Law Commons^™

Editors' Note, Rachel Keylon, Meghen Sullivan

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

For more than two decades, the Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief (SDLP) has published works analyzing emerging legal and policy issues within the fields of environmental, energy, sustainable development, and natural resources law. SDLP has also prioritized making space for law students in the conversation. We are honored to continue this tradition in Volume XXIII.

Infrastructure, Jurisdiction, Extractivism: Keywords For Decolonizing Geographies, Shiri Pasternak, Deborah Cowen, Robert Clifford, Tiffany Joseph, Dayna Nadine Scott, Anne Spice, Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark

Articles & Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Commentary: Nature-Based Insetting: A Harmful Distraction From Corporate Decarbonization, Nora Mardirossian, Jack Arnold

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Carbon offsetting is used worldwide on a massive scale, purportedly to mitigate climate change by capturing atmospheric carbon or by increasing or protecting carbon storage. Yet, in recent years, offsetting has been increasingly criticized as a strategy that can harm Indigenous peoples and local communities, exacerbate land inequality, and, paradoxically, worsen the global climate crisis. “Carbon insetting” has emerged as an alternative approach to offsetting that localizes nature-based solutions projects and other greenhouse gas removal activities within company value chains and has been adopted by major global brands such as Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Burberry. This commentary takes a deep dive …

Ghg Accounting Methods In The Aluminum Industry, John Biberman, Perrine Toledano, Rohini Ram Mohan

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Primary aluminum production is one of the world’s most GHG-intensive industries, and also one where GHG accounting methods have become the most fully developed. GHG reporting for the primary aluminum sector has largely consolidated under the International Aluminium Institute’s (IAI) guidance, although Environment Canada (EC) guidance remains active and Chinese aluminum smelters will soon additionally be required to report their emissions under the China National Development and Reform Commission’s (China NDRC) guidelines, meant to support the development of the Chinese emissions trading system. The IAI method largely follows best GHG accounting practices, but aspects of it can be improved, and …

Policy Comparison Of Lead Hunting Ammunition Bans And Voluntary Nonlead Programs For California Condors, Robin M. Rotman, John H. Schulz, Samantha Totoni, Sonja A. Wilhelm Stanis, Christine Jie Li, Mark Morgan, Damon M. Hall, Elisabeth B. Webb

Faculty Publications

The endangered California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is negatively affected by lead poisoning from spent lead‐based hunting ammunition. Because lead poisoning is the primary mortality factor affecting condors, the California Fish and Game Commission banned lead hunting ammunition during 2008 in the southern California condor range followed by a statewide ban implemented in 2019. In contrast, the Arizona Game and Fish Department instituted an outreach and awareness program encouraging voluntary use of nonlead hunting ammunition in the northern portion of the state during 2005 and a similar program was launched in Utah during 2012. The juxtaposition of policy tools provided a …

150 Years On: Common Sense Updates To The Mining Law Of 1872 To Address Our Changing Climate, Jake Ward-Herzik

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Developing Model Federal Legislation To Advance Safe And Responsible Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal Research In The United States, Romany M. Webb, Korey Silverman-Roati

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This model federal legislation aims to advance safe and responsible ocean carbon dioxide removal (CDR) research in U.S. waters. Controlled field trials and other in-ocean research is critical to improve scientific and societal understanding of CDR techniques that could help the U.S. reach its climate goals. However, existing legal frameworks were not designed to regulate ocean CDR and, in some cases, unnecessarily or inappropriately restrict needed research. The purpose of this proposed model legislation is to establish clear and efficient permitting regime for in-ocean CDR research. At the same time, the model legislation builds in consultation, monitoring, and other safeguards …

Law Library Blog (March 2023): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Heyman Center Presents: Regulating The Metaverse, Heyman Center On Corporate Governance, Andrea Guaccero

2022–2023 Flyers

No abstract provided.

The Objective Penal Protection Of The Terrestrial Environment In Light Of The Provisions Of The Kuwaiti Environmental Protection Law, Its Amendments And Implementing Regulations, Bader Ahmed Al-Rajhi Dr.

UAEU Law Journal

terrestrial environment and the statement of what environmental pollution is, the terrestrial environment means soil, which is the earth, that important element of the environment, it is where human settle, and has his residence and shelter, it is the source of his food, just as it is the settle of animals and their source of food.

However, this terrestrial environment has been exposed to environmental pollution, namely all human and natural activities that contribute to the presence of any pollutants or agents in the environment in quantities or characteristics for a period of time that may lead directly or indirectly …

Extinction Or Bust: Improving Species Recovery Under The Endangered Species Act By Amending The Funding Allocation And Recovery Planning Processes, Max Hayashi

Texas A&M Law Review

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (“ESA”) is among the most powerful environmental statutes passed in U.S. history and serves as a blueprint for government-sanctioned conservation efforts globally. At its core, the ESA seeks to protect listed plant and animal species by prohibiting actions that harm their chances of survival. While the ESA has generally succeeded in pursuing this goal as implemented, it has also led to a host of problems that undermine its effectiveness and generated widespread discontent among conflicting, disparate stakeholders, including environmentalists, industry groups, government agencies, and private landowners. Criticisms of the ESA generally focus on several …

El Ejercicio De Los Derechos De Acceso A La Información Y La Participación En Asuntos Ambientales En La Protección De Los Derechos Bioculturales E Intergeneracionales, Ana M. Roldan, Carolina Restrepo, Jorge E. Vasquez

The Qualitative Report

Los derechos de acceso a la información, a la participación y a la justicia en asuntos ambientales se han definido como las bases más adecuadas para realizar el desarrollo sostenible, una práctica que debe integrar la prevención y la debida resolución de los conflictos socioambientales. En ese contexto se propuso como pregunta de investigación ¿Cómo ha sido el ejercicio de los derechos de acceso a la información y la participación para la protección de derechos intergeneracionales y bioculturales en Colombia a partir de la vigencia de la Constitución Política de 1991? un problema que se respalda en los derechos de …

Solenex, Llc V. Haaland, Jennifer Kieffer Jensen

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 1982, BLM issued an oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine to Solenex’s predecessor. The Badger-Two Medicine, located in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, is an area of cultural and spiritual importance to the Blackfeet Tribe. After four decades of disagreement as to whether the lease was validly issued, the Secretary of the Interior found that the lease violated the National Historic Preservation Act. Accordingly, she canceled Solenex’s lease and revoked Solenex’s Application for Permit to Drill. The District Court for the District of Columbia held the Secretary did not possess the authority to cancel Solenex’s lease. …

Gender Inequality Against Women Fishers In Indonesia, Ani Purwanti, Dyah Wijaningsih, Muh. Afif Mahfud, Aga Natalis

Indonesia Law Review

This study explores whether or not Law No. 7 of 2016 for the Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen, Fish Cultivators, and Salt Farmers discriminates against women. This law supports small fishermen since it requires the government to provide them with financial stability through harvest season output guarantees. On the other hand, we discovered that Law No. 7 of 2016, about the Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen, Fish Cultivators, and Salt Farmers, has discriminatory consequences damaging the welfare of female fishermen. Because of sociological and cultural bias, female fishermen are the most neglected segment in the fishing sector. This is in …

On The Legal Life-History Of Beaches, Josh Eagle

Faculty Publications

Climate change is, among other things, making it more and more difficult to get to the beach. Recent studies show that rising sea levels have been shrinking America’s beaches through erosion and inundation. This trend is unlikely to slow down anytime soon, and some scientists predict that we will see feet of additional sea-level rise within our lifetimes. While beaches are shrinking, reducing the availability of recreational opportunities for locals and tourists alike, the number of people who want to visit the beach has grown dramatically. The growth in demand is due to a variety of factors, including the very …

Epa And Army’S New Wotus Definition And Another Finalized Rule This Spring, Joe Retzer

SLU Law Journal Online

On December 30, 2022, the EPA finalized its rule interpreting "waters of the United States," which redefined the boundaries of the Clean Water Act's jurisdiction. In this article, Joe Retzer discusses the new rule that attempts to implement public input by providing a definition that is clear and consistent for stakeholders and discusses future rules that may be on the horizon.

Jazz Improvisation And The Law: Constrained Choice, Sequence, And Strategic Movement Within Rules, William W. Buzbee

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article argues that a richer understanding of the nature of law is possible through comparative, analogical examination of legal work and the art of jazz improvisation. This exploration illuminates a middle ground between rule of law aspirations emphasizing stability and determinate meanings and contrasting claims that the untenable alternative is pervasive discretionary or politicized law. In both the law and jazz improvisation settings, the work involves constraining rules, others’ unpredictable actions, and strategic choosing with attention to where a collective creation is going. One expects change and creativity in improvisation, but the many analogous characteristics of law illuminate why …

A Major Answer To The Major Questions Doctrine, Edward L. Rubin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court’s use of the major questions doctrine in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency to invalidate the agency’s regulation of greenhouse gas emission has elicited widespread criticism from commentators. David Driesen’s contribution to this chorus of condemnation goes to the heart of the issue, focusing on the role that the Supreme Court has arrogated to itself in reaching this decision.

The Court’s based its decision on the relationship between Congress and the Executive, speaking at length about the structural roles of these two institutions. What it forgot, as Professor Driesen notes, is that the Court is also an …

P*Law 2023, Center For Public Service Law

2022–2023 Flyers

This document provides the complete schedule for P*LAW Week 2023 at Cardozo School of Law, organized by the Center for Public Service Law. Held from January 23 to January 26, the week featured panels, workshops, and interactive events addressing pressing issues in public interest law. Topics included judicial independence, disability rights, reproductive justice, climate legislation, student mental health, comprehensive sexual education, and qualified immunity. Events also offered students career support through the PILC Fair prep session and Mentor Mock Interviews, fostering professional growth and public service engagement.

Defining Interim Storage Of Nuclear Waste, Max Johnson

Northwestern University Law Review

Nuclear power may be humanity’s best hope to curb climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions. But public fear of its dangers, including the toxicity of nuclear waste, undermines its expansion. To provide for more effective waste disposal, in 2021 and 2022 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recommended licensing two privately-owned nuclear waste storage facilities—called Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities (CISFs)—to be built in New Mexico and in Texas. Both states vehemently oppose the construction and operation of these facilities: legislators in both states have proposed state laws opposing them, and both states have sued the NRC challenging the legality of the facilities’ licensure. …

Examining The Role Of Ags In A Just Transition, Bethany Davis Noll, Terri Gerstein

Pace Environmental Law Review

Tackling the climate crisis requires transitioning from fossil fuel to clean energy, which will necessarily have a significant impact on jobs and the economy overall. The impact of this shift has sometimes been feared as a development that will be harmful to workers and the economy. Fossil fuel jobs are seen as good jobs--well-paid jobs with good benefits and protections--while the emerging clean energy industry has not yet uniformly embraced a high-road employment model. But workers’ rights and environmental concerns are not fundamentally incompatible. There are many policies and tools that can be and are being harnessed to bring about …

Green Unionism And Human Rights: Imaginings Beyond The Green New Deal, Chaumtoli Huq

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bearing The Torch: A Green New Deal For New York State Agriculture, Jack Hornickel

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Justice For Food System Workers: Heat- Illness Prevention Standards As One Step Toward Just Transition, Sarah Matsumoto

Pace Environmental Law Review

The recent dual crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme heat in the Pacific Northwest have brought environmental injustices for food system workers into stark view. These events prompt us to reflect on how and why our existing laws, some of which expressly include environmental justice “tools,” failed to fully protect food system workers during times of crisis, and what changes we might implement to ensure that people employed in food system jobs are safe at their places of work. These events also revealed the need for proactive, prospective changes now before another crisis occurs; indeed, experts believe that global …

Shifting Away From Coal Power: Prioritizing Ratepayers And Communities Vs. Shareholders?, Shanti Gamper-Rabindran

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Green Transitions In A Covid Economy, Nicholas Bryner

Pace Environmental Law Review

As many elements of a Green New Deal languished in Congress, economic policy took dramatic turns instead to address a different crisis: the Covid-19 pandemic. This Essay explores the way in which legal and policy responses to Covid-19 in the United States—particularly as discourse has focused on the impacts of Covid-19 response on labor markets—may provide insight into the political economy of a Green New Deal. New federal spending toward a just transition is structurally much easier to accomplish than developing new regulatory policy through legislation or executive action and avoids judicial policing of administrative authority.

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 …

The Conundrum Of Managed Retreat, Elizabeth Andrews

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Developing Ecological Security Pattern For Coastal Wetlands Based On “Three-Line Integration” Spatial Strategy, Xiaowen Li, Liehui Zhi, Tiantian Ma, Zengli Liu, Baoshan Cui, Dongdong Shao, Yu Cao, Yonglin Mu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Coastal wetlands function as key socioeconomic resources as well as ecological barriers for sustainable development in coastal regions. Although previous research and practices indicate that restoration of degraded wetlands needs combination with intact natural wetlands to achieve best integrated ecosystem services, this kind of integration is still lacking both in research and practice. In the past decades, increased land reclamation coupling with climate change (e.g. sea level rise) have led considerable coastal squeeze effects and intensified degradation and loss in coastal wetlands along Chinese coastline, restoration of damaged coastal wetlands is therefore urgently needed to enhance the overall ecological functions …

Speculative Constitutions In Ursula K. Le Guin’S Hainish Cycle And The Rights Of Nature, Ted Hamilton

Faculty Journal Articles

This paper examines two speculative examinations of humanity as a unified species and agent of ecological change: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle and the rights of nature movement. Le Guin’s Cycle imagines the slow interplanetary reintegration of human polities against a backdrop of cultural and environmental difference. I read the novels of the Cycle as an allegory for the rights of nature movement, which seeks to synthesize traditional and modern knowledge in a legal solution to ecological crisis. Both discourses, I argue, productively imagine a new historical understanding of humanity’s place on Earth, but they provide a weak theory …