunities to learn more about environmental and energy issues affecting Pennsylvania for students and adults-- Awards/Recognition -- David Staebler Posthumously Honored With Kathy Snavely Environmental Advocate Award By Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper [PaEN] -- DCNR Resource: In Memoriam - Alec Campbell, David Warfel [PaEN] -- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper: Amidea Daniels, Fish & Boat Commission Educator, Strives To Connect People To Natural Resources Through Creative Efforts Like Women’

Clean Energy

Inside Climate News

JUNE 7, 2025

Much has been learned about heat-resistant corals in the last decade. Village by village and beach by beach, reef restoration is progressing. Interview by Aynsley O’Neill, “Living on Earth” From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine , an interview by producer Aynsley O’Neill with Steve Palumbi, Stanford University professor of biology and oceans.

Ocean

NRDC

JUNE 13, 2025

UNOC delivers big wins for the ocean, including the launch of the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean and new high seas treaty ratification announcements.

Ocean

Environmental News Bits

JUNE 10, 2025

Read the full story from the New York Times (gift article). Part of their 50 states, 50 fixes series. Simple, affordable initiatives like rain gardens are helping to soak up water in New Orleans.

Speaker: Andrew Skoog, Founder of MachinistX & President of Hexis Representatives

Manufacturing is evolving, and the right technology can empower—not replace—your workforce. Smart automation and AI-driven software are revolutionizing decision-making, optimizing processes, and improving efficiency. But how do you implement these tools with confidence and ensure they complement human expertise rather than override it? Join industry expert Andrew Skoog as he explores how manufacturers can leverage automation to enhance operations, streamline workflows, and make smarter, data-dri

Technology

PA Environment Daily

JUNE 11, 2025

On June 10, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it is reviewing additional permits for the drinking water treatment facility that will provide clean, safe drinking water to 21 homes in Dimock, Susquehanna County that have had their water wells impacted by natural gas drilling. Pennsylvania American Water Company has started construction on a new public water line for Dimock residents – the result of a settlement of criminal charges secured by then-Attorney General Shapiro after

Natural Gas

Yale E360

JUNE 11, 2025

A growing number of cities have launched initiatives to reuse the wood waste from construction and demolition that now ends up in landfills. The challenge, proponents say, is to deploy new techniques for disassembling old buildings and markets for repurposing the salvaged wood.

Waste

Earth 911

JUNE 9, 2025

As the world confronts the urgent challenge of removing billions of tons of carbon dioxide. The post Earth911 Podcast: The Carbon Removal XPrize Winners appeared first on Earth911.

Carbon Dioxide

Inside Climate News

JUNE 12, 2025

Costa Rica has protected 30 percent of its marine territory, and the small Central American country wants more care for the ocean, including a moratorium on deep sea mining. By Teresa Tomassoni Costa Rica is helping to shape the global agenda on marine protection and ocean governance this week as co-host, with France, of the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice.

Ocean

Advertisement

Sustainability impacts every nation, company, and person around the world. So much so that, in 2015, the United Nations (UN) issued a call for action by all countries to work toward sustainable development. In response to this and as part of a global Sustainability at Retail initiative, Shop! worked collaboratively with its global affiliates to address these critical issues in this white paper.

Sustainable Development

PA Environment Daily

JUNE 11, 2025

On June 11, as part of the watershed-wide Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week , the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources celebrated the new naturalistic fish passage at Shikellamy State Park in Northumberland County for its upstream benefit to native species such as American shad and eels, and its downstream benefit to the Chesapeake Bay. “Stewardship and conservation of our environment is the core of what DCNR does every day.

Conservation

Yale E360

JUNE 13, 2025

Of the forest lost so far this century, roughly a third was destroyed to make room for farms, a new analysis finds. Those woodlands, which spanned an area larger than Mongolia, will likely never be restored, authors say.

Physics World

JUNE 11, 2025

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle holds things together. Articulated by the German physicist Werner Heisenberg almost a century ago, it remains the foundation of the physical world. Its name suggests the rule of the vague and temporary. But the principle is quantitative. A high uncertainty about the position of, say, an electron is compensated by a low uncertainty in its momentum.

2016

Legal Planet

JUNE 11, 2025

Seventy-nine years ago, President Harry Truman signed a law that, to this day, most Americans have never heard of. Even the title of the law — the Administrative Procedure Act or APA — is a guaranteed yawner. Yet this law is central to the rule of law and, among other things, to environmental protection. We are learning from the current Administration’s efforts to evade the APA just how important it is.

Law

Speaker: Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions

Is your manufacturing operation reaching its efficiency potential? A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) could be the game-changer, helping you reduce waste, cut costs, and lower your carbon footprint. Join Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions, in this value-packed webinar as he breaks down how MES can drive operational excellence and sustainability.

Waste