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The article explores how cities around the world are governing issues related to climate change. It relates the efforts of the city government of London in England and Los Angeles in California to examine climate change policies and actions to respond to climate change in their area. Also, it discusses the significant role of law in mitigating problems on climate change.

Objective. Although previous environmental justice research has focused on analysis of the disproportionate burden of environmental hazards on minority residents, few studies have examined demographic inequities in health risks among children. This article evaluates the demographic distribution of potentially hazardous facilities and health risks associated with ambient air toxics exposures among public schoolchildren in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Methods. We combine Geographic Information System analysis with multivariate statistics to compare enrollment and demographic information for students who attend district schools with the spatial pattern of land use, locations of toxic emissions and facilities, and calculated indices of estimated lifetime cancer risk and respiratory hazards associated with exposures to toxic air emissions. Results. District schools are more likely to be located in census tracts containing potentially hazardous facilities; however, these tracts actually have slightly lower cancer and respiratory health risks associated with air toxics when compared to other tracts in the district. Demographic comparisons among school sites indicate that minority students, especially Latinos, are more likely to attend schools near hazardous facilities and face higher health risks associated with outdoor air toxics exposure. Conclusions. These patterns of hazard exposure and health risk should be considered both in the process of siting new schools to house the rapidly growing regional student population and in remediation efforts at existing schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the political obstacles that affected the implementation of the REgional CLean AIr Market (RECLAIM) in Los Angeles, California. History of the RECLAIM emission program; Analysis of the decisions concerning RECLAIM; Political barriers presented by consumer groups.

Discusses the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) need to focus on population growth in solving environmental problems in the Los Angeles Basin in California. Suit filed by environmental groups against the EPA to force it to produce a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for California; Group Against Smog Pollution (GASP); Control of population growth from illegal immigration.

The article offers information on the first issue of the twenty-sixth annual volume of the "UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy." The issue is entitled "Coping With Global Warming," which is the product of the 2007 Symposium of the Evan Frankel Environmental Law and Policy Program organized by the Sean Hecht. The issue offers analysis and tackles important topics on governance and regulation in environmental policy. The authors also acknowledge the continuous support of several people at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, including Summer Rose, Michael Schill and Elizabeth Cheadle.