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Full-Text Articles in Law
Climate Variability, Land Ownership And Migration: Evidence From Thailand About Gender Impacts, Sara R. Curran, Jacqueline Meijer-Irons
Climate Variability, Land Ownership And Migration: Evidence From Thailand About Gender Impacts, Sara R. Curran, Jacqueline Meijer-Irons
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
Scholars point to climate change, often in the form of more frequent and severe drought, as a potential driver of migration in the developing world, particularly for places where populations rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. To date, however, there have been few large-scale, longitudinal studies that explore the relationship between climate change and migration. This study significantly extends current scholarship by evaluating distinctive effects of climatic variation and models these effects on men’s and women’s responsiveness to drought and rainfall. Our study also investigates how land ownership moderates these effects. We find small, but significant, increases in migration above …
Cercla Apportionment Following Burlington Northern: How Joint And Several Liability Still Thrives—To The Surprise Of Many, Ryan Brady
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
Courts have generally held parties who are responsible for hazardous waste jointly and severally liable for that harm under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). On rare occasions, parties have shown a reasonable basis for apportionment of the harm and avoided joint and several liability. However, in 2009, the Supreme Court in Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. v. United States upheld an apportionment of harm based on a seemingly lower standard of evidence than courts have required in the past, potentially lowering the burden on parties to obtain apportionment. This article briefly summarizes Burlington Northern …
Climate Change: Disappearing States, Migration, And Challenges For International Law, Sumudu Atapattu
Climate Change: Disappearing States, Migration, And Challenges For International Law, Sumudu Atapattu
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
This Article discusses two inter-related issues: the legal implications of climate-induced migration and the phenomenon of ‘disappearing states’ through the lens of four case studies, Kivalina, Inuit, the Maldives, and Tuvalu. As early as 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognized that the greatest single impact of climate change may be on human migration. With sea level rise, Small Island States face the prospect of losing their territory. The Article discusses the challenges that these two issues pose for international law.
The Concept Of Species With Constant Reference To Killer Whales, Thomas Wheeler
The Concept Of Species With Constant Reference To Killer Whales, Thomas Wheeler
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
Watson recognized 182 species, Babington 251, and Bentham only 112. Over 150 years since Darwin’s time, scientists continue to debate what constitutes a species. But while this uncertainty remains unchanged, the law has: the United States has committed to protect individual (endangered) species. What was once merely an academic dispute now carries legal weight under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): recognition of a species can trigger significant economic consequences and non-recognition can doom a species to extinction. This comment examines the scientific roots of taxonomic uncertainty, the legal landscape of the ESA, and the potential unforeseen consequences of the relationship …
Washington's Water Right Impairment Standard: How The Current Interpretation Impedes The State's Policy Of Maximizing Net Benefits, Matthew Rajnus
Washington's Water Right Impairment Standard: How The Current Interpretation Impedes The State's Policy Of Maximizing Net Benefits, Matthew Rajnus
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
Washington manages water rights under conflicting goals—maximizing net benefits while protecting water rights from any impairment. Over time, the state judiciary, often at the request of the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), has elevated the water right impairment standard to an absolute protection. Initially, Division III of the Washington Court of Appeals held that it was proper for Ecology to require a modeled impact of 0.004 percent in river flows, finding that this was substantial and could not be allowed; then, the Washington Supreme Court concluded that any impact constituted impairment; and most recently, the Court paradoxically declared that instream …
Climate Change, Gender Inequality And Migration In East Africa, Medhanit A. Abebe
Climate Change, Gender Inequality And Migration In East Africa, Medhanit A. Abebe
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
East Africa, one of the most volatile regions in Africa, has been suffering from enormous problems caused by population growth, weak governance, war, and famine. Recently, the advent of climate change has exacerbated these pre-existing problems. These impacts are not felt equally across populations, and, according to various studies, disproportionately affect women. Despite reforms, rural East African women still struggle to access resources or participate in decision-making processes. As a result, they have a weaker ability to adapt to climate change than men. This weaker adaptive capacity influences migration patterns between the genders, and creates its own set of problems. …
Legal Study On The Climate Change-Induced Migrants In China, Deng Haifeng, Zhao Yumin
Legal Study On The Climate Change-Induced Migrants In China, Deng Haifeng, Zhao Yumin
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
While climate change is a natural phenomenon, it has also caused a series of social problems for human society. One of the most serious repercussions of climate change is the impact on population movements. As the effects of climate change grow exponentially, the number of climate change-induced migrants will also increase. Climate change-induced migrants are individuals who spontaneously or forcibly migrate temporarily or permanently from their hometowns to other regions under the influence of climate policies or climate-related projects. Climate change, either suddenly or gradually, negatively affected these migrants’ living conditions, making it impossible to survive where they were located. …
Exporting Coal, Importing Pollution: Can The Consumption Of Coal Be Ignored Under Nepa And Sepa Analysis When Burned Overseas?, Ross Taylor
Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
The Millennium Bulk Terminal in Longview, Washington, is one of several proposed locations along the west coast of the United States for a large export facility, which would allow large-scale exportation of domestic coal to Asia. The Millennium Bulk Terminal proposal has garnered significant opposition, yet attention is only recently turning to the specific concern over greenhouse gas emissions associated with such a project. This concern stems not just from operation of the facility or transportation to and from it but from the possibly damaging amount of emissions that would result from the coal’s ultimate consumption in Asia. Implicated by …