- Social:
Columbia Law School
Professor at Columbia Law School, Director of its Center for Climate Change Law and Chair of the faculty of Columbia University's Earth Institute
PROFILE
Michael Gerrard
Guest
FROM Michael Gerrard
To the Point
Reality check: Climate change The promises of candidates during political campaigns are often made to be broken, but they do provide clues for voters who want to know what government might look like once the election is over. Hillary Clinton describes global warming as an "urgent threat." Donald Trump once called it "a hoax created by the Chinese." He's tried to back off a bit, but their differences are still profound, with dramatic consequences for energy policy and the environment. Clinton says she'll increase reductions in fossil fuel and build on the Obama legacy — which Trump promises to obliterate while he restores the coal industry. We hear the implications for the Paris climate accords — just approved by the European Union — and for national security.
To the Point
A Lack of Global Consensus in the Fight against Global Warming In a 5-to-4 ruling this week, the US Supreme Court ruled against the EPA's regulation of toxic emissions from coal and oil-fired power plants. For the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said the monetary cost to power-plant operators was not worth "a few dollars in health or environmental benefits." That could mean trouble for President Obama's clean air agenda . Meantime, a Dutch court says its government must increase cuts in emissions -- regardless of cost -- in the interest of health and safety. Conflicting court rulings dramatize conflicting approaches to the environment and global warming.
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Left, Right & Center
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?