Law Commons^™

To Hell With Kyoto, It’S Time For Something Real!, Altdus Ray Frank

Altdus Ray Frank

The intended gift of clean air and pristine atmosphere through the inception of the Kyoto Protocol was meant to be a measure to protect the environment for not only the present generation, but the future as well. Instead of accepting this gift, humanity has yet again showed its darker side; shredding the ambitious purpose of this document and crucifying its creators as being overzealous, overbearing fools. People must come to terms and understand that environmental catastrophe is the single greatest threat faced by humanity today.

It is time for a new dawn, a new era where, the global community has …

Maximizing Social Influence To Minimize Carbon Emissions: Law And Social Norms In Collective Action, Jed S. Ela

Jed S Ela

Legal scholars have long argued that informal social norms can solve collective action problems, as long as these problems occur in close-knit groups. This “group knittedness hypothesis” may suggest that social norms, by themselves, will not be able to solve the world’s largest collective action problem: anthropogenic climate change. Yet recent scholarship has taken the group knittedness hypothesis too far, suggesting that any attempt to manage social influences in large, loose-knit groups is likely to be relatively ineffective.

In fact, social norms can shape individual behavior even in loose-knit groups, and climate policies that ignore norms may miss important opportunities …

Homeland Security Challenges Of Global Climate Change, Patrick E. Tolan

Patrick E. Tolan Jr.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 directs military planners to consider the effects of climate change on national security. This directive is not surprising following a year of increasing concern about global warming and prognostications of the myriad ills that such warming will produce.

Although some excellent articles have recently been published exploring potential overseas consequences to the Department of Defense, this article instead outlines the perhaps even more significant national security threats to the U.S. homeland.

The article takes a three-pronged approach analyzing potential weather effects, refugee issues, and economic consequences that could be prompted by …

Combating Global Climate Change In The United States: A Local Approach To A Global Problem, Maureen Atwell

maureen atwell

Global climate change is a growing concern throughout the world, with the United States arguably having more power than any other country to either contribute to or eradicate the problem. The United States produces an estimated twenty five percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, despite having only five percent of the world’s population. Given that the United States is the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, any effort in the United States to control the production of greenhouse gases could potentially have a huge impact on the global climate change problem.

China And Climate Change: Domestic Environmental Needs, Differentiated International Responsibilities, And Rule Of Law Weaknesses, Patricia Ross Mccubbin

Patricia Ross McCubbin

China recently become the world’s largest emitter by volume of greenhouse gases. As the U.S. moves forward with domestic efforts to restrict its GHG emissions, some policymakers will continue to condition any U.S. obligations on China’s commitments to curb its own emissions. Fortunately, the opportunity exists for a mutually beneficial U.S.-China dialogue on this issue, since, as this article makes clear, China’s central government recognizes that climate change could cause devastating sea level rises that will affect major population centers in the country, as well as droughts and other natural disasters. The central government likewise understands that measures to reduce …

Changing Resources, Changing Market: The Impact Of A National Renewable Portfolio Standard On The U.S. Energy Industry, Joshua P. Fershee

Joshua P Fershee

The U.S. Congress recently passed a new energy bill that, until that last minute, included provisions that would have established a national renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The RPS would have required electric utilities to procure a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable resources or purchase renewable energy credits from other sources to meet the standard. The recent energy bill is just the latest of repeated, and thus far failed, efforts to impose a national RPS. As such, there has been much debate about the potential merits and hazards of a national RPS, and more is sure to follow. Rather …

Coal-Fired Power Plants, Greenhouse Gases, And State Statutory Substantial Endangerment Provisions: Climate Change Comes To Kansas, Robert L. Glicksman

Robert L. Glicksman

State legislatures and environmental agencies have taken the lead in combating climate change, in the absence of leadership by the federal government. The most widely publicized efforts have involved the imposition of emission controls and fuel economy standards on motor vehicles by states such as California. But the states have also targeted stationary sources of greenhouse gases. In particular, they have sought to minimize carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. States have used different approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from electric utilities, including the adoption of renewable portfolio standards and cap-and-trade emission control programs. Increasingly, states are also …