Evaluating government programs is a relatively new idea for China’s government and policymakers. Many policies and programs continue to be evaluated based on procedural standards rather than on actual performance. This Article investigates how program evaluations and the knowledge they produce find their way into China’s environmental policy.

As in prior years, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 contains a variety of provisions setting U.S. Department of Defense priorities for energy, environmental, and natural resource issues. These include measures that represent some degree of consensus on these often-politicized topics.

In 2009, when carbon dioxide (CO2) levels were at 387.43 parts per million, the Center for Biological Diversity and 350.org submitted a citizen petition calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take steps necessary to institute a national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under §§108-110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). For 12 years, the petition was simply ignored. Then, the day President Donald Trump left office, outgoing EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler issued a letter denying the petition.

This Comment asserts that hiring outside counsel in complex, specialized matters and recovering enforcement costs is crucial for local jurisdictions across the nation, especially in the code enforcement and nuisance abatement context, and discusses the California Court of Appeal's decision in City of Norco v. Mugar as a signal to cities and counties that access to outside legal counsel in the realm of code enforcement is squarely permissible and clearly necessary under California law.

Despite existing laws, communities across the United States are exposed to dangerous environmental conditions that can have devastating effects on public health. One emerging mechanism to address these issues are “green amendments,” self-executing provisions added to a state constitution that recognize and protect the rights of all people, including future generations, to pure water, clean air, and a stable climate.