Law Commons^™

Eating Invaders: Managing Biological Invasions With Fork And Knife?, Joshua Ulan Galperin, Sara Kuebbing

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

As the public, academy, government, and private sector all turn increased attention to food systems, new ideas constantly emerge for healthy, sustainable, and just innovations in growing, marketing, and eating food. “Invasivory” — eating invasive species — is one such idea. Biological invasions occur when humans transport an organism from its ecosystem of origin into a new ecosystem and that organism adapts to its new location, spreading widely from the site of introduction. Invasive species can cause significant ecological, economic, and public health damage. Crops, homes, and native species are all at risk. “Invasivores,” as the proponents of invasivory are …

Food Court, Jason J. Czarnezki

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article, focusing on produce and grain, discusses the environmental and climate change impacts of food production, processing, packaging, and distribution, which ultimately contribute to both economic and social costs. The article addresses environmental energy costs in the food supply. Figure 1 shows, for example, the significant amount of energy used in various aspects of food production, transportation, and processing.

Much of this article's focus will be on commodity crops. Along with wheat and rice, corn and soybeans constitute the world's most popular planted and consumed crops. The United States is the leading producer of corn, growing nearly 40 percent …

Rio+20 And Biodiversity: What Next? The International And Brazilian Perspectives, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Extended written remarks of the oral panel presentation by Professor Nicholas A. Robinson at the international colloquium in tribute to Ambassador Luiz Alberto Figueiredo do Machado on Rio+20 and Biodiversity: Assessing the Future We Want. Presented as part of the Inaugural Panel, held in the Senate Chamber of Brazil in Brasilia on 26 April 2013 and televised nationally.

Hard, Soft & Uncertain: The Guarani Aquifer And The Challenges Of Transboundary Groundwater, David N. Cassuto

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article begins with an overview of the ecology of the Guarani Aquifer region before turning to the legal and ecological problems it faces. Because the majority of the Guarani Aquifer underlies Brazil (with the rest residing below Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay), the laws and policies of Brazil have a significant managerial impact. Consequently, the Brazilian legal regime forms the focus of the first Part of the Article. The Article then analyzes the international transboundary framework before turning to the recently enacted Agreement on the Guarani Aquifer. This Agreement, signed but not yet ratified by four countries, represents a major …

Hydrofracking: State Preemption, Local Power, And Cooperative Governance, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Advocates for the gas drilling technology known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, argue that it will bring significant economic benefits to the private and public sectors. Its opponents dispute these claims and point to significant environmental and public health risks associated with fracking—risks that must be considered in adopting government regulations needed to protect the public interest. One of the many issues raised by fracking is which level of government should regulate which aspects of the practice. This debate is complicated by the fact that the risks associated with fracking raise concerns of federal, state, and local importance and fit …

Challenges To China's Natural Resources Conservation And Biodiversity Legislation, Jason J. Czarnezki

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Despite China's legislative attempts to conserve its natural resources and in turn protect biodiversity, Chinese law in many aspects remains ineffective in pursuit of these goals due to struggles with implementation, enforcement, and insufficient public participation, as well as legislative prioritization of economic values over ecological ones. This Article provides an overview of biodiversity and conservation legislation in China, and suggests that China can improve this legislation by increasing the public's role in conservation efforts, increasing liability and enforcement mechanisms, and improving administrative coordination.

Missouri Oil And Gas Update, Nadia B. Ahmad

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The State of Missouri has untapped potential for the development of oil and natural gas resources. While the Missouri courts were quiet this past year on interpreting oil and gas rules and regulations, the legislature was active in amending laws governing storage tanks. The state has experienced a tremendous upsurge in oil and gas production in the past two fiscal years. Missouri is poised to ramp up its conventional oil and gas production in the coming years, so increased legislative actions and court activity will likely occur in the near future. Missouri's energy resources include coal bed methane, oil sand, …

The Tropics Exploited: Risk Preparedness And Corporate Social Responsibility In Offshore Energy Development, Nadia B. Ahmad

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Soaring energy demands and increasing technological innovation have led to the rapid exploitation of offshore oil and gas exploration and development. This Article seeks to examine elements of risk preparedness and corporate social responsibility in the context of the underwater natural gas pipeline in the Eastern Caribbean and the exploration of Florida's potential offshore energy reserves. I discuss these two case studies to illustrate the prevalence of emerging regional energy corridors in previously unfathomable tropical and subtropical locales known for tourism-intensive commercial activity. While images of environmental degradation of the 2010 BP oil spill remain entrenched in the collective consciousness, …

The Global Land Rush: Markets, Rights, And The Politics Of Food, Smita Narula

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In the past five years, interest in purchasing and leasing agricultural land in developing countries has skyrocketed. This trend, which was facilitated by the 2008 food crisis, is led by state and private investors, both domestic and foreign. Investors are responding to a variety of global forces: Some are securing their own food supply, while others are capitalizing on land as an increasingly promising source of financial returns. Proponents argue that these investments can support economic development in host states while boosting global food production. But critics charge that these “land grabs” disregard land users' rights and further marginalize already …

Changes Spark Interest In Sustainable Urban Places: But How Do We Identify And Support Them?, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Changes in climatic and demographic trends are sparking renewed interest in cities generally and sustainable communities particularly. On the one hand, residents and workers in denser, mixed-use neighborhoods served by transit have half the carbon footprint of those in spread-out suburban areas. On the other hand, many of the smaller households that characterize the nation’s growing population prefer to live in precisely those compact, mixed-use neighborhoods. In New York, these changes align with several new state policies that encourage cities and towns to reduce carbon emissions, reduce vehicle travel, create sustainable buildings and neighborhoods, and preserve the landscapes that sequester …

Land Use And Climate Change: Lawyers Negotiating Above Regulation, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Sea level rise requires a new paradigm for controlling the development of coastal lands that are in harm’s way, calling for adjustments in the law, legal practice, and legal education. This article discusses the historical tendency of the law to adjust to changes in society and the recent emergence of new legal institutions and strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change, particularly sea level rise. It illustrates how the lack of certainty about the extent and pace of sea level rise collides with the total takings doctrine of the Lucas case to frustrate the application of traditional land use …

Shifting Paradigms Transform Environmental And Land Use Law: The Emergence Of The Law Of Sustainable Development, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

We began these two decades reacting to the market’s interest in developing greenfields and coastal property and end it wondering how to prepare more urbanized places for a growing population of smaller households who seek the amenities of urban living and some protection from the storms ahead. This essay discusses this and nine other fundamental paradigm shifts in environmental and economic conditions that are reshaping the law and changing the way state and local governments control land use and order human settlements.

Dynamic Governance Innovation, Elizabeth Burleson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article frames environmentally sound innovation in the context of transnational network theory with the goal of setting forth a preliminary framework for international legal policy coherence. I consider how network dynamics can facilitate broad diffusion of environmentally sound technologies, concluding that what appears to be fragmented trade, environment, and human rights regimes are indeed sustainable development building blocks with which to achieve dynamic governance. Collaborative environmentally sound innovation networking may be able to shepherd whole renewable energy sectors across the innovation valley of death and help turn a global responsibility to ramp up green technology into a global initiative …

Global Environmental Law: Food Safety & China, Jason J. Czarnezki

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article makes the case for food security law and policy as a component of global environmental law in recognition of the global economy, trade liberalization, and concerns for food safety and environmental harm. It further describes rule of law as a significant force in mitigating food safety concerns and pollution in China. Part II explores global food safety concerns in the context of United States-China relations, while Part III discusses the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's on-the-ground presence in China as an example of the emergence of cooperative agreements in global environmental governance. Part IV shows how increased rule …

The Importance Of Information And Participation Principles In Environmental Law In Brazil, David N. Cassuto, Romulo S.R. Sampaio

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article explores the two different kinds of uncertainty, ‘hard’ uncertainty (unknown unknowns) and ‘soft’ uncertainty (known unknowns), in the context of environmental law decision making. First, the authors argue that these different categories should not be treated the same when facing decisions under uncertainty. To deal with these different uncertainties, a tiered risk analysis process is called for, using participatory techniques to turn hard uncertainty into (more manageable) soft uncertainty as well as to increase the legitimacy of environmental decision making, even in cases of hard uncertainty. This methodology can and should apply to all instances of domestic, transnational …

Environment, Ethics, And The Factory Farm, David N. Cassuto

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Transcript of Symposium: Ethical Implications of the Commercial Use of Animals.

What are the ethics behind factory farming? What are the ethical implications? Specifically, I'd like to focus on the environmental implications. But I define environmental implications a little differently than a lot of folks because I teach animal law.

A "Blunt Withdrawal"? Bars On Citizen Suits For Toxic Site Cleanup, Margot J. Pollans

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Throughout the history of federal statutory environmental law, citizen suits have played a key role in enforcement. Through statutory interpretation, however, courts have narrowed the circumstances under which citizens can sue. This Article explores one such restraint: Courts have severely limited citizen suits under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) by reading very broadly a jurisdiction-stripping provision of RCRA's companion statute, the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). This Article argues that courts have read that provision too broadly, not only violating traditional principles for resolving inter-statutory conflict but also undermining the purposes of both statutes by …