Digital Commons Network^™

In Defense Of Ecosystem Services, J.B. Ruhl

Pace Environmental Law Review

It is a great honor and pleasure to deliver the Garrison lecture at the Pace University Law School, especially on an evening during which we have paid fitting tribute to the lives of two giants of environmental law and policy, Joe Sax, and David Sive. I chose the topic of ecosystem services for this auspicious occasion for three reasons and to answer three questions.

First, the path of ecosystem services as a theme in environmental law and policy spans my practice (1982-1994) and academic (1994-present) careers. The importance of nature to human well-being seems so obvious one would think it …

Arguments In Support Of A Constitutional Right To Atmospheric Integrity, Elizabeth Fuller Valentine

Pace Environmental Law Review

As used in this paper, “atmospheric integrity” refers to the interrelated physical, chemical, and biological processes on planet Earth that enable human and non-human life now and in the future and recognizes that modern civilization has developed within the relatively stable, current geologic period known as the Holocene. I chose to focus on atmospheric integrity, rather than more broadly on environmental integrity, because the health of terrestrial and aquatic habitats is inextricably tied to atmospheric stability. This assertion is not meant to minimize the multitude of harms impacting land and water. It is just that the magnitude of the climate …

Recovering From The Recovery Narrative: On Globalism, Green Jobs And Cyborg Civilization, Michael Burger

Akron Law Review

In this Essay, I make a preliminary foray into this new narrative terrain, identifying several emerging legal storylines that have arisen in the wake of climate change disruptions and that I predict will prove influential in the coming years. In Part I, I discuss the ways in which new perceptions of scale are re-defining human beings’ attachments to a sense of “place” or “dwelling” and are shaping new attitudes about what constitutes the local, posing potential problems for existing federalism schemes. In Part II, I discuss the ways in which America’s long history of nationalizing nature manifests in the discourse …

Agenda: Innovations In Managing Western Water: New Approaches For Balancing Environmental, Social, And Economic Outcomes, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Many aspects of western water allocation and management are the product of independent and uncoordinated actions, several occurring a century or more ago. However, in this modern era of water scarcity, it is increasingly acknowledged that more coordinated and deliberate decision-making is necessary for effectively balancing environmental, social, and economic objectives. In recent years, a variety of forums, processes, and tools have emerged to better manage the connections between regions, sectors, and publics linked by shared water systems. In this event, we explore the cutting edge efforts, the latest points of contention, and the opportunities for further progress.

Fracking And The Rural Poor: Negative Externalities, Failing Remedies, And Federal Legislation, Matthew Castelli

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

This Note examines the relationship between the rural poor and the negative externalities of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). It asserts that the rural poor are disproportionately burdened with fracking’s negative externalities and that comprehensive, national regulation is needed because current legal methods are insufficient to internalize these costs. The argument is made in four parts: describing fracking’s externalities; assessing their impact on the rural poor; analyzing current legal regimes; and proposing an equitable regulatory framework based on cooperative federalism.

Fracking produces three main categories of negative externalities: water, air, and land contamination. Water contamination can be caused by migration of fracking …

Getches-Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Spring 2015, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of The Eu Directive On Environmental Impact Assessment In The Czech Republic: How Long Can The Wolf Be Tricked?, Veronika Tomoszkova

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the former Czechoslovakia experienced the most enthusiastic wave of environmental law drafting in its history. The Czech Act on Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA Act”) was among the first new environmental statutes adopted already in 1992 with the intention to harmonize Czechoslovakian law with European Union (“EU”) law and to prevent exploitation and pollution of the environment in Czechoslovakia, which in the early 1990s counted for one of the worst in the world. The hardship of transition process that hit Czechoslovakia in 1992 caused a shift from enthusiastic pro-active environmental movement towards more pragmatic approach …

Masthead And Front Matter

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

No abstract provided.

Agenda: Seeds Of Change: Responding To Global Change In A Bottom-Up World, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, Posner Center For International Development, Resolve (Firm), Newmont Mining Corporation

Seeds of Change: Responding to Global Change in a Bottom-Up World (Martz Winter Symposium, February 12-13)

Sponsors: Posner Center for International Development, RESOLVE, Inc., Newmont Mining Corporation, and Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment.

Conference moderators, panelists and speakers included University of Colorado Law School professors Phil Weiser, Sarah Krakoff, Britt Banks, and Lakshman Guruswamy.

This conference is made possible through the generous support of donors who sponsored this year’s Martz Sustainability Symposium (including Newmont Mining Corporation) and those who have invested in our Clyde O. Martz Endowed Fund for Natural Resources Management (including Brian Dolan and Davis Graham and Stubbs LLP). The Martz Natural Resources Management Fund was established in the memory …

The Rise Of Renewables And Distributed Generation In Minnesota, Jacob B. Shoop

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Asking The Right Questions About The Future Of Shale Gas, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 377 (2015), John Dernbach

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Big Talk And Little Action On Renewable Energy, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 571 (2015), Rachael Salcido

UIC Law Review

The United States has been in pursuit of a conflicting objective—pursuing an “all of the above” energy policy while trying to reduce emissions that drive climate change. As the United States pursues climate mitigation objectives, renewable energy must be built out in every region of the country. This article explores the tension between renewable energy development and its visible conflicts with land and wildlife conservation and environmental protection goals. While it is certain that climate change will bring devastating harms to the planet, the adoption of an aggressive renewable energy build-out will also have environmental impacts. Managing these impacts is …

The Political Economy Of Environmental Justice: A Comparative Study Of New Delhi And Los Angeles, Ratik Asokan

CMC Senior Theses

Though mainstream environmentalism, both in the U.S. and India, was initially rooted in social justice, it has, over time, moved away from this focus. The Environmental Justice Movement consequently arose to reunite social and environmental activism. In this thesis, I trace the historical relationship between the mainstream environmentalism, the Environmental Justice Movement, and marginalized communities. After providing this general overview, I examine two case studies – in Los Angeles and New Delhi respectively – where marginalized communities have been involved in Environmental Justice activities. My analysis reveals that marginalized communities often act in an ‘environmentalist’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ manner, without …

Making Cost-Benefit A Political Tool, Roger Meiners, Rafal Czajkowski

LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources

No abstract provided.

Getches Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Fall 2014, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Masthead & Front Matter

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Masthead & Front Matter

Vulnerability And Power In The Age Of The Anthropocene, Angela P. Harris

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Feminist legal theorist Martha Fineman has suggested that recognition of universal human “vulnerability” should be the starting point for thinking about the state’s obligations to its citizens. This Article argues that Fineman’s concept of vulnerability is valuable for situating political and legal theory within a concern for the natural world. We live in what some scientists have dubbed the Anthropocene—an age in which our collective behavior has serious implications for the flourishing of all life on earth. The concept of “ecological vulnerability” recognizes that humans are vulnerable not only because they age, become ill, and die, but because their survival …

Water You Waiting For? Balancing Private Rights And Public Necessity In The South Atlantic Wetlands, Alison Leary

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

A healthy and robust network of wetlands protects coastal communities from storm damage caused by hurricanes. Unfortunately, development pressures threaten wetlands along the South Atlantic coast, the region most susceptible to an increased risk of climate change induced hurricanes. If these wetlands are not protected from destruction, coastal communities will be left without a buffer against flooding, storm damage, and sea level rise. In addition to putting the public at large in physical danger, significant environmental justice concerns accompany the failure to protect coastal wetlands. In order to protect these ever-diminishing resources, federal and state law makers have enacted regulatory …

Masthead & Front Matter

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

No abstract provided.

Facts, Fiction, And Perception In Hydraulic Fracturing: Illuminating Act 13 And Robinson Township V. Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania, Joshua P. Fershee

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Getches Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2014, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

A Step By Step Look At Uarg V. Epa: A New Layer Of Greenhouse Gas Regulation, Kevin O. Leske

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Permitting Problems: Environmental Justice And The Miccosukee Indian Tribe, Charles Prior

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians is a federally recognized tribe that works and resides in the Everglades region of the State of Florida. The Miccosukee have been battling lax water quality standards through lawsuits since the 1990’s. Recent rulings in federal court held that the State of Florida has failed to comply with the Clean Water Act and ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to set nutrient criteria for the water bodies in the state of Florida until the Florida Department of Environmental Protection complies with the Clean Water Act.

This article uses the principles of environmental justice to analyze ways …

Dynamic Energy Federalism, Hannah J. Wiseman, Hari M. Osofsky

Scholarly Publications

United States energy law and the scholarship analyzing it are deeply fragmented. Each source of energy has a distinct legal regime, and limited federal regulation in some areas has resulted in divergent state and local approaches to regulation. Much of the existing energy law literature reflects these substantive and structural divisions, and focuses on particular aspects of the energy system and associated federalism disputes. However, in order to meet modern energy challenges—such as reducing risks from deepwater drilling and hydraulic fracturing, maintaining the reliability of the electricity grid in this period of rapid technological change, and producing cleaner energy—we need …

Getches Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2013, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

A New And Improved Energy Reality—It's No Pipedream: Streamlining Permitting Procedures For Certain Classes Of Natural Resource Projects: The Canada-United States Keystone Xl Pipeline, Daniel Hare

Buffalo Environmental Law Journal

In this paper I propose an original policy solution to the complicated issue of permitting and regulatory review for cross-border natural resource projects to allow for a smoother quicker approval process for certain types of projects. I have specifically designed this new procedure so as to focus on political compromise and minimize political partisanship, while instead concentrating on achieving results. By modi ing the current regulatory standard to a more streamlined model, deserving cross-border natural resource projects can swiftly gain approval, yet environmental, economic, foreign policy, national securit), and other significant concerns will still receive the attention and thorough evaluation …

Dynamic Energy Federalism, Hari M. Osofsky, Hannah J. Wiseman

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Promise And Perils Of Renewable Energy On Tribal Lands, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Green Harms Of Green Projects, John Copeland Nagle

Journal Articles

This article describes the recent development of renewable energy to examine environmental law’s three contrasting approaches to the green harms of green projects. Sometimes the law allows the green benefit regardless of the green harm. Sometimes the law prohibits the green harm regardless of the green benefit. And sometimes the law allows a balancing of all of the harms and benefits, green or not. Given these options, I argue that the law should not ignore or understate green harms even if they are caused by green projects. There are some types of green harms that no benefit can justify. But …

From Dirty To Green: Increasing Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy In Environmental Justice Communities, Deborah Behles

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.