Law Commons^™

Mississippi River Stories: Lessons From A Century Of Floods And Hurricanes, Sandra Zellmer, Christine Klein

Sandi Zellmer

n the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the nation pondered how a relatively weak Category 3 storm could have destroyed an entire region. Few appreciated the extent to which a flawed federal water development policy transformed this apparently natural disaster into a “manmade” disaster; fewer still appreciated how the disaster was the predictable, and indeed predicted, sequel to almost a century of similar disasters. This article focuses upon three such stories: the Great Flood of 1927, the Midwest Flood of 1993, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005. Taken together, the stories reveal important lessons, including the inadequacy of engineered flood …

The Killing Fields: Reducing The Casualties In The Battle Between U.S. Species Protection Law And U.S. Pesticide Law, Mary Jane Angelo

Mary Jane Angelo

ABSTRACT

The Killing Fields:

Reducing the Casualties in the Battle Between

U.S. Species Protection Law and U.S. Pesticide Law

Mary Jane Angelo, University of Florida Levin College of Law

For the past 35 years a battle has raged due to the conflicting goals, standards, focus, and methods among the U.S. species protection laws and U.S. pesticide law. The unwitting casualties of this battle are the literally millions of birds, fish, and other wildlife species that have been killed and the hundreds of legally-protected species that have been put at risk of extinction. In the past several years the battle has …

Access To Parkland: Environmental Justice At East Bay Parks, A Report By Golden Gate University School Of Law, Paul Stanton Kibel

Paul Stanton Kibel

No abstract provided.

Unpacking The Packaging Problem: An International Solution For The Environmental Impacts Of Packaging Waste, Billy B. Hwang

Billy B Hwang

From the vinyl tube that contains toothpaste, to the paper box breakfast cereal comes in, to the plastic bag groceries are placed in, packaging plays an innate and important role in the lives of most every human on earth. All materials used for packaging good are derived from natural resources such as oil, metal ores, sand, and trees, which are processed and converted into plastic, aluminum, metal, glass, wood and paper for both our health and convenience. Once the goods within the packaging have been consumed, the packaging ceases to be useful and is discarded as waste, headed towards a …

Adaptation, Evolution And Symbiosis In Water Law, Sandi Zellmer

Sandi Zellmer

: This article traces the evolution of the laws governing the use of water for consumption, waste disposal, public purposes and environmental protection. It provides a unique integration of water resources law and environmental law, two fields that are otherwise highly fragmented in the United States. Both the historic tensions and the emerging collaborations among federal, state, tribal and private interests in managing water resources are assessed in an effort to illuminate future pathways for conservation and the restoration of degraded waterways. The article begins with colonial America and proceeds through five significant eras in U.S. history: the Gilded Age …

Watts My Line? Energy Generation Siting Strategies For Urban Areas, Caleb W. Christopher

Caleb W Christopher

The growth of urban areas has historically been both constrained and encouraged by energy and related infrastructure. Varying degrees of regulation have been sought to respond to compelling public safety needs: more recently, modern environmental law system was derived from public conflicts over siting of an energy plant. While the greater urban density offers reduced per-capita energy consumption rates, contemporary urban revitalization has brought a greater amount of people into closer contact with their energy sources. The unique geography, and increased securities needs, of urban areas demand both reliability and local proximity in energy source production. Urban siting issues will …

Stabilizing And Then Reducing U.S. Energy Consumption: Legal And Policy Tools For Efficiency And Conservation, John Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

Rising global demand for energy, high energy prices, climate change, and the threat of terrorism all point to the need for greater energy efficiency and conservation in the United States. While technological innovation is plainly needed, our laws and institutional arrangements must also play an important role. The United States has scores of legal and policy tools from which to choose to improve energy efficiency and curb energy consumption. This article evaluates a handful of these tools: transit-oriented development; fuel taxation; real-time pricing for electricity use; public benefit funds; improved efficiency in existing residential and commercial buildings; and expanded use …

China's Future Lawyers: Some Differences In Education And Outlook, Patricia Ross Mccubbin, Malinda L. Seymore, Andrea Anne Curcio, Llewellyn Joseph Gibbons

Andrea A. Curcio

In this short essay, four U.S. professors who recently served as Fulbright Lecturers in Law in China share important observations about China's future lawyers. The authors discuss key differences in the legal education systems of the two countries, noting that the most significant difference is the lack of Chinese training in the critical legal analysis so familiar to U.S.-trained lawyers. The authors also discuss Chinese law students' limited knowledge of the U.S. legal system and U.S. culture generally. This essay seeks to help members of the U.S. legal community understand the different skill sets and information that Chinese lawyers may …

The Great Lakes As An Environmental Heritage Of Humankind: An International Law Perspective, Dan Tarlock

Dan Tarlock

No abstract provided.

Are Shared Benefits Of International Waters An Equitable Apportionment? (With P. Wouters), Dan Tarlock

Dan Tarlock

No abstract provided.

Genetically Modified Organisms And Justice: The International Environmental Justice Implications Of Biotechnology, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

In September 2006, a WTO dispute settlement panel issued its long-awaited decision in favor of the United States in the dispute between the U.S. and the European Union over genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The ruling was based on narrow procedural grounds, and did not resolve the controversy over the safety of GMOs, over the right of countries to regulate GMOs more stringently than conventional products, or over the consistency of the EU's GMO regulatory regime with WTO requirements. The debate over GMOs continues unabated. Unfortunately, the high profile dispute between the U.S. and the EU has eclipsed the important debate …

Overcoming The Behavioral Impetus For Greater U.S. Energy Consumption, John C. Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

China's Future Lawyers: Some Differences In Education And Outlook, Patricia Ross Mccubbin, Malinda L. Seymore, Andrea Anne Curcio, Llewellyn Joseph Gibbons

Malinda L. Seymore

In this short essay, four U.S. professors who recently served as Fulbright Lecturers in Law in China share important observations about China's future lawyers. The authors discuss key differences in the legal education systems of the two countries, noting that the most significant difference is the lack of Chinese training in the critical legal analysis so familiar to U.S.-trained lawyers. The authors also discuss Chinese law students' limited knowledge of the U.S. legal system and U.S. culture generally. This essay seeks to help members of the U.S. legal community understand the different skill sets and information that Chinese lawyers may …