Sheila Foster

Opinion | Nine Law Firms Surrendered. Four Law Firms Won.

Nine law firms capitulated. Four did not. Guess who won?

"The victories of the four firms...are a triumph for justice and democracy"
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...

Why Building Alone Won’t Solve the Housing Crisis

Finally someone said it. The "housing supply"/Abundance strategy only goes so far if we are not paying enough attention to what kind of housing we are building and for whom. Seems intuitive for me, but good to see new empirical data documenting this reality check.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/r...

New special issue! Read it here: escholarship.org/uc/lawandpol...

This issue features an introduction by Sumudu Atapattu and Carmen G. Gonzalez, articles by @juliadehm.bsky.social, @sheilarose.bsky.social, Usha Natarajan, and Erika George, and book reviews by Shohini Sengupta and Carolina Saito.

Trump pulled US out of Paris Climate Agreement in 2017 & again (after Biden rejoined) in 2025. Now he withdraws US from UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as Project 2025 wanted. In 1992 the Senate unanimously ratified & President GHW Bush signed it. Re-ratifying requires a 2/3 Senate vote.

Columbia Climate School Experts on What Gives Them Hope in 2026 Eight experts from the Climate School offer words of encouragement for the new year.

"What gives you hope?" is a tough prompt in these times, but one that's always worth reflecting on and sharing. Here are some thoughts from me and my colleagues around the Columbia Climate School (@climate.columbia.edu @sheilarose.bsky.social and more)

keep thinking of a vocally anti-woke reporter who insisted that the term "environmental racism" was nonsense

Proud to announce that my article "Racialized Landscapes and Climate Adaptation Economies" is now out in the Journal of Law and Political Economy's symposium on Racial Capitalism, Climate Change, and Law.

Article can be accessed here:
escholarship.org/uc/item/1f56...

The rate of global sea level rise doubled during the past three decades - Communications Earth & Environment Global mean sea level rise amounted to 4.5 mm per year as a result of warming oceans and melting land ice, more than twice the rate of 2.1 mm/year observed at the start of satellite data in 1993, base...

The rate of global mean sea level rise has increased from ~2.1 mm/year in 1993 to ~4.5 mm/year in 2023. www.nature.com/articles/s43...

Racialized Landscapes and Climate Adaptation Economies Author(s): Foster, Sheila R. | Abstract: This article examines how the enduring legacies of racial capitalism and discriminatory land policies shape climate vulnerability and adaptation in US cit...

Great article by @sheilarose.bsky.social calling for “just adaptation economies” that embed antidisplacement measures in resilience investments, support community ownership/stewardship of land and prioritize policies to counteract persistent social/spatial inequities escholarship.org/uc/item/1f56...

Thank you, Julian!!

Qianjiadong Reservoir in southern Hunan, China, produces a double harvest: solar energy and yellow carp. The solar farm produces up to 80 megawatts of power while the fish forage beneath the panels. With a massive scale-up of solar and wind at home and cheap exports of the technology, China is driving a worldwide surge of renewable energy—Science’s 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.

Science has named the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy worldwide as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.

Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx

COP30 overpromised, underdelivered, empowered distractions, backtracked on issues and once again gave big oil and big ag a free pass.

Unfortunately, the suspicions of climate scientists (here in Brazil and abroad) were confirmed again.

Recently back from #COP30. This is spot on- "if it wasn’t clear already, fundamental changes must now be made in the UNFCCC rules. A small number of rogue nations cannot be allowed to block progress for the rest of the world."

To recap: My law firm represented Black and Latino voters in striking down Texas' new congressional map.

The dissenting opinion mentions George Soros 17 times and me and my law firm 3 times (all about how connected to Soros I allegedly am). I have never seen anything like it.

Wednesday 3:21 pm: A 252 mph wind measured by a dropsonde (weather instrument dropped from Hurricane Reconnaissance flight to observe wind/temperature/dewpoint as it descends to the surface) in Hurricane Melissa is the strongest wind on record measured in a hurricane: news.ucar.edu/133047/recor...

Increasing risk of mass human heat mortality if historical weather patterns recur - Nature Climate Change The authors couple calculations of historical heatwave intensity at present and future global temperatures with exposure–response functions to quantify mortality from extreme heat events in Europe. Th...

If a 2003-style heatwave hit Europe today, at ~1.5°C warming, it could cause ~18k deaths in a week, rising to ~32k at 3°C.

Even with current adaptation, extreme-heat mass-mortality events remain plausible.

Every 0.1°C of warming matters....

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Aerial view of dense green forest partially affected by deforestation. The image is used to illustrate a news article about global climate policy, with a headline stating "Climate policy strengthens globally, despite unprecedented contestation in the US and Europe". The source of the article is University of Oxford, as indicated in the footer.

NEW: As world leaders meet at #COP30, Oxford research reveals which countries are turning climate promises into action and which aren’t. 🌍

The Climate Policy Monitor gives the clearest picture yet of how national laws stack up against global climate goals.

🧵 [1/10]

Has Gracie Mansion Ever Had a Democratic Socialist?

Zohran Mamdani would not be the first Dem socialist Mayor of NYC. Other Mayors, like LaGuardia and Dinkins, governed like socialists and/or embraced socialism. Though "City Hall has never had a leader with ties quite that close to democratic socialism," as Mamdani.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/n...

Lucia Romano, MBA (@luciaromanomba) This speech gives chills! And hope. 💙

Hoping for more candidates like this. We need to reclaim Christianity and the moral/ethical high ground from those who have used it as a weapon against the most powerless and marginalized populations in our society.

substack.com/@luciaromano...

Opinion | Are We Losing Our Democracy? (Gift Article) Donald Trump has wielded power as no previous president has.

12 Benchmarks of our slide to autocracy. We are not there yet, but we will be if we are complacent. I found this a useful read from the NY Times editorial board.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

NOAA aerial imagery is coming in. Hurricane Melissa literally turned western Jamaica from green to brown. Vegetation damage is immense — recovery will take years.

North to Alaska: America’s Climate Warning Guest article by Jay Inslee, former governor of Washington State

“To watch a glacier collapse is to feel the full weight of climate change.”

Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s new piece for Meidas+ is a breathtaking, and heartbreaking, firsthand look at Alaska’s vanishing world.

What Trump’s Victory Taught Democrats About Climate Change Climate change is out. Energy affordability is in.

It's smart politics and ultimately more responsive to everyday voters' concerns to push for policies to achieve"energy affordability," understanding that addressing climate change (mitigation) is embedded in the DNA of those policies.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

“.. Penn has rejected the White House’s proposed preferential funding compact, according to a Thursday email to the University community.”

www.thedp.com/article/2025...

Brown rejected the compact!

www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...

Opinion | This Is Why Your Energy Bills Are Going Up

Worth a read. Why you should blame the current administration when your energy bills go up.

"You do not have to care about climate change to believe that clean energy is an important and strategic resource."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/o...

Renewables overtake coal as global electricity leader It's the first time sources like wind and solar generated more power than coal over a six-month period.

As the current national administration seeks to prop up coal -- a highly polluting and uneconomic technology of the past -- the global economy and investors are sending a very different signal about where the future of energy is headed:
www.eenews.net/articles/ren...

From Watts to D.C.: How 500 Black Neighborhoods Vanished in 45 Years America’s gentrified neighborhoods have lost 500,000 Black people, while gaining residents of every other race, a study finds.

NEW STUDY

Since I was born, 500 Black neighborhoods have vanished

And 500,000 Black people have been lost

All due to urban revitalization projects

Like the one for LA’s new coliseum — for the Clippers and ‘26 Olympics — that’s destroying Inglewood

@adamlmahoney.bsky.social @capitalb.bsky.social

Colorado bolsters EV rebates after federal pullback Electric vehicles are key to Colorado’s climate targets. Gov. Jared Polis (D) told potential EV buyers: "Get out there right now."

U.S. climate and energy federalism at work!
www.eenews.net/articles/col...