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Full-Text Articles in Law
Pacific Islands And The U.S. Military: The Legal Borderlands Of The Environmental Movement, Sonia Lei
Pacific Islands And The U.S. Military: The Legal Borderlands Of The Environmental Movement, Sonia Lei
Seattle University Law Review
Climate change remains an urgent, ongoing global issue that requires critical examination of institutional polluters. This includes the world’s largest institutional consumer of petroleum: the United States military. The Department of Defense (DoD) is a massive institution with little oversight, a carbon footprint spanning the globe, a budget greater than the next ten largest nations combined, and overly generous exemptions to environmental regulations and carbon reduction targets. This Comment examines how this lack of accountability and oversight plays out in the context of three Pacific islands that have hosted U.S. military bases for decades. By considering the environmental impact of …
Free, Prior Informed Consent And Extractive Industry: Indigenous Action Is The Past, Present, And Future Of Global Environmental Justice, Paige Bellamy
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
Free, Prior Informed Consent ("FPIC") from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been central to global Indigenous action against extractive industries’ harmful practices. Yet, it is often not fully recognized as a sovereign right, which hinders Indigenous peoples’ ability to use it to its full potential. Historically, FPIC has been deemed a consultation right, not a right to “veto” industry action on Indigenous land. Countries that have interpreted FPIC as a mere consultation right have allowed further exploitation of Indigenous peoples, usually leading to environmental and humanitarian disasters. However, when courts have respected the right to …
Soaps And Shampoos: Proposals To Reform Regulation In The United States Personal Care Market To Decrease Deforestation From Palm Oil Imports, Kelsey Weston
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
Palm oil is the world's most highly sought-after vegetable oil due to its multifaceted uses and cheap cost of production. However, producing this versatile oil comes at a high cost to one of the largest biodiversity on the planet. Over the last two centuries, Indonesia and Malaysia have become the main producers and exporters of palm oil but they are also home to the largest number of mammal species in the world that have seen a staggering decline in populations. Furthermore, palm oil production has caused excessive release of greenhouse gases, increased disruption of forestland, and economic poverty for smallholders …
Unclos, Undrip & Tartupaluk: The Grim Tale Of Hans Isle And Graense, Christopher Mark Macneill
Unclos, Undrip & Tartupaluk: The Grim Tale Of Hans Isle And Graense, Christopher Mark Macneill
Sustainable Development Law & Policy
“Inuit have lived in the Arctic from time immemorial.” The Arctic, in the face of climate change, has become a hot spot for exploration, resource extraction, and increased shipping and scientific activity. “[The] Inuit . . . have had a common and shared use of the sea area and the adjacent coasts” among their own communities, and contemporaneously with the world. This vast circumpolar Inuit Arctic region includes land, sea, and ice stretching from eastern Russia (Chukotka region) across the Berring Strait, to Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, and Greenland, representing an Inuit homeland known as Nunaat. Hans Isle, a small …
The End Externalities Manifesto: Restatement, Loose Ends, And Unfinished Business, J.B. Ruhl
The End Externalities Manifesto: Restatement, Loose Ends, And Unfinished Business, J.B. Ruhl
Pace Environmental Law Review
Professor J.B. Ruhl observes in his article, “The End Externalities Manifesto: Restatement, Loose Ends, and Unfinished Business,” that Elliott and Esty’s proposal for a rights-centric system of environmental law focuses narrowly on a right to recover compensation for harms to human health caused by pollution. He offers suggestions for implementing that proposal, such as using the concept of ecosystem services to trace how harm to ecosystems can cause harm to human health, and he proposes how Elliott and Esty could extend their rights-centric system to a broader conception of human rights and the environment.
Natural Resource Systems And The Evolution Of Environmental Law, Monika Ehrman
Natural Resource Systems And The Evolution Of Environmental Law, Monika Ehrman
Pace Environmental Law Review
Professor Monika Ehrman provides a pragmatic response to Elliott and Esty’s proposal to end all environmental externalities, which she refers to as an “environmental law moonshot.” She examines the value of transforming environmental law and dreaming big as Elliott and Esty recommend, while discussing the practical considerations of doing so. Her considerations include incentivizing technological advancement, compensating environmentally harmed communities to address systemic issues, and breaking down silos in environmental law.
A Balanced Prescription For More Effective Environmental Regulations, W. Kip Viscusi
A Balanced Prescription For More Effective Environmental Regulations, W. Kip Viscusi
Pace Environmental Law Review
Government agencies increasingly base the structure and approval of environmental regulations on a benefit-cost test. For regulations that pass this test, total benefits exceed total costs. Under a benefit-cost framework, the degree of regulatory stringency is set at an economically efficient level whereby the tightness of the regulation is increased up to the point where the incremental benefits equal the incremental costs. Setting regulatory standards to achieve the efficient degree of pollution control does not fully discourage entry into polluting industries, provide compensation to those harmed by pollution, or establish meaningful incentives for effective enforcement. This article proposes that the …
Municipalities Could Provide Valuable Second-Life Uses Of Electric Vehicle Li-Ion Batteries While Legislators And Manufacturers Refine Safe Recycling And Disposal Practices, Heather D. Stewart
Municipalities Could Provide Valuable Second-Life Uses Of Electric Vehicle Li-Ion Batteries While Legislators And Manufacturers Refine Safe Recycling And Disposal Practices, Heather D. Stewart
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
As consumers are embracing emerging electric vehicles (EVs) as an important step to take in combating climate change, the reality is that the EV solution has some serious short-term issues to address, especially when evaluating the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that power most EVs. This comment first discusses the potential problems associated with the lack of recycling and disposal technology as well as regulations that are available for EV LIBs. Even though consumers and regulators alike are supportive that fossil fuel-burning internal combustion engines need to be replaced with cleaner transportation options such as EVs, policies, and proclamations are still subject …
Addressing The Disproportionate Adverse Health Effects Among Bipoc Communities As A Result Of Environmental Racism, Lindsay M. Farbent
Addressing The Disproportionate Adverse Health Effects Among Bipoc Communities As A Result Of Environmental Racism, Lindsay M. Farbent
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
This article examines factors that contribute to the negative health impacts on Black Americans, other minorities, and low-income communities that are living in areas with high levels of air pollution, toxic waste, and environmental hazards. First, this article assesses the role of historical residential redlining on the segregation of BIPOC neighborhoods. Furthermore, the article addresses gaps in both federal and state environmental laws that allow facilities to keep obtaining permits and polluting in BIPOC and primarily low-income neighborhoods. Moreover, the article explains the higher rates of trauma, stress, and stress-related illnesses among BIPOC communities exposed to high levels of environmental …
Is Bitcoin The New Gold? The Two May Be More Similar Than You Think, Including Their Value, Uses, And Deleterious Effects On The Environment, Justin Allen
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
In the 1850s, the Gold Rush started in the United States, and in 2010, an analogous phenomenon, the Cryptoboom, began. Similar to the Gold Rush, Bitcoin’s initial boom was marred by the deleterious effects that mining for valuable coins had on the environment, but there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the negative effect cryptocurrencies have on the environment. Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and the blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrencies, have been widely embraced by many people, corporations, and even entire governments for a multitude of reasons. Some have embraced the fruits of blockchain to use as a decentralized …
Miami Is Setting The Expectation On How Coastal Communities In Florida Should Respond To Protect Homeowners From The Sinking State, Dayana B. Blanco
Miami Is Setting The Expectation On How Coastal Communities In Florida Should Respond To Protect Homeowners From The Sinking State, Dayana B. Blanco
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
This note begins by explaining what environmental factors are causing the sea level rise to increase at just a rapid pace and how coastal communities are ultimately affected. Because Florida is a slice of paradise within the states, it causes the population to increase vastly. Thus, millions of homeowners could face tragic consequences, such as total inundation of residential homes, flooding within the community, and a drastic decrease in home value. In response to this natural disaster, in 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis passed Senate Bill 1954 into law, which requires the Department of Environmental Protection to complete a statewide flood …
Congress Invests In A New Generation: The Future Of Commercial Fishing Is Supported By The Implementation Of The Young Fishermen’S Development Act, Shayla Alltop
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
This note speaks to the importance and potential impact of the Young Fishermen’s Development Act. This ongoing, historical legislation, ultimately signed into law on January 5, 2021, will establish funds over several fiscal years to support the future of commercial fishing. The Alaska and New England regions are discussed briefly to show the significance of the commercial fishing industry to those areas. An overview of the Act is provided, and the context for its need is explained as it relates to the industry’s entrants. Further, the phenomenon known as “graying of the fleet” is examined, as well as some of …
Transboundary Air Pollution In Northeast Asia: Two Pathways Forward For China And South Korea, Yeeun Uhm, Creighton Barry
Transboundary Air Pollution In Northeast Asia: Two Pathways Forward For China And South Korea, Yeeun Uhm, Creighton Barry
Sustainable Development Law & Policy
Simply put, air pollution kills. Each year, more than 5.5 million people die from illnesses caused by breathing polluted air worldwide. In 2013 alone, one in ten deaths globally were associated with air pollution. Such alarming statistics ought to provide governments a strong incentive to combat air pollution, but toxic air unrelentingly blankets places like New Delhi, Seoul, and Bangkok. Fundamentally, this may be because humans take the atmosphere for granted as a place to dump industrial waste. This article will discuss two alternative pathways to addressing transboundary air pollution between China and South Korea. One involves binding international dispute …
Fracturing The Rule Of Capture: The Improper Application Of The Rule Of Capture To Subsurface Intrusions Resulting From Hydraulic Fracturing, Alexis K. Désiré
Fracturing The Rule Of Capture: The Improper Application Of The Rule Of Capture To Subsurface Intrusions Resulting From Hydraulic Fracturing, Alexis K. Désiré
Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law
Imagine that during the course of hydraulically fracturing a tract of land—a process used to extract gas from low-permeability rock formations —a drilling company causes fractures, as well as some of the materials necessary to the fracturing process, to cross the boundary of its property line and enter an adjoining property—that is, it makes a subsurface intrusion onto a neighbor’s property. Assume further that, because the company’s fractures have extended into the neighbor’s property, oil and gas from the neighboring land travels to the company’s wellbore, causing the neighbor to bring a tort action against the company for harms related …
Held V. State, Alec D. Skuntz
Held V. State, Alec D. Skuntz
Public Land & Resources Law Review
On March 13, 2020, a group of 16 Montana children and teenagers filed a complaint in the First Judicial District, Lewis and Clark County against the State of Montana and several state agencies. These young Plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief against Defendants for their complicity in continuing to extract and release harmful amounts of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. Plaintiffs premised their argument on the Montana Constitution’s robust environmental rights and protections. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss which the District Court granted in-part and denied in-part. Held provides a roadmap for future litigation by elucidating …
Florida's Harmful Algal Blooms: Tiny Organisms Needing Massive Legislation, Jillian Barnard
Florida's Harmful Algal Blooms: Tiny Organisms Needing Massive Legislation, Jillian Barnard
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
No abstract provided.
The Rights Of Nature Movement In The United States: Community Organizing, Local Legislation, Court Challenges, Possible Lessons And Pathways, Marsha Moutrie
The Rights Of Nature Movement In The United States: Community Organizing, Local Legislation, Court Challenges, Possible Lessons And Pathways, Marsha Moutrie
Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)
No abstract provided.
Preemption, I Think Not: Evaluating California’S Stored Energy Procurement Law Against Ferc Order 841, Raymond Richards
Preemption, I Think Not: Evaluating California’S Stored Energy Procurement Law Against Ferc Order 841, Raymond Richards
Pace Environmental Law Review
California’s Energy Storage Systems procurement mandate is a groundbreaking measure designed to supply more clean and reliable energy to the state by allowing the capture of power produced now to be used later. While this technology is still developing, a ready market for such resources will help advance capabilities and bring down cost. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) Order 841 will springboard storage technology in regions covered by Regional Transmission Organizations (“RTOs”) by allowing storage providers non-discriminatory and accommodating access to the FERC wholesale markets. Although FERC’s new Order speaks directly to the issue of storage technology, it should not …
Hoopa Valley Tribe V. Ferc, Fredrick Aaron Rains
Hoopa Valley Tribe V. Ferc, Fredrick Aaron Rains
Public Land & Resources Law Review
In Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC, the Hoopa Valley Tribe challenged the intentional and continual delay of state water quality certification review of water discharged from a series of dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the states of Oregon and California, and PacifiCorp, a hydroelectric operator, were implementing an administrative scheme designed to circumvent a one-year temporal requirement for review imposed on states by the Clean Water Act. This scheme allowed PacifiCorp to operate the series of dams for over a decade without proper state water quality certification. The United States …
Solenex Llc V. Jewell, F. Aaron Rains
Solenex Llc V. Jewell, F. Aaron Rains
Public Land & Resources Law Review
In Solenex LLC v. Jewell, the Secretary of the Interior cancelled a highly contentious oil and gas lease in Montana’s Badger-Two Medicine area, an environmentally sensitive and culturally significant area to the Blackfeet Tribe, nearly thirty years after the lease had been issued. Solenex, a Louisiana based oil and gas company and holder of the lease, brought this action to enjoin the cancellation. The District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with Solenex and found that the Secretary’s decision took an unreasonable amount of time and violated good-faith contractual obligations. On these grounds, the court found the Secretary’s …
Highway Culverts, Salmon Runs, And The Stevens Treaties: A Century Of Litigating Pacific Northwest Tribal Fishing Rights, Ryan Hickey
Public Land & Resources Law Review
Isaac Stevens, then Superintendent of Indian Affairs and Governor of Washington Territory, negotiated a series of treaties with Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest during 1854 and 1855. A century and a half later in 2001, the United States joined 21 Indian tribes in filing a Request for Determination in the United States District Court for the District of Washington. Plaintiffs alleged the State of Washington had violated those 150-year-old treaties, which remained in effect, by building and maintaining culverts under roads that prevented salmon passage. This litigation eventually reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held in favor …
Language Matters: Environmental Controversy And The Quest For Common Ground, Scott Slovic
Language Matters: Environmental Controversy And The Quest For Common Ground, Scott Slovic
Public Land & Resources Law Review
No abstract provided.
Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility V. United States Epa, F. Aaron Rains
Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility V. United States Epa, F. Aaron Rains
Public Land & Resources Law Review
Prior to 2016, the EPA acknowledged that human activities significantly contribute to climate change. However, on March 9, 2017, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that significant debate regarding the issue remained in the scientific community. In response to these statements, a nonprofit organization filed a FOIA request with the EPA seeking any documents or records Pruitt may have used when formulating his statements or substantiating his position. The EPA refused to comply with the request, citing undue burden and improper interrogation and this action followed. Upon review, the District Court for the District of Columbia found the plaintiff’s FOIA request …
The Lights Are On: Shining A Spotlight On The Retail Energy Market Reveals The Need For Enhanced Consumer Protections, Carrie A. Scrufari
The Lights Are On: Shining A Spotlight On The Retail Energy Market Reveals The Need For Enhanced Consumer Protections, Carrie A. Scrufari
Fordham Environmental Law Review
No abstract provided.
Eminent Domain And Oil Pipelines: A Slippery Path For Federal Regulation, Natalie M. Jensen
Eminent Domain And Oil Pipelines: A Slippery Path For Federal Regulation, Natalie M. Jensen
Fordham Environmental Law Review
No abstract provided.
Murray Energy Corporation V. Mccarthy, Sarah M. Danno
Murray Energy Corporation V. Mccarthy, Sarah M. Danno
Public Land & Resources Law Review
Holding that the widespread effects of environmental regulation on the coal industry constituted sufficient importance, the Northern District of West Virginia ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct analysis on employment loss and plant reduction resulting from regulatory effects. In admonishing the EPA’s inaction, the court ruled that the Agency had a non-discretionary duty to evaluate employment and plant reduction. Furthermore, the court held that the EPA’s attempt to put forth general reports in place of required evaluations was an invalid attempt to circumvent its statutory duty.
Energy, Environment And Lng: Perceptions And Perspectives Of Kaleidoscopic Issues, Robert E. Lutz
Energy, Environment And Lng: Perceptions And Perspectives Of Kaleidoscopic Issues, Robert E. Lutz
Pepperdine Law Review
No abstract provided.
Climate Change Impacts And Nepa: Overcoming The Remote And Speculative Defense, Alana M. Wase
Climate Change Impacts And Nepa: Overcoming The Remote And Speculative Defense, Alana M. Wase
Maryland Law Review
No abstract provided.
Carbon Capture And Storage: An Option For Helping To Meet Growing Global Energy Demand While Countering Climate Change, Victor K. Der
Carbon Capture And Storage: An Option For Helping To Meet Growing Global Energy Demand While Countering Climate Change, Victor K. Der
University of Richmond Law Review
No abstract provided.
Finding The Proper Forum For Regulation Of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Legal And Economic Implications Of Massachusetts V. Epa, George F. Allen, Marlo Lewis
Finding The Proper Forum For Regulation Of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Legal And Economic Implications Of Massachusetts V. Epa, George F. Allen, Marlo Lewis
University of Richmond Law Review
No abstract provided.