By Brady Miller, S26 Environmental Clinic student
Since its release in March 2025, much has been made of the book Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Its core thesis, rather simple, is that to create the future we want—one that, for example, has enough quality affordable housing, adequate public transportation, and affordable healthcare—we must build and invent more. And government, in some form or fashion, has gotten in the way of building and invention. Abundance dives deeply into a few key examples of those government “bottlenecks” in the way. The most widely-discussed of those examples has been environmental regulation.
Abundance was a hot topic in politics for months after its release. Political figures from across the spectrum jumped to use the book’s arguments as a talking point for whatever their position was on a variety of issues. Many of those positions directly conflicted with each other. And as the months have gone on, several commentators have suggested that there is currently a rift in the Democratic party: members of the so-called “Abundance movement,” and those who reject it. Abundance has created a mini culture war of sorts, and as with many such conflicts, what the book actually suggests can easily get lost in translation. This blog post, then, instead of taking sides, hopes to understand what the authors actually say about environmental regulations, and how we should move forward.
The authors first make clear that they are strongly pro-environment and believe climate change is an existential problem. And they also believe that our system of environmental regulation, largely built in the 1970s, was crucial and massively successful at the time, making air and water cleaner and our environment safer. However, that system is now outdated, and the fact that it has gone unchanged has contributed to new crises that must also be addressed.
To balance both interests, the authors call for a reshaping of environmental regulation. Existing environmental law, the authors suggest, is a product of its time, sometimes overly obsessed with process rather than outcome. The federal system often requires onerous Environmental Assessments, Environmental Impact Statements, and other environmental studies before projects can break ground. State and local governments built upon the federal requirements, often requiring similarly extensive documentation.
When those laws were passed, the process they implemented allowed pro-environment interests to more easily stop projects harming the environment. But now, those same laws are being weaponized by other interests to halt projects that would benefit the environment. And they otherwise discourage developers from beginning beneficial projects in the first place. One major problem, the authors argue, is that environmental law is largely indiscriminate. It is just as easy to stop the development of clean energy, like a wind farm, as an oil refinery. To build the abundant future we want, these issues must be addressed, say the authors.
Abundance has started a consequential movement. As one example, the book suggests that the California Environmental Quality Act, signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1970, has been interpreted by courts in such an overly protective way that it has turned out to be a powerful tool in stopping housing development of all kinds, regardless of its actual environmental impact. In June 2025, just a few months after the release of Abundance, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law legislation rolling back CEQA’s wide-ranging effects, referencing the need to enact an abundance agenda. The legislation purports to modernize CEQA review and make building easier while retaining the law’s environmental-protection core. By all accounts, these reforms are precisely what Abundance calls for.
At bottom, the authors argue that we should use a lens of abundance, reevaluating the necessity of past regulations that get in the way of solving today’s biggest problems. What the book’s generalized arguments will look like in practice, and whether political figures actually understand the lens through which the authors are urging them to look, remains to be seen.
References
Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson, Abundance (2025).
Governor Newsom signs into law groundbreaking reforms to build more housing, boost affordability, Governor Cal. (June 30, 2025), https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/06/30/governor-newsom-signs-into-law-groundbreaking-reforms-to-build-more-housing-affordability/.
Nicholas Wu & Holly Otterbein, House Democrat starts ‘abundance movement’-inspired caucus, Politico (May 8, 2025), https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/08/house-democrat-abundance-caucus-00333760.
Philip Rossetti, The Advent of the ‘Abundance’ Movement, Dispatch (Oct. 2, 2025), https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-energy/dispatch-energy-abundance-buzzword/.
The articles published on this site reflect the views of the individual authors only. They do not represent the views of the Environmental Clinic, The University of Texas School of Law, or The University of Texas at Austin.