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Climate Change And Environmental Justice: Lessons From The California Lawsuits, Alice Kaswan Jan 2014

Climate Change And Environmental Justice: Lessons From The California Lawsuits, Alice Kaswan

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This essay does not debate the political wisdom of suing; instead, it takes the suits as a given and attempts to enhance understanding of the environmental justice community’s climate justice agenda. It describes the role of environmental justice in the development of California’s climate law, AB 32, describes the lawsuits, and suggests some of the larger lessons about climate policy, cap-and-trade, and environmental justice that these lawsuits reveal. Ultimately, the environmental justice lawsuits highlight two primary themes: (1) the importance of a holistic approach to climate change policy that recognizes and integrates its multiple dimensions, including co-pollutant implications; and (2) …


Carbonite Legal Conflict In California, Steven Ferrey Jan 2014

Carbonite Legal Conflict In California, Steven Ferrey

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Article thaws several legal layers of California carbonite, tranche- by-tranche, and examines the legal fabric. First, in Section II we examine federal Constitutional challenges to California’s A.B. 32 and sustainable energy statutes under the Supremacy Clause. Section III analyzes litigation against California carbon control pursuant to the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Section IV analyzes challenges to the California regulation pursuant to state law violations, distinguishing those which proceed from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and those which utilize other state administrative laws to challenge California’s carbon choices and implementation. Section V examines the trilogy of litigation set …


V.5, 2014 Masthead Jan 2014

V.5, 2014 Masthead

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

No abstract provided.


She Sells Seawalls Down By The Seashore, Tricia Lee Jan 2014

She Sells Seawalls Down By The Seashore, Tricia Lee

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment argues that a bill similar to Assembly Bill 2943 should be proposed today because there has been a drastic shift towards a general acceptance of global warming since 2002. In addition, new environmental studies support the idea of curbing seawall construction along the California coast.

Section I will provide data regarding rising sea levels and the current state of seawall construction along the California coast. It will then explain why seawall construction is not a viable adaptation strategy and delve into its negative social, environmental, and economic impacts.

Section II will examine California’s current policies for protecting coastal …


The Lacey Act Amendments Of 2008: The World's First Ban On Illegal Logging Combats Deforestation But Gets Stumped By Foreign Laws, Yijin J. Lee Jan 2014

The Lacey Act Amendments Of 2008: The World's First Ban On Illegal Logging Combats Deforestation But Gets Stumped By Foreign Laws, Yijin J. Lee

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

By exploring the history of the United States’ legislative efforts in dealing with the problems deforestation has caused and the origins of the Lacey Act, it is possible to understand the inspiration behind the 2008 amendments to the act. Further, exploring the minute details of the Lacey Act amendments and understanding how the amendments have changed the power and meaning behind the original Lacey Act highlights the amendments’ strengths and weaknesses. Also, in understanding how the new amendments are being implemented and enforced, it is possible to see which federal agencies are putting force behind the words of the Lacey …


Electric Power Resource "Shuffling" And Subnational Carbon Regulation: Looking Upstream For A Solution, Jim Rossi, Andrew J.D. Smith Jan 2014

Electric Power Resource "Shuffling" And Subnational Carbon Regulation: Looking Upstream For A Solution, Jim Rossi, Andrew J.D. Smith

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

The potential for shuffling in wholesale power markets thwarts California’s ability to meet its AB 32 GHG emission reduction goals, and may even lead to emissions increases. Yet, as California’s efforts illustrate, resource shuffling is extremely difficult to regulate at the state level. Short of California aggressively reducing its emissions limits to reflect the leakage problem of shuffling, the state is incapable of solving the problem on its own.
As states follow California’s lead in crafting their own approaches to regulating GHG emissions, national solutions will be necessary to address the problem of resource shuffling, given interstate markets in wholesale …


Energy Policy, Extraterritoriality, The Dormant Commerce Clause, Alexandra B. Klass, Elizabeth Henley Jan 2014

Energy Policy, Extraterritoriality, The Dormant Commerce Clause, Alexandra B. Klass, Elizabeth Henley

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Article will focus specifically on potential challenges to state energy policy based on the “extraterritoriality doctrine” of the dormant Commerce Clause. In doing so, it considers two recent lawsuits involving dormant Commerce Clause challenges to state energy policy. The first is the lawsuit against the State of California over its Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) program on grounds that it discriminates against Midwest ethanol producers in favor of California ethanol producers and regulates extraterritorially in violation of the dormant Commerce Clause. The second is the lawsuit by the State of North Dakota, the North Dakota lignite coal industry, and …