Digital Commons Network^™

What Makes It A Just Transition? A Case Study Of Renewable Rikers, Rebecca Bratspies

Pace Environmental Law Review

This essay offers New York City’s Renewable Rikers as an example of what a just transition might look like in practice. Specifically, this essay describes how Renewable Rikers connects the need for non-polluting energy infrastructure with a broader conversation about decarceration and racial justice to build an inclusive pathway for prosperity and environmental health for all New Yorkers. The first part of this essay sets the stage with a brief overview of the climate crisis. Part two sketches the contours of what constitutes a just transition as that term is used in the Green New Deal Resolution. Part three situates …

Green Crimes In The Empire State: Analyzing The Criminal Enforcement Of Environmental Law In New York, Joshua Ozymy, Melissa Jarrell Ozymy

Pace Environmental Law Review

Ensuring compliance with federal and state environmental laws and deterring future offenses can require the application of criminal enforcement tools. Yet we have a limited understanding of how the criminal enforcement of environmental laws has progressed historically in The Empire State. To explore this phenomenon, we undertake content analysis of federal prosecution summaries for all environmental crime prosecutions stemming from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criminal investigations from 1983 to 2019. We explore which federal environmental laws were violated, determine which charging statutes were used, analyze sentencing patterns, and illustrate the broader themes that emerge in such prosecutions over 37 years. …

Pre-Merits Vacatur: An Efficient, Equitable, And Environmentally Sound Remedy, Stuart Gillespie

Pace Environmental Law Review

Federal agencies are increasingly requesting voluntary remands of challenged rules, thereby circumventing judicial review, and avoiding ever having to defend the merits of those rules. Courts routinely grant these extraordinary requests, often under the guise of saving judicial resources and giving agencies a second chance to reconsider. But voluntary remands come at a steep cost, particularly in the arena of environmental litigation. There, voluntary remands not only deprive litigants of their day in court, but can also subject them (and the broader public) to unlawful and inadequate rules that are causing serious environmental harm.

Courts have long guarded against the …

Movement Lawyering In The Time Of The Climate Crisis, Camila Bustos

Pace Environmental Law Review

While climate litigation has emerged as a tool to tackle rising emissions and its devastating consequences, climate litigation as a strategy and movement has yet to be thoroughly analyzed through the lens of movement lawyering. Thus, this paper seeks to draw from existing literature on movement lawyering to explore the relationship between climate litigation and movement lawyering principles, addressing separate yet related questions: What does it mean to be a movement lawyer working on climate change? How do principles of climate justice shape movement lawyering and thus, climate litigation? How do lawyers think about accountability to their clients and the …

Of Sex Crimes And Fencelines: How Recognition Of Environmental Justice Communities As Crime Victims Under State And Federal Law Can Help Secure Environmental Justice, Joshua Ozymy, Melissa L. Jarrell

Pace Environmental Law Review

Environmental justice communities throughout the United States continue to face disproportionate health burdens from living near industrial sources of pollution. Such burdens were caused by historically racist public policies and continue to be perpetuated by inadequate regulatory responses at the federal and state level. State and federal law has increasingly recognized an emerging set of rights afforded to victims of crime in court proceedings. We argue that members of environmental justice communities should be viewed as crime victims and have the same rights applied as other victims of violent crime. Using case examples under the federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act …

Unveiling The “Trojan Horses” Of Gentrification: Studies Of Legal Strategies To Combat Environmental Gentrification In Washington, D.C. And New York, N.Y., Sarena Malsin

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

How Clean Is Clean?: An Analysis On The Difference Between The Affordable Clean Energy Rule And The Clean Power Plan And Why States Should Adhere To Stricter Emissions Standards, Katherine Mccormick

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Time Has Come For A Universal Water Tribunal, Tarek Majzoub, Fabienne Quilleré-Majzoub

Pace Environmental Law Review

Since its inception in 1981, the International Water Tribunal has emerged as a non-governmental body with a multidisciplinary composition and a mandate based on conventional and customary international water law, which holds public hearings in order to address water-related complaints. This Article describes the historical background of the proposed Universal Water Tribunal (“UWT”) and significant difficulties on the horizon facing the proposed Tribunal (including political, practical, and legal-technical considerations). It then summarizes the key factors of such Tribunal and, finally, touches upon the proposed model based on an expanded concept of jurisdiction. The main underlying thesis is that, whereas the …

Environmental Injustice/Racism In Flint, Michigan: An Analysis Of The Bodily Integrity Claim In Mays V. Snyder As Compared To Other Environmental Justice Cases, Joshua V. Berliner

Pace Environmental Law Review

This Note examines the merits of the “bodily integrity” claim that the Flint residents have alleged in Mays (but does not discuss any claims asserted in Earley, the case Mays was consolidated with on appeal), and asserts that they should be successful on this claim on remand, assuming that the facts alleged in the Flint residents’ complaint are true. This Note outlines the alleged facts and then discusses the existing case law on bodily integrity claims generally, both in the non-environmental justice and environmental justice fields. Following is an explanation of the specific bodily integrity claim the Flint residents have …

Labor Leading On Climate: A Policy Platform To Address Rising Inequality And Rising Sea Levels In New York State, J. Mijin Cha

Pace Environmental Law Review

With the renewed need for state action, this paper presents a case study of a labor-led initiative in New York State that seeks to address both economic inequality and the climate crisis. It discusses how organized labor, which has historically represented fossil fuel workers and has not been seen as a traditional climate ally, put forth a comprehensive climate jobs plan that could meaningfully reduce carbon emissions while also creating good, family-sustaining jobs to reduce income inequality. As the need for a broader coalition to advocate for sensible climate policy increases, this case study provides a road map for states …

Looking To The Third Sovereign: Tribal Environmental Ethics As An Alternative Paradigm, Elizabeth Ann Kronk Warner

Pace Environmental Law Review

This article considers what role, if any, can tribal environmental ethics play in the re-examination and consideration of American environmental ethics? The answer—quite a substantial role. Tribes must straddle two worlds—a traditional one and one dominated by Western culture and values. As a result of this dichotomy, tribes are necessarily experts at adaptation and innovation. To demonstrate the value of looking to tribal environmental ethics when considering alternative ethical paradigms for the United States, this article begins by discussing the link between environmental ethics and policy making. With this understanding in place, the article then examines the importance of environmental …

Engines Of Environmental Innovation: Reflections On The Role Of States In The U.S. Regulatory System, Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, Chandos Culleen

Pace Environmental Law Review

This article focuses on the role that states play in environmental regulation. Specifically, this article offers examples of the central part in the evolution of United States environmental regulation states played in the past, continue to play today, and will play in the future. First, this article explores the history of state environmental regulation, demonstrating that despite a lack of resources, states were actively engaged in environmental regulation before the advent of the modern era of federal environmental regulation in the 1970s. This article relates not only the regulatory efforts of states, but also the practical benefits of state regulation. …

Bridging The North-South Divide: International Environmental Law In The Anthropocene, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Pace Environmental Law Review

This article calls for a fundamental reorientation of international environmental law to bridge the North-South divide and respond to the ecological crises of the Anthropocene. Such a reconceptualization of international environmental law must be normatively grounded in respect for nature and in the quest for environmental justice within, as well as between, countries.

International environmental law must directly challenge the relentless drive toward economic expansion and unbridled exploitation of people and nature rather than merely attempt to mitigate its excesses. An essential step toward such a reconceptualization is to examine the ways in which international law has historically engaged with …

Pace Environmental Law Review 2015 Symposium: Reconceptualizing The Future Of Environmental Law, Cayleigh S. Eckhardt

Pace Environmental Law Review

Pace Environmental Law Review's 2015 Symposium, entitled Reconceptualizing the Future of Environmental Law, can be traced back to over a year ago when a few Pace Environmental Law faculty members approached me and Katie Hatt, the Managing Editor of the law review, with an idea.1 No, not an idea, rather a question. They simply asked us, “what do you think the future holds for environmental law?” This question transformed into an extensive conversation about the past, the present, and the future of environmental law.

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 …

The Executive And The Environment: A Look At The Last Five Governors In New York, Patricia E. Salkin

Pace Environmental Law Review

Gubernatorial leadership is the single most important indicator of how sustainable New York will be when it comes to issues of environmental protection and conservation. In preparing for the Kerlin Lecture, one of the things that struck me is that New York governors for at least the last thirty years have consistently identified the critical economic, social, and environmental challenges facing this state. Is it simply political rhetoric to decry that the state is in terrible fiscal shape, that programs need to be funded to help those is need, and that we must pay attention to stewarding the environment today …

A Mindful Environmental Jurisprudence?: Speculations On The Application Of Gandhi’S Thought To Mcwc V. Nestlé, Nehal A. Patel, Lauren Vella

Pace Environmental Law Review

We attempt to engage modern legal reasoning with Gandhi’s thought. We hope to speculate on what jurisprudence would look like if it were more mindful of the concepts central to Gandhi’s thought. By using Gandhi as an intellectual anchor, we hope to take a step toward creating a more “mindful jurisprudence” that implicitly incorporates into its reasoning the needs of environmental stewardship, disempowered populations, and the poverty-stricken. Because Gandhi’s thought has been discussed at length in environmental justice campaigns, we begin this effort by examining the relationship between environmental law and Gandhi’s thought. Given Gandhi’s commentaries on exploitative and oppressive …

Home Is Where The Health Is: The Convergence Of Environmental Justice, Affordable Housing, And Green Building, Kevin C. Foy

Pace Environmental Law Review

The issues this paper discusses–housing affordability, environmental equity, indoor and outdoor air quality, responsible use of natural resources, transportation and neighborhood character–are all connected. Green affordable housing is especially important in the context of the disproportionate effects that low-wealth households experience from environmental degradation, including air, water, and noise pollution.

To frame this discussion, Part II of this paper discusses the concept of environmental justice, a relatively new topic in the arena of American environmental concerns. It looks at how the concept has evolved over time, to the point that it is no longer concerned only with disparate impacts of …

Judicial Specialization Through Environment Courts: A Case Study Of The Land And Environment Court Of New South Wales, Brian J. Preston

Pace Environmental Law Review

This is the text of a speech given at the International Symposium on Environmental Courts and Tribunals, hosted by Pace Law School and the International Judicial Institute for Environmental Adjudication (IJIEA), on April 1, 2011.

Institutional Innovation For Environmental Justice, Robert Carnwath

Pace Environmental Law Review

This is the text of a paper presented at the International Conference on Environment and Disaster Management in Delhi, India, hosted by the Indian Supreme Court, in July 2011.

The Importance Of The Judiciary In Environmental Compliance And Enforcement, Kenneth J. Markowitz, Jo J.A. Gerardu

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Courts In Comparative Perspective: Preliminary Reflections On The National Green Tribunal Of India, Domenico Amirante

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ensuring Access To Justice Through Environmental Courts, Nicholas A. Robinson

Pace Environmental Law Review

Introduction to special edition.

Filling The Gap: The Retroactive Effect Of Vacating Agency Regulations, Daniel H. Conrad

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sustaining Ecosystem Services Through Local Environmental Law, Keith H. Hirokawa

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Creating The Law Of Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development, John C. Dernbach

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Divergent Paths Of Environmental Law Practice: A Reply To Professor Manaster, John E. Bonine

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Many Paths Of Environmental Practice: A Response To Professor Bonine, Kenneth A. Manaster

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Examining The Air We Breathe: Epa Should Evaluate Cumulative Impacts When It Promulgates National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Deborah Behles

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.