Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Beyond Tax Credits: Smarter Tax Policy For A Cleaner, More Democratic Energy Future, Felix Mormann Jun 2018

Beyond Tax Credits: Smarter Tax Policy For A Cleaner, More Democratic Energy Future, Felix Mormann

Felix Mormann

Solar, wind, and other renewable energy technologies have the potential to mitigate climate change, secure America’s energy independence, and create millions of green jobs. In the absence of a price on carbon emissions, however, these long-term benefits will not be realized without near-term policy support for renewables. This Article assesses the efficiency of federal tax incentives for renewables and proposes policy reform to more cost-effectively promote renewable energy through capital markets and crowdfunding.

Federal support for renewable energy projects today comes primarily in the form of tax incentives such as accelerated depreciation and, critically, tax credits. Empirical evidence reveals that …


Enhancing The Investor Appeal Of Renewable Energy, Felix Mormann Jun 2018

Enhancing The Investor Appeal Of Renewable Energy, Felix Mormann

Felix Mormann

This article introduces an investor-oriented framework for the evaluation of renewable energy policy, applies these newly developed criteria to a qualitative comparison of the primary policy instruments, and offers recommendations to enhance the investor appeal of renewable energy in the United States.

The multi-trillion dollar task of scaling renewable energy technologies to mitigate climate change, ensure energy security, and create green jobs is one of the most daunting challenges of the twenty-first century. It is, in fact, too great a challenge for either the public or private sector to shoulder alone. Rather, public policy must catalyze private investment in renewable …


The Greening Of Canadian Cyber Laws: What Environmental Law Can Teach And Cyber Law Can Learn, Sara Smyth Aug 2015

The Greening Of Canadian Cyber Laws: What Environmental Law Can Teach And Cyber Law Can Learn, Sara Smyth

Sara Smyth

This article examines whether Canadian environmental law and policy could serve as a model for cyber crime regulation. A wide variety of offences are now committed through digital technologies, including thievery, identity theft, fraud, the misdirection of communications, intellectual property theft, espionage, system disruption, the destruction of data, money laundering, hacktivism, and terrorism, among others. The focus of this Article is on the problem of data security breaches, which target businesses and consumers. Following the Introduction, Part I provides an overview of the parallels that can be drawn between threats in the natural environment and on the Internet. Both disciplines …


Developing A World Vision: An Introduction To International Environmental Policy, Beverly Mcqueary Smith Apr 2011

Developing A World Vision: An Introduction To International Environmental Policy, Beverly Mcqueary Smith

Beverly McQueary Smith

No abstract provided.


Some Back-Ended Legal And Political Issues In United States Fisheries Management, Chad J. Mcguire, Bradley P. Harris Aug 2010

Some Back-Ended Legal And Political Issues In United States Fisheries Management, Chad J. Mcguire, Bradley P. Harris

Chad J McGuire

In response to over-exploitation and ecosystem degradation, United States federal fisheries policy is shifting from species-based to ecosystem-based management. In addition, the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 identifies the following goals to be achieved by 2011: end over-fishing, create market-based incentives, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and improve cooperative conservation efforts. We refer to these goals (including the “status quo”) as front-ended policy objectives. Left unresolved are what we term back-ended policy and legal issues, specifically including issues involving the legal limitations that inhibit full consideration of ecosystem-based management principles through the adopting of scientific information. In …


Sustainable Approaches To Managing Small-Scale Ecosystems: A Case Study Of Vernal Pool Protection In The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, United States Of America, Chad J. Mcguire May 2010

Sustainable Approaches To Managing Small-Scale Ecosystems: A Case Study Of Vernal Pool Protection In The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, United States Of America, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

This paper reviews the current management scheme used by Massachusetts to protect vernal pools, which represent small-scale ecosystems, and analyzes its relative strengths and weaknesses from an overall sustainability standpoint by looking at the frameworks developed for management. The frameworks are analyzed to determine if the objectives of vernal pool protection are being met. The initial impression is the outcomes are not meeting the objective of overall vernal pool protection, because there are failures in the drivers (mainly the certification requirement), which limits the number of verbal pools actually protected. An expansion of the current Massachusetts program is suggested to …