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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Law
A Controversy Fueled By Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (Mtbe), Anthony Cognetti
A Controversy Fueled By Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (Mtbe), Anthony Cognetti
University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development
Over the past few decades, Maryland has been faced with a controversial issue pertaining to methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) groundwater contamination.1 In 1979, MTBE was added to gasoline in an attempt to reduce smog-producing air pollutants.2 While its chemical properties have been scientifically proven to reduce air pollutants, this “environmentally friendly” chemical eventually became a topic of great debate as MTBE was leaking through underground storage tanks and contaminating groundwater sources.3 Many states thereafter filed lawsuits against gasoline refining companies for their role in adding MTBE, and most of them have received remarkably high settlements in return.4 The State …
Economics-Based Environmentalism In The Fourth Generation Of Environmental Law, Donald J. Kochan
Economics-Based Environmentalism In The Fourth Generation Of Environmental Law, Donald J. Kochan
Donald J. Kochan
Environmental protection and economic concerns are not mutually exclusive. This article explores some of the issues of economic analysis that might arise as we approach the fourth generation of environmental law. It explains ways that economic analysis can be employed to generate the best environmental rules, including measures under what this article terms as "economics-based environmentalism." Economics-based environmentalism contends that the advantages of using economic principles within a “polycentric toolbox” of environmental law come from the benefits available in private ordering, markets, property rights, liability regimes and incentives structures that will better protect the environment than alternatives like state-based interventionist, …