Law Commons^™

Deep Seeded Problems: A Look At Seed Bank Regulations, Jasmine Patel

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

This paper examines the importance of preserving plant biodiversity through the use of genetic seed vaults, and how effective global legal and regulatory plans aimed at such preservation are in comparison to approaches being undertaken in the United States. An example of such initiatives, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, is meant to act as a global back up for other nation’s seed vaults. However, Norway’s laws do not allow for genetically modified organisms (“GMOs”) to be imported, including seeds from genetically modified plants. The United States needs to make sure that domestic vaults are protected by proper regulations …

Agriculture, Water Pollution, And The Future Of Epa’S Regulatory Authority In A Post-American Farm Bureau Federation V. U.S. Epa America, Henry Brudney

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

Until the recent decision of American Farm Bureau Federation v. U.S. EPA, the EPA’s total maximum daily load (TMDL) regulation under the Clean Water Act contained no substantive standard for water quality. However, in this decision, the Third Circuit added such substantive criteria to the TMDL, which should have a monumental effect on the improvement of water quality standards in the United States.

Environmental Regulations And The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Using Investor-State Dispute Settlement To Strengthen Environmental Law, Ai-Li Chiong-Martinson

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

The highly publicized Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has reignited a long-running debate between environmentalists and free trade advocates about the impacts of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system on the global economy and environmental preservation. The ISDS provision potentially gives foreign investors the right to challenge domestic regulations intending to protect the environment if those regulations discriminate against foreign investors and result in substantial monetary loss to the investors’ property. Critics of the TPP argue that we should learn from the troubling legacy of the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which, according to critics, overwhelmingly favored investors over states …

Of Mines And Men: Toward A Foundational Theory Of The Rise, Evolution And Decay Of Property, Guillermo Arribas Irazola

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

Why and how is property created? Through a historical analysis, this paper proposes that property is created not out of ideology, but by chance. Depending on the resources encountered by newcomers, a rising civilization will establish property through a centralized controlling government (a top-down system) or through people’s recognized possession (a bottom-up or Lockean system). In the former, the government will create and allocate property at its own discretion, while in the latter, the government will recognize and provide protection for the property of individuals.

When the Spaniards conquered Peru in the 1528, they found immense amounts of gold and …

Hanford Nuclear Site: Remediating To A Standard Safe For All Or Some?, Dylane Jacobs

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

The cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Site is one of the largest cleanups undertaken in the U.S. and is governed by many Federal and State environmental statutes. While CERCLA and the later SARA amendments should require the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up the site to a level acceptable for Native American tribes, thus far they have failed to do so. The U.S. Department of Energy can, and should, act to be more effective at remedying the injustices and cleanup of Hanford to the level needed for the historical use of the land.