The start of the October 2022 Supreme Court term began with the highest court in the U.S. hearing oral arguments in the case Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, a case in which the term “navigable waters” as included in the Clean Water Act could drastically change if the majority-conservative Supreme Court has its way. A recent interview with the Sackett’s lawyer, Damien Schiff, gets to the heart of the matter as the Sacketts look at it: Are the wetlands the Sacketts so desperately want to destroy to complete their dream property near Idaho’s Priest Lake subject to federal permits?

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA ruled that the Clean Air Act does not authorize the EPA to require a systematic shift to cleaner sources of electricity generation. Many fear this decision will be devastating to the agency’s and the executive branch’s ability to move the U.S. away from carbon-intensive energy sources and toward cleaner resources to address climate change in the accelerated timeline necessary to avoid its worst impacts.

Oftentimes, politics in Washington can start to feel predictable. But for those who care about addressing climate change, last week the Senate produced an unexpected bombshell worthy of a season finale. After declaring that there was no deal to be had on tax reform and climate change, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced that he had reached a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on a blockbuster reconciliation package to invest in climate change and clean energy solutions, lower health care costs and reduce the deficit.

More than 30 intellectual property academics have dropped in to endorse amicus briefs supporting the idea of "controlled digital lending" in order to defend the Internet Archive against publishers such as HarperCollins and Penguin Random House that are trying to use copyright law to stop the online library's lending program. 

The leaked draft opinion that signals the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade has sparked fear not only among abortion activists, but also environmental lawyers who say the federal government should have expansive legal authority to tackle the climate crisis.

Nearly 200 members of Congress on Tuesday signed an amicus brief in a Supreme Court case, urging it to affirm a lower court ruling that allows the Environmental Protection Authority to maintain its full powers to enforce the Clean Air Act.