Environmental brief ~ EU to limit fluorinated gas standards News
Environmental brief ~ EU to limit fluorinated gas standards

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's environmental law news, the European Parliament [official website] and the Council of Ministers [official website] have reached an agreement [press release] to set a cut off date of December 31, 2012 for EU nations that wish to impose more stringent standards for fluorinated gases than the standard adopted for the EU in general. The gases are used in a variety of products including air conditioners and refrigerators, and the Council was concerned that different national standards could disrupt internal markets. EUpolitix has more.

In other environmental law news…

  • Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London [official website], announced [press release] a plan [official website] Tuesday that would require buses and trucks operating within the city to meet EU air quality standards or pay a fine. Any bus or truck built before 2001 would be subject to a fine if not fitted with an anti-pollution filter. Critics argue that the current drivers and vehicles database is inaccurate, that vehicles could be fined regardless of whether their emissions were above approved levels, that it is unknown how or if the plan would be applied to foreign vehicles, and that it would cost millions to bring existing freight truck fleets into compliance. The London Telegraph has more.
  • The seven US states that comprise the Colorado River basin reached an agreement Tuesday and submitted a proposal to the US Department of the Interior [official website] regarding water management during times of drought. The DOI Bureau of Reclamation [official website] is producing a study of proper water management for the river, and the states (Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Arizona and Nevada) had until today to have their input included in the study. Under the agreement, the operation of Lakes Powell and Mead would be modified and coordinated in times of drought to keep each at acceptable levels. The Salt Lake Tribune has more.
THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.