Law Commons^™

Legal Recognition Of Animal Sentience: The Case For Cautious Optimism, Jane Kotzmann

Animal Sentience

Rowan et al.’s target article provides a valuable indication of the work that was required to reach the point where animals are recognised as sentient in various laws. To ensure this work was not in vain, the language of sentience needs to be used as a moral currency to demand further cultural change involving greater human respect for animals.

How A Low-Cost Method For Cumulative Water-Sampling Shows Need For Improvement Of Legal Public-Contact Standards In The United States, Samuel C. Kessler

Grawemeyer Colloquium Papers

Across the world, it is estimated that 4.5 billion people live near water sources “impaired” for use or contact. Standards for human-interaction are established by international organizations such as the WHO, and legislative bodies from national to local levels with jurisdiction over the quality of our waterways to ensure public & environmental health. Standards are often assessed from “grab-samples” taken from a waterbody at a certain time, with a minimum number analyzed. Water-quality standards in the United States are enforced under the Clean Water Act (CWA) via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), applying to “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). …

Not The Latest Science: National Recommended Water Quality Criteria For Aquatic Life Under The Clean Water Act, Sam B. Duggan, Christopher J. Kotalik

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Global Risks Of Intensive Animal Farming And The Wildlife Trade, Deborah Cao

Animal Sentience

This commentary discusses two issues highlighted by Wiebers & Feigin in the context of the current and future global health crisis: the wildlife trade and factory farming. Both are instances of globalized animal cruelty – in China as well as worldwide -- that require global solutions for the well-being of both humans and nonhumans.

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Community Management And Governance Of Comatsa-Sud New Protected Area (Ambalamanasy Ii Commune), Allison Tennant

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Community-based natural resource management is an increasingly more popular choice for governments to delegate power back to local communities to conserve the resources they rely on. In Madagascar, where much of the rural population provides for their livelihoods by using natural resources, this governance structure, in cooperation with delegated manager for assistance, presents an opportunity for economic development in cooperation with conservation efforts. This paper aims to better understand the role of community, NGO, and governmental actors in creating and executing community management structures. Through Participatory Rural Analysis and structured and semi-structured interviews, it explores what management transfers look like …

Nesting Trends Of The Green (Chelonia Mydas) And Hawksbill (Eretmochelys Imbricata) Turtles On Misali Island, Pemba, Thaowan Giorno, Megan Herrmann

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Misali Island, one of the first conservation areas in Zanzibar, is considered an important nesting ground for the Green and Hawksbill turtles. This study was conducted to present results on the nesting and hatching trends on Misali Island by using data collected since 2002. Thorough statistical analyses were used on these data in order to find patterns in the nesting trends of these two species, and identify any significant differences that have occurred over the years. Overall, there has been a steady decline in the number of nesting and hatching events, but no statistically significant trends were found in terms …

An Animal Victim's Best Chance: Veterinary Legal Duty To Report Cruelty In The U.S., Lora Dunn

Animal Sentience

Legislation throughout the U.S. recognizes animal sentience and the importance of veterinary reporting to combat the ongoing suffering of these animal victims: All 50 states have felony penalties available for animal cruelty crimes, and veterinary reporting is permitted or required in the majority of states. The remaining minority of U.S. states should take action to require veterinarians to report animal cruelty and render veterinarians immune for good faith reporting.

Animal Sentience: The Other-Minds Problem, Stevan Harnad

Animal Sentience

The only feelings we can feel are our own. When it comes to the feelings of others, we can only infer them, based on their behavior — unless they tell us. This is the “other-minds problem.” Within our own species, thanks to language, this problem arises only for states in which people cannot speak (infancy, aphasia, sleep, anaesthesia, coma). Our species also has a uniquely powerful empathic or “mind-reading” capacity: We can (sometimes) perceive from the behavior of others when they are in states like our own. Our inferences have also been systematized and operationalized in biobehavioral science …

Harvest Incentives: A Tool For Managing Aquatic Invasive Species, Bob Wiltshire, Nathan Stone, Marshall Meyers, Bill Hyatt, Lori Williams, Jason Goldberg, Susan Pasko, Leah Elwell

National Invasive Species Council

Conclusion

The success of any harvest incentive program to address aquatic invasive species will depend upon numerous biological, socioeconomic, and legal considerations. Programs that encourage harvest may be a successful management tool in targeting small, distinct populations; in high priority areas within a larger invasion; or they may play a supplementary role within larger control programs. Their use, however, will require careful review, planning, and monitoring to ensure success and that they do not unintentionally lead to further spread of invasive species, cause additional harm to native species, or waste valuable resources.

A Collaborative Approach To Systematic Marine Protected Area Network Planning In British Columbia, Charlie Short, Karen Topelko, Kate Ladell

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

In British Columbia, legislated responsibilities for the protection of marine values are a shared responsibility between federal and provincial governments. Traditionally, the governments of Canada and B.C. have established marine protected areas (MPAs) independently, on an ad-hoc basis, and often in response to single species or habitat specific conservation issues. This is challenging because dual designation may be required to meet MPA objectives, and ad hoc approaches may lead to gaps in biophysical representation and greater uncertainty for marine stakeholders. Recognizing the need to partner together and move towards more systematic marine conservation planning, the governments of Canada and B.C. …

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

Building Upon Common-Pool Resource Theory To Explore Success In Transitioning Water Management Institutions, Christina M. Hoffman

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska, like many regions around the world, is faced with the challenge of adapting to a new era in water management. Increasing demands for water resources, mounting concerns over threatened and endangered species, and obligations to abide by interstate water allocation agreements have motivated Nebraska to revisit traditional water management approaches. However, although Nebraska’s water management institutions have undergone much change, little research exists on the influence these changes have had on the ability of water institutions to successfully manage water allocations. This research (1) qualitatively explores the perspectives and experiences of stakeholders in the overappropriated region of the Platte …

The Very Basics Of Sustainability - An Alternative Viewpoint (Slides With Audio) (Large File! To Speed Up Download, Right-Click On "Download" Link To Save To Own Pc.), Jim Mcgovern

Other resources

This presentation sets out the very basics of ‘sustainability’, although a definition of sustainability is not attempted. Some of the very basics are the context in which the Earth and humankind exist in space and time, the Earth’s climate, the Earth’s population and humankind’s options and choices. The author advocates keeping an open mind on all available options, including the use of oil, gas, coal, tar sands, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear power etc., as well as the technologies that are more widely considered ‘green’. The author also argues that, in addressing the challenges that humankind faces, globally concerted effort …

A Survery Of Western United States Instream Flow Programs And The Policies That Protect A River's Ecosystem, Kyle Jackson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The Western United States can best be described as a vast, varying land, with the high plains to the east and the jagged horizons of Rockies to the west. However there is one common trait shared by these states: the lack of water resources. With the continued development of this land, the fact that water is scarce is becoming more real. This issue became more difficult to handle as the public became more aware that many competing uses existed for the finite resource, and those different uses were degrading the natural environments of the surface waters. With this realization instream …

Leave Film Tax Credits On Cutting-Room Floor, Sheldon H. Laskin

Sheldon H. Laskin

No abstract provided.

Administering The Clean Water Act: Do Regulators Have "Bigger Fish To Fry" When It Comes To Addressing The Practice Of Chumming On The Chesapeake Bay?, Hope M. Babcock

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Chesapeake Bay is one of the country's most productive estuaries. However, for decades the health of the Bay has been declining due in large part to nutrification. Excessive nutrients encourage algal blooms, which lower dissolved oxygen and increase turbidity in the Bay's waters. More than 40% of the Bay's main stern is now dead largely as a result of this problem. The practice of chumming, the discarding of baitfish, usually menhaden, over the sides of fishing boats to attract game fish like striped bass, is contributing to the Bay's nutrification problem because the decomposing chum raises the waters biological …

Chumming On The Chesapeake Bay And Complexity Theory: Why The Precautionary Principle, Not Cost-Benefit Analysis, Makes More Sense As A Regulatory Approach, Hope M. Babcock

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay ("Bay") and Puget Sound are in grave trouble. They each suffer from poor water quality, loss of habitat, and declining biodiversity, and efforts to restore their health are straining both public and private resources. While accomplishments are often recorded in the fight against these ills, it is clear these accomplishments "are not yet equal to the scale of the problems." The focus of this article is on the nation's largest estuary, the Bay. Despite the investment of billions of dollars to improve water quality, the Bay continues to suffer from severe environmental degradation that impairs …

Grotius, Ocean Fish Ranching, And The Public Trust Doctrine: Ride 'Em Charlie Tuna, Hope M. Babcock

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Seventy percent of the world's fish populations are in serious decline; some have been fished to near extinction. While domestic and international efforts are underway to curb the rate at which the remaining fish are being depleted, the demand for fish appears to be outstripping these initiatives--before they can take hold, the fish may be gone. In response to this increasingly dire situation, many countries, including the United States, have turned to fish farming in hope of taking pressure off of certain wild stocks of fish while still meeting consumer demands for them. More recently, non-U.S. fish farmers have moved …

In The Heat Of The Law, It's Not Just Steam: Geothermal Resources And The Impact On Thermophile Biodiversity, Donald J. Kochan, Tiffany Grant

Donald J. Kochan

Significant research has been conducted into the utilization of geothermal resources as a ‘green’ energy source. However, minimal research has been conducted into geothermal resource utilization and depletion impacts on thermophile biodiversity. Thermophiles are organisms which have adapted over millions of year to extreme temperature and chemical compositions and exist in hot springs and other geothermal resources. Their ability to withstand high temperatures makes them invaluable to scientific and medical research. Current federal and California case law classify geothermal resources as a mineral, not a water resource. Acquisition of rights to develop a geothermal resource owned or reserved by the …

Final Environmental Impact Statement - Iron Point Exploraton License - Iron Point Coal Lease Tract - Elk Creek Coal Lease Tract, Volume 2, United States Department Of Agriculture -- Forest Service, United States Department Of The Interior -- Bureau Of Land Management

Environmental Assessments (CO)

This appendix documents BLM and Forest Service activities to involve and consult with other government agencies and the public in the preparation of the Final EIS for the potential leasing of the Iron Point and Elk Creek Coal lease tracts, as well as the issuance of a coal exploration license for an area within and surrounding the Iron Point Coal lease Tract.

Forest Planning On The National Forests Under Ecosystem Management, John Sessions, K. Norman Johnson

The National Forest Management Act in a Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked in the Past 20 Years?: Will It Work in the 21st Century? (September 16-18)

17 pages.

Contains 2 pages of references.

Bringing The Aquatic Sciences Into Nfma Framework: Will They Fit?, James Sedell, Kelly Burnett

The National Forest Management Act in a Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked in the Past 20 Years?: Will It Work in the 21st Century? (September 16-18)

21 pages.

Contains 3 pages of references.

Nfma And Ecosystem Management, Richard L. Knight

The National Forest Management Act in a Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked in the Past 20 Years?: Will It Work in the 21st Century? (September 16-18)

8 pages.

Contains 1 page of references.

Agenda: The National Forest Management Act In A Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked In The Past 20 Years?: Will It Work In The 21st Century?, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Colorado State University, Oregon State University, Pinchot Institute For Conservation, Syracuse University. Maxwell School Of Citizenship And Public Affairs

The National Forest Management Act in a Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked in the Past 20 Years?: Will It Work in the 21st Century? (September 16-18)

Conference speakers include University of Colorado School of Law professors David H. Getches and Charles F. Wilkinson.

Jack Ward Thomas, Chief of the USDA Forest Service, will be a featured speaker at the Center's annual public lands conference, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the National Forest Management Act. This year's conference is sponsored by Colorado State University, Oregon State University, Pinchot Institute for Conservation, and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

When Congress passed NFMA in 1976, few would have imagined the enormity of the changes in the world in technology, science and population we …

Framework For Understanding Nfma In A Legal Context, David H. Getches

The National Forest Management Act in a Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked in the Past 20 Years?: Will It Work in the 21st Century? (September 16-18)

8 pages.

Contains references.

Stories From The Frontlines: How Nfma Developed And Key Players, Robert E. Wolf

The National Forest Management Act in a Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked in the Past 20 Years?: Will It Work in the 21st Century? (September 16-18)

15 pages.

Essential Elements Of Amendments To The Endangered Species Act, John Harja

Biodiversity Protection: Implementation and Reform of the Endangered Species Act (Summer Conference, June 9-12)

14 pages.

A Tribal Perspective On Esa Reform, Ted Strong

Biodiversity Protection: Implementation and Reform of the Endangered Species Act (Summer Conference, June 9-12)

4 pages.

How The Regulated Community Views Regulation To Protect Living Resources: The Endangered Species Act, Biological Diversity, And Ecosystem Management, Steven P. Quarles

Biodiversity Protection: Implementation and Reform of the Endangered Species Act (Summer Conference, June 9-12)

21 pages.

Contains footnotes.