Environmental Law Commons^™

The Vehicle Miles Tax: The Unintended Consequences Of Paying As You Drive, Gregory A. Lush

Gregory A. Lush

No abstract provided.

The Vehicle Miles Tax: The Unintended Consequences Of Paying As You Drive, Gregory A. Lush

Gregory A. Lush

3. A Vehicle Miles Tax Reduces Manufacturer Incentives to Build Electric Vehicles

It follows that if consumers have few incentives to buy electric vehicles, manufacturers will have less of an incentive to make them. If electric cars were not in demand, then why would anyone make them and try to sell them? In a market that is finding electric vehicles to be a tough sell, we need to encourage the sale and production of electric vehicles as much as possible. The effect of enacting a mileage-based tax will be the attrition of automakers producing electric vehicles, furthering the nation’s dependency …

Addressing Global Climate Change In An Age Of Political Climate Change, Brigham Daniels

BYU Law Review

For a number of years, many within the environmental legal community have advocated an all-out attack strategy of forcing the United States to address climate change by bringing novel lawsuits under existing environmental laws. In 2007, with the seminal case of Massachusetts v. EPA, it appeared that those advocating this strategy had a winning game plan. That sense grew and solidified when the Obama Administration came to power. However, over the past several years, we have seen a countervailing movement embodied in a growing resentment towards EPA and climate change policy in general. This movement has mobilized into a powerful …

A Learning Collaboratory: Improving Federal Climate Change Adaptation Planning, Alejandro E. Camacho

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Crisis And The Paradox Of Organizing, Gregg P. Macey

BYU Law Review

Public organizations, including those involved in contingency planning, have tremendous influence over the ultimate scale and scope of an environmental crisis. Yet our understanding of how organizational behavior can either rein in or exacerbate crises continues to lag behind advances in technology. This Article considers the role of public organizations in the blowout of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. Its theoretical lens is the “paradox of organizing,” a frame that I suggest should be applied to interorganizational responses to low-probability, high-consequence events. The struggle to differentiate tasks and subunits and then piece them together during moments of …

Adaptive Mitigation In The Electric Power Sector, Lesley K. Mcallister

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Navigating The Intersection Of Environmental Law And Disaster Law, Daniel Farber

BYU Law Review

In an environmental disaster, a disaster causes environmental harm, or an environmental change causes an acute risk to humans, or a combination of both takes place. Examples include the BP oil spill, the London killer fog of 1952, the 2003 European heat wave, and the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Climate change will intensify the connection between disaster issues and the environment. Given the interwoven nature of disasters and the environment, we should consider what environmental law and disaster law can learn from each other. Environmental law has the most to teach disaster law about risk management and prevention. Disaster law, in …

Legal Remedies For Deep Marine Oil Spills And Long-Term Ecological Resilience: A Match Made In Hell, Robin Kundis Craig

BYU Law Review

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill that lasted from April to September 2010 was not only the worst oil spill disaster in United States history, but also the first to occur at great depth. Drilling at great depth multiplies the risks and complications of offshore oil extraction. It also, as this Article explores, makes natural resource damages a decisively inadequate remedy for the injuries done to the Gulf of Mexico’s (the “Gulf”) ecosystems, especially the poorly understood but highly productive ecosystems that exist almost a mile below the surface. This Article argues that our current natural resource damages regimes for oil …

Geothermal Resources Under The Mining Law Regime--Problems & Possibilities, Richard A. Grisel

Richard A Grisel

The development of geothermal resources has been greatly hampered by the legal and institutional framework governing geothermal energy resources. This framework has been plagued by conflicting mining and water laws, anachronistic common law systems of property rights, problematic legal classifications of geothermal resources, and jurisdictional variances from state to state and between states and the Federal government. These issues have combined to significantly hinder the development of what will be a vital resource for our nation’s future energy needs.

This thesis concerns one way to address the suboptimal development of geothermal energy resources. Using the Federal acquisition of exclusive airspace …

New Center On Urban Environmental Law: Greening Bay Area Cities, Garrett Wheeler

CUEL - Center for Urban Environmental Law

“We developed CUEL because while there are a lot of great programs around the country focused on climate change, energy, wildlife preservation and other rural issues, there are a lot of important concerns, particularly urban issues, that are not getting enough attention,” says CUEL founder and Co-Director, Professor Paul Kibel. “[GGU Law] is particularly well positioned to take on these issues. The greenspace project at Alameda Point is a chance to present a compelling argument to create urban parkland.”

Historia, Maendeleo Na Mabadiliko Ya Katiba Tanzania Tangu Uhuru Hadi Miaka Hamsini Ya Uhuru 9 Desemba 2011., Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania ni nchi iliyotokana na nchi mbili za Tanganyika na Zanzibari mwaka 1964, tangu uhuru wa Tanganyika 1961 na uhuru wa Zanzibari 1963 pamekuwapo na maendeleo ya kikatiba kwa upande wa Muungano na kwa Zanzibari ambayo hatuna budi kuyatazama kwa mapana yake hasa juu ya ushirikishwaji wa watu katika kuzipata katiba hizi.

Foreword: Environmental Law At Uci, Alejandro E. Camacho, Joseph F.C. Dimento, Michael Robinson-Dorn

UC Irvine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evolving Law And Policy For Freshwater Ecosystem Service Markets, Martin W. Doyle, Todd Bendor

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Rebuttal In Defense Of The Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, Michael A. Swiger, Sharon L. White

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

This article rebuts certain assertions made by Mr. Thomas Schlosser in a recent article entitled Dewatering Trust Responsibility: The New Klamath River Hydroelectric and Restoration Agreements. The Klamath hydroelectric dams are not causing degrading fish disease conditions in the Klamath Basin. Dewatering Trust Responsibility overlooks the effects of water diversions for agriculture, pollution from pesticides and industrial operations and habitat degradation from timbering, ranching and other human activities on current Basin conditions. Under the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license, PacifiCorp is taking extensive measures to protect aquatic resources in the Basin prior to …

Beyond The Blaze: Strategies For Improving Forest Service Fire Suppression Policies, Aurora R. Janke

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

Current Forest Service fire management policies restrict NEPA’s application to fire suppression actions and contribute to a lack of detailed information about the effectiveness and environmental impact of suppression efforts. Decisions by the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana in the Forest Service for Environmental Ethics v. U.S. Forest Service litigation suggest that NEPA review applies to commonly used fire suppression tactics and that the Forest Service should conduct this review before fires occur. Other recent federal district court decisions and congressional concern with current fire suppression efforts support the need for NEPA review in the fire suppression …

Stranger Than Fiction: An "Inside" Look At Environmental Liability And Defense Strategy In The Deepwater Horizon Aftermath, William H. Rodgers Jr., Jason Derosa, Sarah Reyneveld

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 20, 2010 initiated an environmental disaster that presented attorneys on both sides of the legal action with monumental challenges. Using the satirical format of a memo written by the corporate defense counsel to BP America four days after the spill began, this article investigates BP’s potential liability and strategic defense positions available in criminal and civil proceedings. Major federal environmental laws, including the Oil Pollution Act, the Clean Water Act and major wildlife protection statutes, are implicated by the Spill. The memo provides a clear picture of the existing opportunities for a responsible …

Creating An Environmental No-Man's Land: The Tenth Circuit's Departure From Environmental And Indian Law Protecting A Tribal Community's Health And Environment, Claire R. Newman

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

When Congress set aside reservations as permanent homelands for American Indian people, it intended that the reservations remain “livable environments.” When resource conflicts arise in “checkerboard” areas outside Indian reservations—where land ownership alternates between a tribe, state, the federal government and private, non-Indian landowners—disputes over regulatory jurisdiction and environmental protection intensify. Two recent Tenth Circuit opinions determining the next generation of uranium mining in the checkerboard area of the Navajo Nation, depart from the intent of environmental laws and fail to uphold federal agencies’ trust responsibilities to the Tribe. These cases illustrate the legal vulnerabilities tribal communities in checkerboard areas …

Lines In The Sand: Contrasting Advocacy Strategies For Environmental Protection In The Twenty-First Century, Joel R. Reynolds, Damon K. Nagami

UC Irvine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Worthy Of Their Name? Addressing Aquatic Nuisance Species With Common Law Public Nuisance Claims, Christopher Grubb

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Aquatic invasive species like the Asian carp and zebra mussel have caused grave ecological and economic harm across the United States, and frequently harm rights common to the public such as boating, fishing, and bathing. Yet, Congress' efforts to address the problem through legislation have been piecemeal and unsuccessful. Historically, the common law of public nuisance served as an important tool to remedy transboundary pollution. More recently, courts have established that such public nuisance claims will be displaced where Congress has comprehensively regulated in a field. This Note explores whether public nuisance claims involving aquatic invasive species should be displaced …

Climate Change And The Evolution Of Property Rights, Holly Doremus

UC Irvine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ecofarming: A Realistic Vision For The Future Of Agriculture?, Barton H. Thompson Jr.

UC Irvine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Bp Deepwater Horizon: A Cautionary Tale For Ccs, Hydrofracking, Geoengineering And Other Emerging Technologies With Environmental And Human Health Risks, Mark A. Latham

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article first discusses the technological issues surrounding the BP Deepwater Horizon and summarizes how regulator and industry reliance on an inadequate fail-safe device played a crucial role in this disaster. Next, I discuss the fundamentals of carbon capture and sequestration, hydraulic fracturing, and geoengineering; that is, I attempt to capture what they involve, followed by the environmental and human health risks they present. I then summarize the current or proposed regulation of these technologies and analyze whether those regulations are sufficient to adequately protect human health and the environment. I conclude with recommendations for policymakers and regulators to consider …

Too Big To Obey: Why Bp Should Be Debarred, Rena Steinzor, Anne Havemann

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Choosing A Better Path: The Misguided Appeal Of Increased Criminal Liability After Deepwater Horizon, Joshua Fershee

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Principle Of Resilience, Lia Helena Monteiro De Lima Demange

Dissertations & Theses

This article departs from the observation of accentuated degradation of ecosystems worldwide to stress the urgency in changing the patterns of occupation of the land, production, consumption and the ecological and ethical goals of environmental conservation. Aiming to achieve these ends, this article proposes the acknowledgement of the principle of resilience in international environmental law. The principle of resilience is articulated herein based on the concept of ecological resilience; the values of land ethic; and the existing principles of international environmental law. Later, the article explains how the principle can be applied to adaptive governance; adaptive management; environmental impact …

Electronic Contracts In Tanzania: An Appraisal Of The Legal Framework, Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

Daudi Mwita Nyamaka Mr.

The concern of our study was to examine the legal basis for electronic contracts in Tanzania. The major problems that were being examined are; the ascertainment of e-contract terms and the other party in the contract with the focus to consent i.e. consensus ad idem requirements and capacity to contract. With the first problem, e-commerce involves e-contracts and the business community in Tanzania enters into contractual arrangements with external world via websites or email in which case the electronic environment is not suitable in Tanzania in terms of the laws and the technology. Messages sent via internet may be garbled …

Book Review: Differential Treatment In International Environmental Law, Maxwell Chibundu

Maxwell O. Chibundu

A review of Differential Treatment in International Environmental Law by Phillippe Cullet. Brookfield, Ashgate Publishing Co., 2003.

Book Review: International Environmental Treaties And State Behavior: Factors Influencing Cooperation, Maxwell Chibundu

Maxwell O. Chibundu

No abstract provided.

Rescuing Science From Politics: Regulation And The Distortion Of Scientific Research, Wendy Wagner, Rena Steinzor

Rena I. Steinzor

Rescuing Science from Politics debuts chapters by the nation's leading academics in law, science, and philosophy who explore ways that the law can be abused by special interests to intrude on the way scientists conduct research. The high stakes and adversarial features of regulation create the worst possible climate for the honest production and use of science especially by those who will ultimately bear the cost of the resulting regulatory standards. Yet an in-depth exploration of the ways in which dominant interest groups distort the available science to support their positions has received little attention in the academic or popular …

Globalization And The Environment: Why All The Fuss?, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

The relationship between globalization and environmental policies presents more nuances than the popular paradigm of free trader versus self-serving protectionists, the familiar model of environmentalist battling greedy polluters, or the outmoded view of a progressive multilateral agenda juxtaposed against a parochial, inward-looking domestic one. This piece sets out a structural and analytical framework for addressing the major issues in the field -- including (1) unilateral trade-based measures to protect the environment; (2) science-based tests applied through trade agreements; (3) disciplines on foreign investment that may have a "chilling effect" on environmental regulation; and (4) the relationship between free trade agreements …