Law Commons^™

Environmental Abuses In Nigeria: Implications For Reproductive Health, Violet Aigbokhaevbo, Nkoli Aniekwu

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The prevalence of abusive environmental practices in Nigeria and the impunity with which they are perpetuated has generated increased concern globally and among the populace. Reproductive health and environmental health are intertwined. There has been increased concern about the adverse impact of environmental contaminants on fertility and reproduction. For example, epidemiological studies indicate that environmental exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals is associated with human diseases and disabilities. Such exposure to environmental contaminants can be through air, water, land, and the workplace. In Nigeria, infant and maternal health prospects are still shrouded in controversy due to the unreliability of data and …

A Flaw In California's Cap-And-Trade Plan, Alan Ramo, Janet Redman

Publications

California has made clear its intention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But is it taking the right steps to do so? The state has set a goal of returning to 1990 emissions levels by 2020. It has adopted renewable energy standards, driven the national trend in controlling automobile emissions and instituted a cap-and-trade program aimed at curbing climate pollution from power plants, refineries and other "stationary sources" of emissions. But a low-profile bill scheduled for consideration by the Legislature next year has exposed that, at least as far as its cap-and-trade program is concerned, California may be off-track. As it …

Food Insecurity Impacts On The U.S. Poor As The World Warms, Helen Kang

Publications

Studies exploring the vulnerability of human populations to climate change-induced food insecurity have understandably focused on developing nations, where 98 percent of the world’s hungry are. The threat to food security in those regions is indeed a critical issue as climate change affects every aspect of food security: food availability or amount of food production; food access, which refers to the ability of a person or community to acquire an adequate supply of available food; utilization or the ability to attain necessary nutrition from the acquired food; and stability, which refers to the ability to consistently access food in adequate …

Ninth Circuit Upholds Cal. Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Alan Ramo, Tim O’Connor

CUEL - Center for Urban Environmental Law

The Ninth Circuit’s decision September 18, 2013, reversing the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union District Court preliminary injunction, virtually vindicated the California Air Resources Board’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (“LCFS”). It was also a resounding affirmation by the panel’s majority of California’s overall experiment in addressing climate change on the state level.

Ggu Law Clinics 20th Anniversary Celebration, Rachel A. Van Cleave, Hon. Thelton E. Henderson, Wahleah Johns, Hon. Donna M. Ryu, Helen H. Kang, Hina B. Shah

GGU Law Clinics 20th Anniversary Celebration

Please see the list of 20th Anniversary Donors attached.

Prestigious American Bar Association (Aba) Award To Ggu Law’S Environmental Law And Justice Clinic (Eljc), Lisa Lomba

Press Releases

The Environmental Law & Justice Clinic at Golden Gate University School of Law (GGU Law) has received the Dedication to Diversity and Justice Award from the ABA’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. The award recognizes and honors the accomplishments of leading organizations in the areas of environmental justice and those who embrace a commitment to gender, racial, and ethnic diversity in the areas of environment, energy, and natural resources. GGU Law’s ELJC received the award for its achievements in significantly reducing pollution in numerous underrepresented communities living amidst manufacturing and power plants.

Great White Shark Bycatch Reduction Problems In The California/Oregon Drift Gillnet Fishery, Andrew J. Graf

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

Part I of this Comment explores the problems of great white shark bycatch by examining the white shark’s susceptibility to bycatch and the Fishery responsible for a significant portion of white shark bycatch. Part II discusses the federal statutes and regulations applicable to bycatch and the Fishery. Part III provides recommendations for reducing white shark bycatch in the future by modifying current federal statutes, amending existing regulations, and increasing research efforts.

Derailing Powder River Basin Coal Exports: Legal Mechanisms To Regulate Fugitive Coal Dust From Rail Transportation, Tovah R. Trimming

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

Coal trains are known as “black snakes.” The name aptly describes the miles of uncovered rail cars bearing the black cargo as they slither along the tracks. During the journey from coal mines to their final destinations, coal trains shed plumes of coal dust from the tops of the train cars. As the dust spews from the rail cars, it fills the surrounding air with harmful substances like mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, manganese, beryllium, and chromium. When the dust settles, these substances are deposited in soil and water, harming plant, animal, and marine life. Environmental consequences from coal dust are …

A Feasible Alternative: The Legal Implications Of Aquaculture In The United States And The Promise Of Sustainable Urban Aquaculture Systems, Garrett Wheeler

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The world’s ocean fish stocks are in peril. A 2011 report issued by an international team of marine scientists found that the world’s marine species face threats “unprecedented in human history” with “loss of both large, long-lived and small fish species causing widespread impacts on marine ecosystems.” Nutrient runoff, introductions of non-native species, climate change, over fishing, and physical disturbance are all contributing to the oceans’ decline. Meanwhile, global per capita seafood consumption is at an all-time high, as the Earth’s growing population continues to enjoy healthy, protein-laden nourishment.

The resulting situation is a stark example of what ecologist Garrett …

Lawyers Write Treaties, Engineers Build Dikes, Gods Of Weather Ignore Both: Making Transboundary Waters Agreements Relevant, Flexible, And Resilient In A Time Of Global Climate Chanage, Glen Hearns, Richard Kyle Paisley

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

This Article identifies and critically reviews the importance of adaptability and flexibility in treaties and institutional arrangements by providing resilience in the face of the anticipated impact of climate change on the good governance of international waters. Building greater resilience and adaptability into international waters agreements is essential to address the uncertainties in hydrological and ocean processes associated with climate change. There is also growing consensus that conflict over natural resources can be linked to extreme events and climate change, and this is receiving increased attention in foreign policy development. Surface water resources are especially vulnerable to the anticipated consequences …

Where Will All The Waste Go?: Utilizing Extended Producer Responsibility Framework Laws To Achieve Zero Waste, Anthony A. Austin

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

The United States has a waste problem. It represents only five percent of the world population, yet it generates twenty-five to thirty percent of the world’s waste. In 2008, the United States generated 389.5 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW). As our economy and population continue to grow, our waste will continue to grow as well. The obvious dilemma is that all of this waste, the byproduct of our economic advances, creates significant adverse environmental and public health effects when landfilled or incinerated.

This Article explores the use of extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws to achieve the ultimate waste …

In The Edition, Vadim Sidelnikov, Dawn Withers

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Epa: Violation Of Airborne Lead Standards At Two California Airports Agency Continues To Delay Action On Toxic Effects Of Lead In Aviation Fuel, Earthjustice

Articles About Faculty

This press release from Earthjustice highlights the work of Prof. Behles and the Environmental Law & Justice Clinic.

Thirty Minutes Or Less: The Inelasticity Of Commuting, John Andrew Brunner-Brown

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment urges the legislature to manipulate travel time in order to reduce GHGE (greenhouse gas emissions). Specifically, the legislature must incentivize mass transit by creating easier, quicker transit systems while simultaneously disincentivizing personal automobiles by increasing automobile travel time. By manipulating the travel time for various modes of travel, the legislature can effectively reduce GHGE while increasing individuals’ quality of life by creating an infrastructure that costs less and provides transportation systems not dependent on the automobile.

This Comment explains why the Sustainable Communities Act will fail to significantly reduce vehicle emissions, and this Comment proposes legislative action to …

Lying In The Sun, Andy Brunner-Brown

GGU Law Review Blog

No abstract provided.

From Dirty To Green: Increasing Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy In Environmental Justice Communities, Deborah N. Behles

Publications

The stifling summer heat that raged across the nation was difficult for everyone, but one group had a more difficult time than others—those who could not afford to cool their homes. Disparities like these will likely only get worse. Poor communities of color that are already vulnerable and disproportionately impacted by pollution will shoulder a larger burden of climate change impacts. These neighborhoods, often called environmental justice communities, have fewer resources to adapt to the effects of climate change. More measures should be taken to increase the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency in environmental justice communities before the …

Environmental Justice As An Essential Tool In Environmental Review Statutes — A New Look At Federal Policies And Civil Rights Protections And California’S Recent Initiatives, Alan Ramo

Publications

Recent litigation by the California Attorney General has sparked renewed interest in the role of environmental justice under federal and state project environmental review laws. Some say that inserting environmental justice into environmental review marks a “radical expansion” of the role of social justice in environmental review. Environmental justice is now a wellestablished federal legal doctrine addressing communities disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards as a result of their social or economic demographics. The doctrine is supported by President Clinton’s executive order, along with agency guidelines and regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), which govern federal project environmental review. …

Empowerment, Fairness, Integration: South African Answers To The Question Of Constitutional Environmental Rights, Eric Christiansen

Publications

This Article will assess the current level of constitutional protection provided by the South African Constitution and its potential to facilitate and influence the uncertain rise of constitutional environmental rights in the modern era. Following this Introduction, Part II recreates and examines the process by which environmental protections became part of the post-apartheid South African Constitution, drawing from original source research. Part III provides a detailed analysis of the textual right that arose from the constitutional process and reviews the core environmental case law of the Constitutional Court so far. And the final section, Part IV, analyzes the viability of …

Order, Progress And Carioca Environments: A Preface To Study Space V, Colin Crawford

Publications

Study Space is on ongoing series of field seminars designed to allow faculty and senior graduate students from multiple disciplines, with the center of gravity in law, to "evaluate human habitats and habits in the 21st century." The fifth iteration of this series, which I started while the co-director of the Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth at Georgia State University College of Law, in Atlanta, took place from July 11-18, 2010. Participants, who included professors and senior graduate students in anthropology, law, philosophy, political science and sociology, came from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and the United States. …

Bay Area Air Quality Management District 2012 Annual Report, Bay Area Air Quality Management District

California Agencies

No abstract provided.