EPA Granted Summary Judgment In COVID-19-Policy Related Suit
March 2, 2021
On Friday, Southern District of New York Judge Jed S. Rakoff ruled in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a case filed by environmental organizations purporting that in modifying its actions during the COVID-19 pandemic it caused harm to the environment and endangered animals. This order from the court comes after the court held an oral argument in the matter.
The lawsuit was initially filled in August 2020; the Center for Biological Diversity, Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc., and Riverkeeper, Inc. claimed that the EPA was not fulfilling its responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because it suspended reporting requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary enforcement policy was in effect through August 31, 2020 and, according to the plaintiffs, likely caused increased harm to endangered species populations. The plaintiffs
If
Earth Matters to you,
It was about a decade ago that carbon offsets became a “thing.” Travelers at San Francisco International Airport could step up to a kiosk and buy carbon offsets to balance out that greenhouse gas-spewing flight. (How does 1,000 pounds of CO2 on an LA-to-Chicago trip sound?)
The idea of an offset is that you can cancel out the harmful effect of your emissions by supporting a project that will eliminate an equivalent amount of emissions elsewhere in the world. But offsets pose practical and moral problems: If harmful pollution is wrong, can you really right that wrong by paying someone else not to pollute?