Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Endangered Species Act's Fall From Grace In The Supreme Court, J.B. Ruhl
The Endangered Species Act's Fall From Grace In The Supreme Court, J.B. Ruhl
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
Thirty-five years ago, the Endangered Species Act ("ESA") had as auspicious a debut in the U.S. Supreme Court as any statute could hope for. In Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, a majority of the Court proclaimed that the ESA was intended "to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost" and backed up those and other bold words by preventing a nearly completed federal dam from impounding its reservoir because doing so would eliminate the only known (at the time) habitat of a small fish, the now infamous snail darter. To this day, Hill remains actively discussed …
Cities, Green Construction, And The Endangered Species Act, J.B. Ruhl
Cities, Green Construction, And The Endangered Species Act, J.B. Ruhl
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The geographic footprint of cities--the space they occupy--is relatively small in comparison to their ecological footprint, which is measured in terms of impact on the sustainability of resources situated mostly outside of the urban realm. Ironically, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), though widely regarded as one of the most powerful environmental laws, has been and continues to be administered with respect to urbanized land masses primarily with the objective of managing their geographic footprints. This Article uses the example of "green construction" techniques to explore this disconnect between the macro-scale contribution of cities' ecological footprints to species endangerment and the …
Climate Change And The Endangered Species Act: Building Bridges To The No-Analog Future, J.B. Ruhl
Climate Change And The Endangered Species Act: Building Bridges To The No-Analog Future, J.B. Ruhl
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
This Article examines the challenges global climate change presents for the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and its primary administrative agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Climate change will reshuffle ecological systems in ways that will defy prediction using existing knowledge and models, posing threats to species through primary and secondary ecological effects and the effects of human adaptation to climate change. Even assuming global-wide regulation of greenhouse gas emissions eventually yields a more stable climate variation regime, it will differ from the recent historical regime and many species will not survive the transition regardless of human interventions using …
Is The Endangered Species Act Ecopragmatic?, J.B. Ruhl
Is The Endangered Species Act Ecopragmatic?, J.B. Ruhl
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The Article evaluates the Endangered Species Act using Dan Farber's theory of eco-pragmatism. Eco-pragmatism employs environmental baselines, a moderated precautionary principle, and adaptive management to mediate environmental policy issues. I conclude that the ESA reflects some of these attributes, but does not coherently assemble a truly eco-pragmatic framework.