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Oil Development In Anwr: The Precautionary Principle Is Compatible With The Fish And Wildlife Service's Statutory Mandate, Trisna Tanus
Oil Development In Anwr: The Precautionary Principle Is Compatible With The Fish And Wildlife Service's Statutory Mandate, Trisna Tanus
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
The potential for oil production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) coastal plain, otherwise known as the 1002 Area, is significant, with a current value of $770 billion. Yet, there are considerable knowledge gaps and disagreements over the environmental impacts of oil development in ANWR. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages ANWR and is tasked with advancing the refuge’s mission of ecological conservation. Before it can approve oil development in ANWR, the FWS is statutorily required to ensure that oil development is compatible with ANWR’s mission. This Comment argues that the precautionary principle is embedded within the laws …
Leopold's Last Talk, Eric T. Freyfogle
Leopold's Last Talk, Eric T. Freyfogle
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
During the last decade of his life, Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) delivered more than 100 conservation talks to various popular, professional, and student audiences. In them, he set forth plainly the central elements of his conservation thought. By studying the extensive archival records of these talks one sees clearly the core elements of Leopold’s mature thinking, which centered not on specific land-use practices (good or bad), but instead on what he saw as deep flaws in American culture. Leopold’s sharp cultural criticism—more clear in these talks than in his lyrical, muted classic, A Sand County Almanac—called into question not just …
The Overlooked Role Of The National Environmental Policy Act In Protecting The Western Environment: Nepa In The Ninth Circuit, Michael C. Blumm, Keith Mosman
The Overlooked Role Of The National Environmental Policy Act In Protecting The Western Environment: Nepa In The Ninth Circuit, Michael C. Blumm, Keith Mosman
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
Critics widely disparage the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for being a mere “paper tiger” or bureaucratic red-tape. The U.S. Supreme Court has surely encouraged this perception by treating the statute with consistent hostility, reducing it to a requirement only to follow prescribed administrative procedures but not produce any environmental results. But in the Ninth Circuit, NEPA lives a more important life, since that court has not forgotten NEPA’s essential environmental purpose. This article examines four lines of cases in the Ninth Circuit that may show that NEPA’s future might reflect its conservation purpose. These cases 1) deny NEPA plaintiffs …