Law Commons^™

V.1, 2009 Mastead

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

No abstract provided.

Energy Efficiency And Federalism, Ann E. Carlson

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Everyone loves energy efficiency. Among an array of carbon-reducing strategies, energy efficiency surely ranks as the least controversial. Indeed increasing energy efficiency is frequently lauded as having "net negative costs"-to use the terminology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-meaning that the benefits outweigh the costs, even excluding benefits from avoided climate change.
Yet the U.S. system for regulating appliances, which account for a huge percentage of the nation's carbon emissions, is a mess. Since the federal government began regulating appliance efficiency in the 1970s, the process has been characterized by frequent delays and foot-dragging, followed by lawsuits and legislative …

Climate Adaptation And Federalism: Mapping The Issues, Daniel F. Farber

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

There is a vigorous debate about the appropriate roles of the state and federal governments in reducing greenhouse gases and mitigating climate change. ...
...
This Article is a first step in mapping this new terrain. Part I provides a short introduction to climate adaptation. The United States will face significant climate impacts in the next few decades, and governmental responses will be required. Part II discusses the role of the federal government in setting adaptation standards, while Part III analyzes the appropriateness of state versus federal funding for adaptation. States are likely to play the leading role in funding …

Climate Law And Policy In North America: Prospects For Regionalism, Neil Craik, Joseph Dimento

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Article surveys the current bilateral and trilateral initiatives aimed at GHG emission reductions in North America with a view to assessing the nature and potential role of regional climate change law and policy within a broader global framework. In this context, by regional cooperation, we mean cooperation organized on a North American scale. In pursuit of this objective, this Article seeks to identify, first, how climate change mitigation may be regulated usefully on a regional scale, and second, the governance structures and institutions that may be drawn upon to create and implement regional cooperation on climate change. Particular consideration …

State Greenhouse Gas Regulation, Federal Climate Change Legislation, And The Preemption Sword, William W. Buzbee

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Article starts in Part II by reviewing the basic anticipated design elements of federal climate legislation, then it reviews the substantial regulatory failure risks inherent in such climate change legislation. It then turns in Part III to analysis of preemption choices. The Article follows in Part IV by examining preemption jurisprudence, especially the growing risk of broad preemptive reads of federal law, and demonstrating how statutory uncertainties regarding preemption could result in subsequent interpretations substantially expanding the law's preemptive impact. ... Furthermore, as discussed in Part V, overlap and interaction of concurrent federal, state, and local climate change laws …

Arctic Warming: Environmental, Human, And Security Implications, Mary B. West

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Arctic warming has myriad implications for the Arctic environment, residents, and nations. Although definitive predictions are difficult, without question the scope and rapidity of change will test the adaptive capacities of the Arctic environment as well as its residents. Warming is affecting marine ecosystems and marine life, terrestrial ecosystems, and the animals and people who depend on them. Human impacts include effects on access to food and resources; health and well being; and community cohesion, traditions, and culture. Increased shipping and resource activity create the need for additional maritime presence and security; better environmental and safety regulations; peaceful resolution of …

Pain, Gain, Or Shame: The Evolution Of Environmental Law And The Role Of Multinational Corporations, Michael Ewing-Chow, Darryl Soh

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The evolution of environmental law in the past century has been linked to the growing acceptance of the notion of collective global responsibility, which entails the notion of sustainable development. At the turn of this century, the focus in environmental law has shifted from the creation of a global framework to deal with environmental problems to that of compliance with these frameworks. As a result, the primary actor of environmental policy has shifted from the state to the corporation. How has environmental law developed so as to encourage compliance by this new primary actor? Conversely, how has the corporation been …

The No Longer Silent Problem: Confronting Noise Pollution In The 21st Century, Alexander Gillespie

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Symposium Introduction, Peter C. Marshall, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The last ten years have been the warmest on record. During 2007, Arctic sea ice dropped to the lowest levels since measurements began in 1979. Valuable natural resources in the Arctic, including gas and oil, are becoming more accessible to exploitation. The Northwest Passage--a highly desirable shipping route connecting Europe and Asia--is increasingly navigable during the summers. These changes have highlighted new and unresolved legal issues as the nations bordering the Arctic vie for control of these new waters and the resources that lie beneath them.

In February 2009, the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law invited some of the most …

Who Controls The Northwest Passage?, Michael Byers, Suzanne Lalonde

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

From Martin Frobisher in 1576 to John Franklin in 1845, generations of European explorers searched for a navigable route through the Arctic islands to Asia. Their greatest challenge was sea-ice, which has almost always filled the straits, even in summer. Climate change, however, is fundamentally altering the sea-ice conditions: In September 2007, the Northwest Passage was ice-free for the first time in recorded history. This Article reviews the consequences of this development, particularly in terms of the security and environmental risks that would result from international shipping along North America's longest coast. It analyzes the differing positions of Canada and …