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Full-Text Articles in Law
Framing Water Policy In A Carbon Affected And Carbon Constrained Environment, Noah D. Hall, Robert H. Abrams
Framing Water Policy In A Carbon Affected And Carbon Constrained Environment, Noah D. Hall, Robert H. Abrams
Noah D Hall
Climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions is substantially altering water availability while increasing water demand. Shifts in domestic energy policy and production, while needed to confront the challenge of climate change, may further stress the nation’s water resources. These changes and new demands will be most severe in regions that are already experiencing water stresses and conflicts. This article examines the extent of the changes in water supply and demand by assessing how water conflicts will be addressed in the four overarching water use categories: water for population security, water for ecological security, water for energy security, and water …
Political Externalities, Federalism, And A Proposal For An Interstate Environmental Impact Assessment Policy, Noah D. Hall
Political Externalities, Federalism, And A Proposal For An Interstate Environmental Impact Assessment Policy, Noah D. Hall
Noah D Hall
Interstate environmental harms, which occur when decisions or actions in one state produce negative environmental impacts in another state, have challenged environmental law and American federalism for over a century. While even the strongest advocates of state primacy in environmental policy concede that interstate environmental harms necessitate federal governance, federal adjudication and regulation have done little to address the problem. This is due, in part, to a failure to fully understand the causes of interstate environmental harms. This article provides a new framework for understanding interstate environmental harms as political externalities caused by a combination of inadequate information, public process …
Climate Change And Freshwater Resources, Noah D. Hall, Bret B. Stuntz, Robert H. Abrams
Climate Change And Freshwater Resources, Noah D. Hall, Bret B. Stuntz, Robert H. Abrams
Noah D Hall
The Earth’s climate is warming. This is the unequivocal conclusion of climate scientists. Despite the complexities of climatology, certain consistent trends emerge with implications for water availability: as the world gets warmer, it will experience increased regional variability in precipitation, with more frequent heavy precipitation events and more susceptibility to drought. These simple facts will have a profound impact on freshwater resources throughout the United States, as the warmer climate will reduce available water supplies and increase water demand. Unfortunately, current water law and policy are not up to the new challenges of climate change and resulting pressures on freshwater …
The Evolving Role Of Citizens In United States-Canadian International Environmental Law Compliance, Noah D. Hall
The Evolving Role Of Citizens In United States-Canadian International Environmental Law Compliance, Noah D. Hall
Noah D Hall
Citizen participation is critical in environmental law compliance. While citizens often have a major role in advancing compliance with domestic environmental law, citizens have historically had a much more limited role in international environmental law. However, a new model is emerging North America. The role of citizens in United States-Canadian international environmental law compliance has expanded greatly over the past several decades. Beginning in the 1970’s with increased public participation in binational governance agreements and expanding in the past two decades to formal roles in monitoring implementation of international environmental agreements, citizen participation is now central in the United States-Canadian …
Transboundary Pollution: Harmonizing International And Domestic Law, Noah D. Hall
Transboundary Pollution: Harmonizing International And Domestic Law, Noah D. Hall
Noah D Hall
Addressing transnational pollution requires both international and domestic law. Transnational pollution is an international problem that demands and deserves the attention of international legal mechanisms such as treaties, agreements, arbitration, and international management and governance. At the same time, transnational pollution problems can often be addressed more effectively and efficiently through the domestic legal system. An ideal approach is to harmonize transnational pollution management and dispute resolution under international and domestic law. This article seeks to provide pragmatic, feasible, and politically realistic solutions to transnational pollution by harmonizing international and domestic law. However, given the diversity in geography, domestic legal …
Bilateral Breakdown: U.S. – Canada Pollution Disputes, Noah D. Hall
Bilateral Breakdown: U.S. – Canada Pollution Disputes, Noah D. Hall
Noah D Hall
The United States and Canada have one of the strongest bilateral relationships in the world, and the history of cooperation and diplomacy on environmental matters has been a major part of their relationship. However, as some recent efforts to resolve U.S.- Canadian pollution disputes through diplomacy and international law have failed, environmental advocates have looked to domestic litigation in U.S. courts to vindicate their rights. Is this a welcome development for environmental protection or a troubling trend for bilateral diplomacy? This essay explores the recent developments with a historical perspective and provides some recommendations for balancing the competing interests of …
Toward A New Horizontal Federalism: Interstate Water Management In The Great Lakes Region, Noah D. Hall
Toward A New Horizontal Federalism: Interstate Water Management In The Great Lakes Region, Noah D. Hall
Noah D Hall
This article presents a new model for environmental policy, called cooperative horizontal federalism. The cooperative horizontal federalism approach utilizes a constitutional mechanism for states to bind themselves to common substantive and procedural environmental protection standards, implemented individually with regional resources and enforcement. Here, the concept of cooperative horizontal federalism model is illustrated through the recently proposed Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. Under this proposed compact, the eight Great Lakes states would cooperatively manage the world’s largest freshwater resource under common minimum standards, which are then incorporated into state law and implemented individually. This cooperative horizontal federalism approach …