Law Commons^™

Rethinking The Geography Of Local Climate Action: Multilevel Network Participation In Metropolitan Regions, Hari M. Osofsky

Utah Law Review

As the United States and the world become increasingly urbanized, cities are a key site for addressing the problem of climate change. However, urban climate change action is not simply about local officials making decisions within their cities. In major U.S. urban areas, “local” involves multiple layers of government, including county and metroregional entities. Moreover, many of the cities taking action on climate change also participate in and shape networks of local governments based at state, regional, national, and international levels.

This Article argues that multilevel climate change networks could be more effective by embracing this geography of local action …

Energy, Consumption, And The Amorality Of Energy Law, Lincoln L. Davies

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This essay explores the connection between energy consumption and energy law and policy. It argues that the energy law and policy system is configured to promote consumption, almost blindly, so that energy seems nearly infinite and invisible to consumers. This regulatory structure thus creates a kind of amorality for energy consumers. That is, when individuals choose to consume power, those decisions are divorced from their consequences. The essay relies on Pope Francis's encyclical on climate change, Laudato Si', to build its argument, and offers observations about the importance of COP21 in Paris to transform how energy is produced and consumed.