The Environmental Forum

LEAD FEATURE ❧ As a locus for fact-finding and evaluating competing claims while the political branches are deadlocked, the courtroom can be the perfect neutral venue for debating climate science, policy responses, and who should pay. Current litigation could tee up such conclusions.

CENTERPIECE ❧ The Congressional Review Act became a force against public interest rules when Republicans took over the White House in 2017 while retaining control of Congress. Let’s get rid of this beast before the next time the law permits one party to sweep out the other’s duly promulgated regulations.

COVER STORY ❧ Getting America’s power companies to invest in the clean transportation revolution is critical to reducing air pollution and the emissions that cause climate change. It will save us all money. The key is creating a system that allows utilities to lead the way.

TESTIMONY ❧ After almost two decades working at EPA headquarters, I walked across the plaza connecting it to the offices of the Border Patrol to begin a new career helping agents recognize environmental impacts as they carry out their mission on the southwestern frontier.

With the influx of new members of Congress in January, suddenly everybody is talking about a Green New Deal that would address greenhouse gas emissions and other social ills via a suite of interlinked policies. Proponents are talking about ridding the American energy economy of carbon, and on a short timeline — by 2030. Even before the recent election, stakeholders had been talking about what has come to be called deep decarbonization, with proposals that call for eliminating from the global energy system at least 80 percent of greenhouse emissions by mid-century, with further reductions to come.