My partner Diane Meyers posted recently on the approval of the Keystone XL EIS, and that led me to thinking about the implications of this document with respect to the Pacific Northwest. The Keystone XL EIS may be an important precedent for energy projects in the Pacific Northwest, notably the efforts to export coal from
Keystone Pipeline (Part 2) Receives U.S. State Department’s “Blessing”
By Diane Meyers on
The U.S. State Department issued its final environmental impact statement on the Keystone XL Pipeline project. The study, which raised no major concerns, clears the way for the 875-mile pipeline project to proceed and, as some have noted, gives President Obama some political latitude to endorse it. The route has changed since the State…
The Ninth Circuit’s Decision in Drakes Bay Oyster Co. v. Jewell: Implications for NEPA Decisions?
By Doug Steding on
The Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Drakes Bay Oyster Company v. Sally Jewell on Tuesday, affirming the district court’s decision to not grant a preliminary injunction against the National Park Service keeping the Drakes Bay Oyster Company, located in Drakes Bay, part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, open while the company litigated…
The Intersection of Science, Facts, and Advocacy in the Age of “Truthiness”
By Doug Steding on
Posted in Climate Change, Emerging Policy, Energy Policy, NEPA, Project Permitting, SEPA, Truthiness
One of my pet peeves as a scientist and a lawyer is the distortion of scientific data or facts in advocating policy positions or making legal arguments. Stephen Colbert did a piece a while ago on “truthiness”-which he defines as something that “feels” right.
Although the references to current events are now dated, this bit…