Law Commons^™

Environmental Law And Policy: Nature, Law And Society, Zygmunt Plater, Robert Abrams, Robert Graham, Lisa Heinzerling, David Wirth, Noah Hall

David A. Wirth

This user-friendly book - noted for its comprehensive legal process approach to the depth and complexity of modern environmental law - gives students a solid doctrinal footing in the law and helps build their analytical skills. Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society, Fourth Edition, uses the legal process approach, building on a base of common law and constitutional law and continuing on to statutory and administrative law, to illustrate both the structure of the law and how it works.

Among the attributes that have made this classroom-tested casebook a favorite:

coverage not only of the staples of environmental …

What Would Coase Do (About Parking Regulation)?, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Like many government regulations, municipal minimum parking requirements exist to prevent externalities- most notably the congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that occur when motorists drive around a city searching for scarce parking. But because such regulations make parking (and thus driving) cheaper and make walking more difficult, such regulations may in fact increase driving, thus increasing congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainable Approaches To Managing Small-Scale Ecosystems: A Case Study Of Vernal Pool Protection In The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, United States Of America, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

Out With A Bang: The Collapse Of Yucca Mountain Signals The Rise Of The New U.S. Cooperative Federalism Nuclear Reprocessing Model, Stefani C. Norrbin, Faye E. Jones

Faye E Jones

This Article argues that after the collapse of Yucca Mountain, the U.S. should move away from direct disposal by creating a new government backed, state-run corporation modeled after France’s Areva, to implement nuclear reprocessing in the U.S. This new model will help address the currently bankrupt nuclear waste system in the U.S. by using the money from the Nuclear Waste Fund that was collected for Yucca Mountain to provide financial support to states for nuclear reprocessing projects. Further, by working together, we can promote competition and innovation through state-run corporations backed by federal funding. In order to make the initial …

Recovery Of An Endangered Provision: Untangling And Reviving Critical Habitat Under The Endangered Species Act, Kalyani Robbins

Kalyani Robbins

This article addresses the problems plaguing implementation of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). There has been long-term confusion among courts, agencies, developers, and environmental organizations regarding the legal, environmental, and economic impacts of designating critical habitat for species listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA. At the heart of this difficulty has been a need to understand the degree to which the protections for critical habitat can be distinguished from those for listed species generally. Critical habitat is primarily protected via section 7’s requirement that federal agencies consult with the Fish & Wildlife Service and the …

Cases And Materials On Environmental Law 2nd Edition, Oscar Gray

Oscar S. Gray

No abstract provided.

Promoting Wind Energy Through A Streamlined Federal Environmental Review Process, Seth P. Cox

Seth P. Cox

The most significant barrier to development of wind as a viable, utility-scale, energy source is insufficient transmission infrastructure. The U.S. electricity transmission network is woefully inadequate on the whole, as increases in generation capacity far outstrip transmission gains. Wind facilities are especially vulnerable to transmission constraints, because of the nature of the resource itself. The best wind resources are typically located on large, flat, open areas, far from population centers and the ultimate consumer. These areas do not have any existing transmission infrastructure, so the network must be built from the ground up. Second, though it always blows somewhere, wind …

Climate Change, Sustainable Development, And Ecosystems: 2009 Annual Report, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

Trade, Energy, And Climate Change Policies Of Basic Nations: One Step Closer To An Economic Interest-Based International Law?, Deepa Badrinarayana

Deepa Badrinarayana

No abstract provided.

Sprawl In Canada And The United States, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain (1) whether suburban sprawl is as widespread in Canadian metropolitan areas as in their American counterparts, and (2) whether Canadian government policies, and in particular Canadian municipal land use and transportation policies, encourage sprawl. The thesis concludes that sprawl is less widespread in two respects. First, Canadian central cities have not declined to the same extent as American central cities. Second, urban and suburban Canadians are less dependent on automobiles than are Americans. The thesis goes on to point out that in Canada, as in the United States, government land use and …

The Constitution And Our Debt To The Future, Rena I. Steinzor

Rena I. Steinzor

Health and safety laws have always been justified as manifestations of congressional authority to regulate and protect the free flow of interstate commerce under Article I, section 8 of the Constitution. Professor Steinzor argues that reliance on the Commerce Clause can support next generation proposals, including a National Environmental Legacy Act proposed by Professor Alyson Flournoy, which would require that any action on federal land involving the consumption or destruction of resources must be sustainable, as well as pending climate change legislation. But, Steinzor says, a far more desirable constitutional foundation for such laws is the General Welfare Clause found …

The Nuclear Option: Promotion Of Advanced Nuclear Generation As A Matter Of Policy, Seth P. Cox

Seth P. Cox

A flexible and adaptive energy policy is crucial to the continued progress of the American economy. Energy fuels all economic activity, and policy determines the manner in which energy is exploited. The most salient considerations regarding energy, sustainability, affordability and independence, shape the policy and direction of America. Energy policy must incorporate these concerns, while remaining receptive to changed valuation.

Appreciation of the relative weights of sustainability, affordability and independence is fluid. Over the last several years sustainability became a prominent issue. As the evidence mounts, it is more and more difficult to deny that current patterns of energy use …

Transporting India Into A New Climate: The Implications For Energy Law And Policy, Deepa Badrinarayana

Deepa Badrinarayana

Abstract: India’s rapidly growing economy naturally demands increasing energy needs from the industrial scale down to the personal. Mindful of potential negative impacts of economic development, India is making efforts to encourage growth while preserving and protecting the environment and human rights. India’s Integrated Energy Policy sets out the roadmap for how the country plans to achieve the balance among development, environmental protection, citizens’ rights, energy security, and a host of other priorities and concerns. Though ambitious and broad in scope, the Policy may prove inadequate in mitigating environmental impacts of development, and thus inadequate in balancing India’s needs, particularly …