Law Commons^™

Kings County, Et Al., Petitioners, V. Surface Transportation Board And United States Of America, Et Al., Proposed Amicus Curiae Brief Of Center For Biological Diversity In Support Of Neither Party For Abstention Or Reversal Of The Surface Transportation Board’S Decision, Helen H. Kang, Et Al.

Publications

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-71780 KINGS COUNTY, et al., Petitioners, v. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondents, and CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY Intervenor and Respondent.

No. 15-72570 DIGNITY HEALTH, Petitioner, v. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondents, and CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY Intervenor and Respondent. _______________________________________________________________ PROPOSED AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IN SUPPORT OF NEITHER PARTY FOR ABSTENTION OR REVERSAL OF THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD’S DECISION

Which Came First, People Or Pollution? A Review Of Theory And Evidence From Longitudinal Environmental Justice Studies, Paul Mohai, Robin Saha

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

A considerable number of quantitative analyses have been conducted in the past several decades that demonstrate the existence of racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of a wide variety of environmental hazards. The vast majority of these have been cross-sectional, snapshot studies employing data on hazardous facilities and population characteristics at only one point in time. Although some limited hypotheses can be tested with cross-sectional data, fully understanding how present-day disparities come about requires longitudinal analyses that examine the demographic characteristics of sites at the time of facility siting and track demographic changes after siting. Relatively few such studies …

Paris Climate Change Accord Is Just The Beginning, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Executive Order 13211 On Environmental Regulation: An Empirical Study, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman

Publications and Research

A great deal has been written about the Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempting oil and gas operations using hydraulic fracturing from the purview of certain federal environmental laws. Far less attention has been paid to George W. Bush’s Executive Order 13211 (EO 13211), entitled “Actions Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution or Use.” The executive order requires federal agencies to evaluate the impact of federal regulations on “supply, distribution and use of energy.” This study examined the impact of EO 13211 on United States environmental and conservation regulations proposed and promulgated by federal agencies. The study found …

‘We Are The Monitors Now’: Experiential Knowledge, Transcorporeality And Environmental Justice, Dayna Scott

Articles & Book Chapters

Residents of pollution hotspots often take on projects in ‘citizen science’, or popularepidemiology, in an effort to marshal the data that can prove their experience of the pollution to the relevant authorities. Sometimes these tactics, such as pollution logs or bucket brigades, take advantage of residents’ spatially ordered and finely honed experiential and sensory knowledge of the places they inhabit. But putting that knowledge into conversation with law requires them to mobilize a new, ‘foreign’ set of tools, primarily oriented to the observation, measurement and sampling of pollution according to conventional scientific standards. Here, I employ qualitative empirical methods in …

Indigenous Women, Water Justice And Zaagidowin (Love), Deborah Mcgregor

Articles & Book Chapters

I would like to open by saying Chi-miigwech (a big thank-you) to those Elders/Grandmothers who have shared their stories and teachings with me over the years. Some have since passed on and I hope that through my words, their love and generosity will continue the process of healing the people and waters upon which they so integrally depend.

The paper which follows contains many references to notions of love, mutual respect, and responsibility towards the natural world, and water in particular. These ideas may seem a little tenuous for a serious paper on a critical environmental justice issue, but concepts …

Uncloaking The Secrecy Behind Large-Scale Land Deals, Jesse Coleman

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Large-scale investments in agriculture and forestry have far-reaching implications for the lives of affected individuals and communities. They are also an integral part of efforts by national governments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improve the governance of land resources. Despite their significance, these “land deals” and the contracts that govern them are often cloaked in secrecy, removed from relevant spheres of public scrutiny and debate.

When Winning Means Losing: Why A State Takeover Of Public Lands May Leave States Without The Minerals They Covet, Robert B. Keiter, John C. Ruple

Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources, and the Environment publications

This White Paper, the third in a series assessing state efforts to take over federal public lands, addresses state claims to the minerals underlying those lands. Using Utah as an example, we argue here that even if states overcome extremely long odds to convince a court that the federal government is obligated to dispose of more public land, and that such a disposal obligation necessitates giving the public domain to the states, well established legal principles would prevent grants of most mineral lands to the states. Moreover, any mineral rights that states did obtain would be realized only after years …

Revising International Law: A Liberal Account Of Natural Resources, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

In this Article, I defend the view that natural resources originally belong to individuals who have legitimately established private property claims over them. Natural resources do not belong to a collective entity such as the people or the state. My argument is simple. Relying on the Lockean contractarian tradition, I argue that individuals must delegate any resource controlled by the state. This is because all powers of the state are, morally, delegated powers. A group's claims over natural resources is entirely derivative of the original claims of its members. Only individuals can originally appropriate natural resources; only they have the …

Wind Power Growing Pains, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The United States loves wind power. Since 2004 alone, U.S. wind capacity has multiplied almost ten times — from about 6.7 gigawatts in 2004 to over 65.9 gigawatts by 2014. This growth in generation potential has been accompanied by a growth in the size of the turbines that deliver that power — from approximately 56 feet in the 1980s to over 300 feet in 2015. As the turbines and meterological or met towers push up into non-surface atmospheric weather layers and navigable airspace over 200 feet, new wake efficiency and competing legal concerns arise.

Legal Aspects Of Coastal Adaption & Resilience In Rhode Island: A Workshop For Municipal Solicitors And Staff, Roger Williams University School Of Law, Marine Affairs Institute, Sea Grant Rhode Island, Coastal Resources Management Council, University Of Rhode Island Graduate School Of Oceanography

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Mitigating Climate Change By Zoning For Solar Energy Systems: Embracing Clean Energy Technology In Zoning’S Centennial Year, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Adopting land use regulations that encourage solar and other clean energy systems is an essential strategy for promoting clean power and one that focuses on the essential role that local governments play in mitigating climate change. This article explores efforts at the state and local level to reform zoning and land use regulations to permit, encourage, require, and incentivize rapidly-evolving clean energy systems, particularly solar, that, in the aggregate, have the ability to significantly increase power generation and decrease carbon emissions. The article illustrates how zoning, as it approaches its 100th anniversary, is encrusted with provisions that prohibit or discourage …

Bruce Huber Was A Guest On Npr's All Things Considered, "What The Keystone Xl Pipeline Decision Actually Means", Bruce R. Huber

NDLS in the News

President Obama has rejected the application to complete the Keystone XL pipeline. Bruce Huber, professor of energy law at the University of Notre Dame, talks about the Keystone pipeline decision.

Exploring The Link Between Food Security And Climate Change, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Our growing global population is demanding a more resource-intensive and so-called “Western” diet. And that change in demand has drastic impact on how we must change our supply.

Tpp Would Let Foreign Investors Bypass The Canadian Public Interest, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In early October, prime ministerial candidate Justin Trudeau promised Canadians “a full and open public debate” on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. With 30 chapters that would bind Canada to sweeping agreements on everything from services to intellectual property to the environment to procurement, there is much to debate.

The Clean Power Plan Puzzle: The Future Of Efforts To Control Climate Pollution In The Northeast, David Gahl, Pearl Gray, Nick Martin

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

In October 2015 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first national plan to cut climate pollution from power plants. Called the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the effort requires a 32% nation-wide reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the power sector. The CPP also gives states multiple pathways to comply. Now states are on the clock: they must submit their individual compliance plans or signal their intent to submit multi-state plans by September 2016.

The nine states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the first market-based trading platform established to cut climate pollution from power plants …

Carbon-Tuning New York’S Electricity System: Uncovering New Opportunities For Co2 Emissions Reductions, Nick Martin

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

Distributed energy resources (DER), including technologies and services such as behind-the-meter generation, demand response, energy management, and energy efficiency, are touted as effective ways to improve electric system efficiencies and reduce harmful air emissions. The New York State Public Service Commission’s landmark Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) proceeding aims to unleash competitive forces that will invest in DER across the state with the explicit goal of reducing customer bills and the environmental impact of electricity production.

As initiatives like New York’s REV continue, understanding the emission impacts of DER deployment becomes vital to ensure these efforts achieve the greatest environmental …

Rating The Cities: Constructing A City Resilience Index For Assessing The Effect Of State And Local Laws On Long-Term Recovery From Crisis And Disaster, John Travis Marshall

Faculty Publications By Year

Superstorm Sandy, the 2008 Iowa floods, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita all supply recent reminders that U.S. cities can no longer adopt an ad hoc approach to threats presented by climate change and natural hazards. The stories detailing long-term recovery from these disasters underscore that federal, state, and local governments are struggling to appreciate the legal tools and institutions necessary to implement the large-scale infrastructure, housing, and community development programs that climate change and more frequent natural disasters demand. This Article calls for development of a tool allowing succinct evaluation of the range of community capacities that will figure critically …

Ethical Considerations For Practitioners Advising On Esa Issues, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Works

All lawyers are subject to the rules of ethics and professional conduct of their jurisdictions of practice. Regulation of lawyers is within the jurisdiction of the states, typically the supreme court of each state. Many state supreme courts have adopted customized versions of the professional rules from the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct (“Model Rules”). While the Model Rules are not law in any jurisdiction, most states base their ethics codes on the Model Rules. In fact, all jurisdictions, with the exception of California, now base their ethics rules on the Model Rules. Additionally, courts have inherent …

Carbon Credits As Eu Like It: Property, Immunity, Tragico2medy?, Kelvin F. K. Low, Jolene Lin

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

While there have been many legal studies of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), none seem to have considered the EU ETS from the perspective of private law, particularly the private law issues that stem from the ambiguous legal nature of the 'carbon credit'. Such ambiguity translates into regulatory uncertainty and business risks of the sort that occurred in Armstrong DLW GmbH v Winnington Networks Ltd [2013] Ch 156, an English case involving fraud and 'stolen' European Union Allowances (EUAs). From an environmental law and policy perspective, uncertainty does not bode well for the EU ETS's regulatory effectiveness …

The Use, Impact, And Ban Of Coal Tar- Based Sealants, Hannah Needleman

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Boundary Work In Environmental Law, Gregg P. Macey

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

You Gotta Fight For The Right To Vote: Enfranchising Native American Voters, Jeanette Wolfley

Faculty Scholarship

Five decades ago, the Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Since its passage, the Voting Right Act has created the opportunity to vote for many racial and language minorities across the country, and has survived many challenges until 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions involving voting rights in its 2012-2013 term. On June 25, 2013, in Shelby County v. Holder, a divided Supreme Court struck down Section 4 - a key provision of the 1965 Voting Right Act (VRA) - as unconstitutional. On June 17, 2013, one week before the Shelby County decision, the Court decided …

International Legal Protection For Climate Refugees: Where Lies The Haven For The Maldivian People?, Simran Dolla

Student Works

Climate change and sea level rise are not just mere words for the Maldivian people; they are a grim reality that is consuming their nation. Sea level rise presents one of the gravest dangers for the Maldives because of its already low-lying characteristics. As the levels continue to rise, the nation is sinking into extinction. Some 300,000 people of the Maldives are on the brink of losing their homes and becoming climate change refugees. The existing international laws are not only ill-equipped to provide protections or the much-needed relief, they also make no mention of climate change refugees. Therefore, as …

Eyes On Bangladesh's Disappearing Coasts: Proposed Constitutional Protections For Coastal Communities Particularly Vulnerable To Climate Change, Sabrina Persaud

Student Works

Climate change, a phenomenon caused by global warming, has impacted just about every part of the earth. As polar ice caps continue to melt, people across the world are experiencing record-breaking heat waves and warmer winters. These erratic weather patterns are just one of the many impacts of climate change. Changes in temperature have altered ecosystems and habitats for terrestrial and marine wildlife, and caused human health to deteriorate. Larger, more industrialized countries are the major contributors to climate change; however, smaller countries, such as Bangladesh, suffer the consequences. This article analyses the negative effects that climate change has had …

Getches-Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Fall 2015, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Environmental Law In Madagascar: The Nagoya Protocol On Genetic Resource Use, Access And Benefit Sharing, Sarah Sanbar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The rapid expansion of the biosciences has led many to turn to nature in search of genetic resources of commercial value. Bioprospecting, or the search for plants and animals from which commercially valuable compounds can be obtained, is often a transnational activity. Four-fifths of the world’s biodiversity is found in developing countries, and those searching to exploit the biodiversity of these nations overwhelmingly tend to come from developed, wealthy countries. This asymmetry, when coupled with the lack of institutional legislative frameworks and regulation, creates a plethora of user/host conflicts. This paper seeks to examine the current state of affairs regarding …

Pope Francis, Environmental Anthropologist, John Copeland Nagle

Journal Articles

In June 2015, after much anticipation and a few leaks, Pope Francis released his encyclical entitled “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. “Laudato si’” means “praise be to you,” a phrase that appears repeatedly in Saint Francis’ Canticle of the Sun poem. The encyclical itself has been widely praised and widely reported, far more than one would expect from an explicitly religious document. The encyclical is breathtakingly ambitious. Much of it is addressed to “every person living on this planet,” while specific parts speak to Catholics and others to religious believers generally. It surveys a sweeping range of …

Newsroom: Wyman Leads Marine Affairs Institute, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Trending @ Rwulaw: Veronica Paricio's Post: What We Did Last Summer..., Veronica Paricio

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.