Law Commons^™

New Sources, New Growth And The Clean Water Act, Jeffrey M. Gaba

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article is discusses the means by which the federal Clean Water Act addresses the problem of growth in connection with the achievement and maintenance of water quality standards. The article discusses those existing water quality standards requirements that most directly affect the issue of growth. These include two distinct, and largely unrelated, sets of requirements. First, the Article discusses those provisions that affect the regulation of new or expanded discharges on waters not yet meeting water quality goals. These include, among others, the provisions of the TMDL process that address the allocation of waste loads to account for growth, …

Environmental Ethics From The Perspective Of Nepa And Catholic Social Teaching: Ecological Guidance For The 21st Century, Lucia A. Silecchia

Scholarly Articles

Over the years, a substantial body of Catholic social teaching has arisen to offer guidance as to the obligations that humanity has as stewards of creation. With ancient roots in Biblical text, and modern exploration in more recent texts, the connection between religious obligation and ecological responsibility has garnered much attention among Catholic thinkers - as well as among religious leaders of other faiths. This article explores the principles of Catholic social thought with respect to the environment and traces the development of those principles from their Biblical origins through the papacy of Pope John Paul II. In tandem with …

Cost-Benefit Analysis, Static Efficiency And The Goals Of Environmental Law, Matthew D. Adler

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Improving Laws, Declining World: The Tort Of Contamination, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

Articles

This article considers nature's "baseline" through the lens of modern environmental laws. We measure this "baseline" like never before and are proud of our databases on fish advisories, beach closures, and impaired water bodies, to mention a few. The ubiquitous legal response to these measures of environmental decline is the public warning "Don't Eat the Fish" and "Don't Drink the Water."

This article assesses the function, utility, and purpose of these public warnings and finds them wanting. Their principal value is that they serve as measures of lost natural capital and harbingers of shifting baselines.

Our descriptive journey leaves us …

(Under)Mining The Seabed? Between The International Seabed Authority Mining Code And Sustainable Bioprospecting Of Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems In The Seabed Area: Taking Precaution Seriously, Ikechi Mgbeoji

Articles & Book Chapters

Rapid developments in marine biotechnology and the prospect of sea-bed mining have exposed the inadequacy of legal frameworks to regulation the exploration exploitation, and sharing of the benefits that arise from such marine endeavors. The fact of the matter is that despite the giant strides made in and the huge financial stakes involved in bioprospecting of hydro-thermal vent ecosystems, legal issues raised by profitable biotechnology development through marine scientific research (MSR) are still at an infant and underdeveloped stage. This article evaluates the extent to which the present legal order for the mining of seabed polymetallic nodules with its tangential …

Canada’S 'Forgotten Forests': Or, How Ottawa Is Failing Local Communities And The World In Peri-Urban Forest Protection, Stepan Wood

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

The forests found in Canada’s rapidly expanding urban fringes have been decimated by agricultural settlement and urban growth, yet they have been largely overlooked in Canadian forest policy debates. While these “peri-urban” forests fall mainly under provincial jurisdiction, this paper argues that the federal government has the authority and opportunity to negotiate a more active role for itself in this area. The paper assesses the federal government’s track record of international commitments and domestic action on peri-urban forests, canvassing developments in six policy areas: general principles; forest conservation and management; biodiversity and endangered species; land securement and ecological gifts; climate …

Climate Law And Economic Policy Instruments: A New Field Of Environmental Law, Benjamin J. Richardson

Articles & Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Financing Environmental Change: A New Role For Canadian Environmental Law, Benjamin J. Richardson

Articles & Book Chapters

Financial institutions occupy a central role in equity and debt markets, providing the finance that shapes economic development and thus environmental pressures. Environmental regulation has traditionally focused on development itself but not those that financially sponsor developers. To achieve an environmentally sustainable economy in Canada, new regulations and policies to promote environmentally friendly financing in the financial services sector are necessary. This article explains why financing environmental change is crucial, surveys the main private financial institutions in Canada relevant to this task, and makes recommendations on how financial regulation and its broader institutional context can be reformed to support sustainable …

Canada’S ‘Forgotten Forests’: Or, How Ottawa Is Failing Local Communities And The World In Peri-Urban Forest Protection, Stepan Wood

Articles & Book Chapters

The forests found in Canada's rapidly expanding urban fringes have been decimated by agricultural settlement and urban growth, yet they have been largely overlooked in Canadian forest policy debates. While these "peri-urban" forests fall mainly under provincial jurisdiction, this paper argues that the federal government has the authority and opportunity to negotiate a more active role for itself in this area. The paper assesses the federal government's track record of international commitments and domestic action on peri-urban forests, canvassing developments in six policy areas: general principles; forest conservation and management; biodiversity and endangered species; land securement and ecological gifts; climate …

Book Review: Unnatural Law: Rethinking Canadian Environmental Law And Policy, Benjamin J. Richardson

Articles & Book Chapters

No abstract provided.