Law Commons^™

We Want Our Lives Back Too: Expanding Absolute Liability To Include A Recovery For The Victims Of Ecological Catastrophies, Prentice L. White

Prentice L White

WE WANT OUR LIVES BACK TOO: EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF ABSOLUTE LIABILITY TO INCLUDE A RECOVERY FOR THE VICTIMS OF ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHES BY PRENTICE L. WHITE No one could have anticipated that the worst ecological disaster in history would take place near Louisiana’s coastline. The morning of April 20, 2010, started like any other spring day, but less than ten hours after the sun rose that morning there would be an explosion that would kill 11 oil workers. The first from the explosion would be seen from outer space and millions of gallons of crude oil would spew into the …

Delayed Justice: A Case Study Of Texaco Arnd The Republic Of Ecuador’S Operations, Harms, And Possible Redress In The Ecuadorian Amazon, Suraj Patel

Suraj Patel

Multinational corporations engaging in natural resource extraction are often enticed by nascent foreign regulatory regimes and private dispute settlement mechanisms intended to induce investment. The result of a complicit government and poor operational practices can be environmental devastation and widespread human rights violations for which there is little redress. This paper analyzes the challenges inherent in using private dispute resolution mechanisms to hold corporations accountable for regulatory violations through the lens of Texaco’s 30-year operations in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Aguinda v Chevron litigations in New York and subsequently Ecuador. The case represents the one of the most significant …

The Oil And Gas Evolution: Learning From The Hydraulic Fracturing Experiences In North Dakota And West Virginia, Joshua P. Fershee

Joshua P Fershee

This Article discusses major differences and similarities in U.S. oil and gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing through a comparison of the experiences in North Dakota and West Virginia. Although there are other parts of the country experiencing growth in oil and gas extraction, Pennsylvania and Texas as but two examples, North Dakota and West Virginia are particularly apt for comparison. Both states have relatively small populations, meaning that the impact of large-scale energy extraction in each state is likely to have a large impact on the state, economically, environmentally, and socially.

This Article focuses on three main areas of comparison. …

Promoting An All Of The Above Approach Or Pushing (Oil) Addiction And Abuse?: The Curious Role Of Energy Subsidies And Mandates In U.S. Energy Policy, Joshua P. Fershee

Joshua P Fershee

President Bush declared America “addicted to oil” in his fifth State of the Union address, uttering what is now a common refrain used to urge the development of alternative fuel sources. Before progress can be made to modernize the U.S. fuel mix, though, it is important to consider how and why the current fuel mix came to be. To do so, this article first considers whether the United States is, in fact, addicted to oil. The article looks to the medical definitions of addiction and analyzes the U.S. relationship with oil to assist in analyzing the potential effectiveness of U.S. …

North Dakota Expertise: A Chance To Lead In Economically And Environmentally Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing, Joshua P. Fershee

Joshua P Fershee

North Dakota is uniquely, and largely favorably, situated to benefit from hydraulic fracturing, and has already reaped many such benefits. During the recent economic crisis, North Dakota’s housing market has been stable, unemployment has been remarkably low, and the state has maintained a strong and increasing budget surplus at a time when many states were operating budget deficits. But these benefits have not come without some costs.

This Article seeks to put the current North Dakota oil boom in context and help provide a path for developing legislative and regulatory policies that prolong and reinforce sustainable and beneficial oil development. …

Choosing A Better Path: The Misguided Appeal Of Increased Criminal Liability After Deepwater Horizon, Joshua P. Fershee

Joshua P Fershee

Despite the potential appeal of dramatically increased liability and sentences in the wake of environmental disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, this Article argues that more aggressive criminal provisions and enforcement related to environmental harms, up to and including strict criminal liability, are not likely to protect the environment better or lead to safer work environments. This Article first considers the history and legality of, and the rationale behind, policies designed to make it easier to convict allegedly responsible parties and also discusses the pursuit of increased liability in relation to disaster-related and tragedy-related …

Crude Defenses? Liability Limits For Offshore Drilling Accidents And Oil Spills, Richard Faulk

Richard Faulk

All those who participate in realizing the benefits of exploration – including those who use the resulting products and depend on their safe handling to avoid harm – are subject to their dangers. When the risks are enormous, and when society’s demands are extraordinary, the situation is ripe for political compromise. The products of that compromise may not be popular at this time of crisis, but that does not lessen their importance as anchors of reason during difficult times. The Limitation Act and the OPA, as well as the procedures under Supplemental Rule F, form a foundation that enables the …

Stretching The Boom? Limiting Liability For Offshore Drilling Disasters, Richard Faulk

Richard Faulk

Offshore drilling is a tremendously complicated and potentially lucrative process. Unfortunately, it is also dangerous. Harvesters of fossil fuels face massive risks, not only to their lives and properties, but also to our environment and the livelihoods of all those who depend upon it. On balance, our “modern” sense of justice might insist that those who realize wealth should bear the risks that their exploration and production poses to others. But when a product, like petroleum, is inextricably woven into our national fabric, legislators sometimes reach surprising compromises. So, it seems, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon will argue in …

Dubai's New Intellectual Property-Based Economy: Prospects For Development Without Dependency, Amir Khoury

Amir Khoury

The Emirate of Dubai has, as a result of deliberate policy actions, been able to reinvigorate, indeed to reinvent, its Intellectual Property Potential. That is to say Dubai has boosted its ability to be the originator (and creator) of intellectual property subject-matter, rather than merely a consumer thereof. Dubai has achieved the two conditions through which an intellectual property régime becomes a valuable national asset for a country with an initially low Intellectual Property Potential; namely a structured regulatory framework coupled with effective infrastructure-related action. Dubai's undertakings in the intellectual property sphere go to show that even a country that …

I Drink Your Milkshake: The Status Of Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation In The Wake Of Coastal V. Garza, Caleb A. Fielder

Caleb A Fielder

The State of Texas is the single largest domestic producer of natural gas in the United States. Most of the natural gas reserves in the state, and indeed in the nation as a whole, are commercially unproductive without the use of hydraulic fracture stimulation. This method, whereby voluminous amounts of fluid are pumped into a wellbore at enormous pressures to create cracks or fractures in the reservoir rock containing the oil or gas, can substantially increase the level of oil and gas production, not just for the individual well but for the entire field.

The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled, …

Iraq At Crossroads: Transforming The 'Resource Curse' To A 'Resource Blessing' - The Case For Gradual Privatization Of The Iraqi Oil Industry, Christina P. Frentzou

Christina P Frentzou

Talking about reconstruction and state-building of a country like Iraq holding the world’s largest reserves of conventional petroleum after Saudi Arabia is hard to envisage without focusing on the largest source of income and power: its oil industry. The controversial Draft Oil & Gas Law currently under review is an example of the inclination of the elected government to focus on short-term goals of fast profit and to drive Iraq into the world of full-frontal privatization and of open-market economy while scrupulously neglecting the security situation and the weak and vague legislative frameworks in place - both factors that reduce …

A Climate Of Extremes: Transboundary Conflict Resolution, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

This Article examines evolving climate change policy. In April 2007 Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency clarified that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This Supreme Court ruling coincided with the United Nations Security Council's decision to put climate change on its agenda. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that anthropogenic climate change has impacted the natural world and human societies. Scientific and governmental consensus has coalesced that multilateral climate mitigation and adaptation must be implemented. International institutions, governments, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and civil society can achieve multilateral greenhouse gas mitigation and climate adaptation.

Multilateral Climate Change Mitigation, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

A long-term framework to address climate change is within political reach. This article examines how greenhouse gas mitigation can occur across economic and political fault lines. Climate is a public good requiring the development of an energy strategy based upon international cooperation, energy efficiency, and sustainable technological development.