Law Commons^™

A Next, Big Step For The West: Using Model Legislation To Create A Water-Climate Element In Local Comprehensive Plans, Michelle Bryan

Faculty Law Review Articles

The West is witnessing early, important efforts to join water supply and land use planning, and the reality of climate change makes this convergence all the more critical. Local comprehensive planning presents itself as an existing and indispensable tool for unifying important planning efforts in the areas of land use, water, and climate change. As the primary regulators of land use, local governments are at the front line of regulating a myriad of environmental concerns. They are also integral partners in planning and implementing water-related initiatives alongside tribal, state, federal, and private partners. The West’s potential for broad-based action is …

The Public Trust Doctrine And The Montana Constitution As Legal Bases For Climate Change Litigation In Montana, Gregory S. Munro

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article examines the need to resort to law and the legal process to address the risk posed by climate change to Montana and its people.

Part II provides a brief overview of global warming. Part III demonstrates how civil litigation can and should provide a meaningful role in addressing climate change. Part IV traces the origin of the public trust doctrine and how the U.S. Supreme Court and Montana Supreme Court have applied the doctrine in the past. Part V argues that principles underlying the public trust doctrine make it appropriate for the Montana courts to expand the doctrine …

Insurance And Climate Change, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article examines insurance industry awareness of climate change and its implications, what risks it presents to insureds and insurers, what action insurers are taking to address it, and how the insurance industry could be a major force in getting the world to address climate change and mitigate its effects.

Streamlining Nepa To Combat Global Climate Change: Heresy Or Necessity?, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article discusses the impact of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on the development of noncarbon energy sources and raises the question of whether the NEPA process should be altered to bring clean power online faster. The article examines the ability of the market to respond to the call for rapid adaptation to climate change and for rapid development of noncarbon sources of energy, given the regulatory environment and existing regulatory treatment of NEPA processes. In addition, the article examines examples of current streamlining of the NEPA process in the energy arena. The author notes arguments for and against …

State And Local Governments Address The Twin Challenges Of Climate Change And Energy Alternatives, Irma S. Russell, Jeffery S. Dennis

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article examines new programs and initiatives that states, local governments, and regional groups have embarked upon to address the issues of climate change and energy alternatives. The article also questions whether these efforts will be overtaken by federal action or whether a tradition of cooperative federalism will continue.

A Multiple-Strategy Approach To Solving The Energy Puzzle, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article describes the complex issues facing the energy needs and policies of the United States. The article notes that the role of the United States on the world stage and the health of the public and the environment depend on successfully solving the energy puzzle to harmonize economic development, sustainable use of the resources, and public safety. The article concludes that part of the difficulty of the debate may arise from an assumption that a single solution to the problem awaits and suggests that instead the only way forward is a policy of diversification and multiple strategies, encouraging conservation …