By Jon Burkart (PO ’24) Before a crowd in Pittsburgh, Joe Biden promised voters: “I am not banning fracking. Let me say that again: I am not banning fracking.” It’s no wonder then, that running-mate Senator Kamala Harris was quick to reiterate Biden’s stance during the October 8th Vice-Presidential debate. The industry that employs nearly 32,000…
By: Elease Willis (PO ’22) As a developed country that places a premium on technological innovation and globalization, the United States has prided itself on having transcended the immediate pressure of satisfying the lower tiers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, like the physiological need for food. Yet not only is food insecurity a reality for…
By Rafael Santa Maria (PO ’20) A pending Supreme Court case, County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, could determine the future of the Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA), a federal law that regulates pollution and quality standards for surface waters in the US. In particular, a potential loophole in the CWA’s guidelines could…
By Lucie Abele PO ’22 With increasingly unpredictable weather patterns across the globe, from raging wildfires in California and Australia to droughts and tropical storms, climate is among the political issues that matter most to voters as of December 2019. The climate policies of each of six potential presidential candidates, selected from the frontrunners of…
By Bryce Wachtell (PO ’21) In 2015, over twenty adolescents between the ages of 11 and 21 took the initiative to sue the federal government for its role in climate change. The story received international attention, in large part because of the legal standing of the plaintiffs. Three years after it first made headlines, the…
By Kaela Cote-Stemmermann (SCR ‘18) Interview Editor Over the past year, the Trump administration has continually rolled back the climate policies passed by the Obama administration. From repealing Obama’s Clean Power Plan that reduced pollution from coal-fired power plants,1 slapping trade barriers on imported solar equipment,2 to withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, the present administration…
By Jenna Lewinstein (SC ’19) With the 2018 midterm elections on the horizon, speculation have arose as to whether or not the Democrats will take back Congress. In the event of a Democratic majority in either chamber, climate change would top a list of legislative priorities, simply for its increasing relevance yet lack of prevalence…
Conducted by John Nikolaou CMC ’19, Digital Content Editor and Stanley Fan CMC ’20, Staff Writer Christine Loh is a former Hong King Legislative Councilor and Under Secretary for the Environment. Through her distinguished career, she has held roles in the business world as a commodities trader, government as a legislator, and the NGO sector…
Interview by Blake Plante (PO ‘18), Blog Writer Transcribed by Jessie Levin (PO ‘18), Staff Writer, and Blake Plante (PO ’18), Continued from Part 1… CJLPP: On the one hand, Phil is saying that the 200-million-dollar bond sets a good precedence—that once we have that, there will probably be more future funding. And Melissa, you’re…
Interview by Blake Plante (PO ‘18), Blog Writer Transcribed by Jessie Levin (PO ‘18), Staff Writer, and Blake Plante (PO ’18), Blog Writer Malissa McKeith is a veteran environmental attorney and a partner and chair emerita of the Los Angeles-based legal firm, Lewis Brisbois. She is co-founder and president of Citizens United for Resources and…