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The Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law also criticized the lack of letter grades on the new labels, saying, “At no additional cost, the simplified labels would convey information in a way that consumers can easily understand, helping them save money over the life of their vehicle. The makers of gas-guzzlers may not like having their products graded for fuel efficiency performance, but consumers benefit from the clearer presentation.”

Of course, a simple letter grade would have been simpler, and there’s already some disappointment at the path not taken. Michael Livermore of the Institute of Policy Integrity, for one, isn’t happy with the decision to scrap the grades:

“At a time when the price of gasoline is causing pain at the pump, EPA’s decision to forego clear, letter-grade fuel efficiency labels is a missed opportunity. At no additional cost, the simplified labels would convey information in a way that consumers can easily understand, helping them save money over the life of their vehicle. The makers of gas-guzzlers may not like having their products graded for fuel efficiency performance, but consumers benefit from the clearer presentation.”

In a recent House Energy and Commerce Committee climate hearing, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) jokingly asked if some of his fellow colleagues were going to overturn the law of gravity, “sending us floating about the room.” It seems funny until you realize that it’s in response to a disturbing trend in Congress of misusing, manipulating, or ignoring scientific facts and academic research. As Lisa Jackson, the head of the EPA, put it, if they keep it up, “[p]oliticians overruling scientists on a scientific question would become part of this committee’s legacy.

Worst of all are the environmental costs. As the NYU Institute for Policy Integrity reports in “Flooding the Market,” “The financial costs of the NFIP are considerable, but they are likely dwarfed by the ecological damages that the program encourages. Floodplains are located near waterways and in coastal zones. These areas tend to be both ecologically significant and sensitive, and they contribute substantial ecosystem services.”

“Cost parity is the holy grail of renewable energy,” says Michael Livermore, executive director of New York University’s Institute for Policy Integrity. “But there is cost parity with subsidies, and there is cost parity without subsidies. If this is happening without subsidies, then that means that wind power is going to explode, regardless of what the government does. I doubt that’s what really is going on.”

Because the political arena is often fraught with hyperbole, misinformation, and special interest pandering, facts and reason don’t count for as much as they should. Despite that, green advocates have smartly and effectively engaged in the political arena to help protect the environment and public health.

But to augment that advocacy, it is equally important for greens to engage in the regulatory process, which offers a refuge from the dysfunction of political discourse. Because of the legal structure that undergirds it, it is one of the few bastions in American government where truth can trump rhetoric.

A new report out today from NYU’s Institute for Policy Integrity – it says that the benefits of regulations governing the fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks outweigh the costs. But the authors state that the scope and stringency of the regulations should be increased to achieve the maximum net benefits for society.

Or, some people argue, EPA could have done what most economists agree is the sensible thing and established a cap-and-trade program on its own. Think tanky groups like the Constitutional Accountability Center and the Institute for Policy Integrity argued that the Clean Air Act gives EPA that power. Of course, that would have been politically explosive too.

This fall, NOAA released a draft policy to change all that—to streamline, codify, and make more transparent the penalties and fee structures for fisheries violations. Trouble is, a report released Monday by NYU’s Institute for Policy Integrity indicates that NOAA’s new rules may actually have the opposite effect: encouraging rather than deterring overfishing.

A new report from NYU’s Institute for Policy Integrity out this morning calls on NOAA to rethink its plans for overhauling enforcement of the nation’s laws on over-fishing. The authors say NOAA’s proposed revisions are too lenient on some violators and don’t create the right incentives to obey the law.