Law Commons^™

Requirements For A Renewables Revolution, Felix Mormann

Felix Mormann

This Article identifies and analyzes the obstacles presently barring the rise of renewables, evaluates the role of the current policy favorite emission pricing, and offers design recommendations for a comprehensive U.S. renewables policy.

Successful climate change mitigation requires a timely shift to renewable sources of energy, such as sunlight, wind or tides, to decarbonize today’s high-carbon electricity sector. But market pull alone is not strong enough. This Article discusses the most widely cited economic barriers and identifies and evaluates additional obstacles related to the electricity sector’s regulatory framework.

Emission pricing is largely considered the most efficient policy to drive the …

Mobilizing Public Markets To Finance Renewable Energy Projects: Insights From Expert Stakeholders, Paul Schwabe, Michael Mendelsohn, Felix Mormann, Douglas J. Arent

Felix Mormann

Financing renewable energy projects in the United States can be a complex, time consuming, and expensive process. Currently, most equity investment in new renewable power production facilities is supported by tax credits and accelerated depreciation benefits, and is constrained by the pool of potential investors that can fully use these tax benefits and are willing to engage in complex financial structures. For debt financing, non-government lending to renewables has largely been provided by foreign banks that may be under future lending constraints due to economic and regulatory conditions.

To discuss these and other renewable energy financing challenges and to identify …

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 …

Earthquakes In The Oilpatch: The Regulatory And Legal Issues Arising Out Of Oil And Gas Operation Induced Seismicity, Monika Ehrman

Monika U. Ehrman

Book Review Of Oil On Water: Tankers, Pirates And The Rise Of China, Christopher Rahman

Chris Rahman

Oil on Water sheds light on the vital economic and strategic issue of the international oil trade. Oil remains the most important of all fuels, and the viability of the oil trade is highly dependent upon the safety and security of shipping. However, while the idea of ‘energy security’ is a term widely employed and appreciated in the abstract, the actual details of how the world’s economies are supplied are not well understood. The issue has gained much greater salience in recent years due to structural upward changes in oil prices, mostly as a result of rapidly growing demand in …

Class Actions Suits Vs. Arbitration Clause (Mexico), Jorge E. De Hoyos Walther

Jorge E De Hoyos Walther

On September 24, 2014, the Mexican Supreme Court (SCJN) issued a landmark decision in the world of arbitration and class action suits. In summary, SCJN upheld that it is possible to file a class action suit, even though an arbitration clause is included in the agreement that governs the business relationship

Sustaining An Unsustainable Fuel Source: How Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Limitations Can Improve The Sustainability Of The Tar Oil Industry, Brittany Debord

Brittany DeBord

The United States seeks to achieve energy security and self-sufficiency by acquiring energy from Canadian tar sands and promoting a domestic tar sands industry. However, support for this industry is inconsistent with the greenhouse gas reduction policies of the Energy Independence and Security Act and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, since tar oil extraction creates three times more carbon emissions than conventional oil extraction. Legislation limiting lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions has already been implemented through the Renewable Fuel Standard Program in response to concerns that plant-based fuel production leads to greater carbon emissions than intended. Since the lifecycle …

The Next Great Compromise: A Comprehensive Response To Opposition Against Shale Gas Development Using Hydraulic Fracturing In The United States, Monika Ehrman

Monika U. Ehrman

Partition Of Oil And Gas Interests And The Effect On Mineral Rights Of Surface Partition, Thomas L. Shaffer

Thomas L. Shaffer

No abstract provided.

Ohio Oil And Gas Litigation In The New Fracking Era, Blake A. Watson Prof.

Blake A Watson Prof.

Horizontal fracking has substantially changed oil and gas drilling in eastern Ohio. Part I of this article summarizes recent decisions concerning the state’s regulation of oil and gas drilling and production. Part II looks at prior and pending cases raising tort issues such as trespass, negligence, nuisance, and strict liability. Part III describes a variety of actions seeking to invalidate, terminate, interpret, and enforce leases.

Commentary: Environmental Justice And The Bp Oil Spill: Does Anyone Care About The "Small People" Of Color?, Perry Wallace

Perry Wallace

No abstract provided.

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. …

Federal Oil Price Controls In Bankruptcy Cases: Government Claims For Repayment Of Illegal Overcharges Should Not Be Subordinated And “Penalties” Under 11 Usc §726(A)(4), Thomas Schweitzer

Thomas A. Schweitzer

No abstract provided.

Testimony Before The U.S. House Of Representatives, Committee On Agriculture - “Potential Excessive Speculation In Commodity Markets: The Impact Of Proposed Legislation", Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture. 110th Congress, 2nd Session (July 10-11, 2008).

Testimony Before The U.S. House Of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee On Agriculture, Rural Development. Food And Drug Administration, And Related Agencies, Regarding The “Commodity Futures Trading Commission”, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development. Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies on the role of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s regulatory efforts Pertaining to excessive speculation within U.S. energy futures markets in general, and futures based on U.S. delivered crude oil contracts.

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 …

Testimony Before The U.S. House Committee On Agriculture On The “Discussion Draft: The Derivatives Market Transparency And Accountability Act Of 2009.”, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture. 111th Congress, 1st Session (2009).

Testimony Of Michael Greenberger Before The Commodity Futures Trading Commission On “Excessive Speculation: Position Limits And Exemptions.”, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

Testimony before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (August 5, 2009).

Global Warming: A Second Coming For International Law?, Deepa Badrinarayana

Deepa Badrinarayana

This paper analyzes the role of international law in addressing global warming through the lens of a select number of compliance theories and rational choice theory. It presents an alternative view to the limits of international law in addressing climate change, i.e., that international law has created an economic dependency that has constrained the space for pursuit of traditional legal rights. In making this argument, this article examines the history oil exploration and climate policy. The article also makes some brief suggestions towards increasing the space for traditional legal rights.

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, …

Indonesia As An Archipelago: Managing Islands, Managing The Seas, Robert Cribb, Michele Ford

Robert Cribb

Indonesia's archipelagic character shapes its identity.

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.