Law Commons^™

Remediation For Pfas Contamination: The Role Of Cercla Enforcement In Environmental Justice, Amanda F. Watson

Georgia Law Review

PFAS are a family of manufactured chemicals that are highly persistent in the environment. Most people in the U.S. have been exposed to PFAS, but different groups of people may have higher exposure due to their environments. In recent years, peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown that PFAS are linked to numerous adverse human health effects. As a result, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken a variety of actions to address PFAS, including proposing to designate PFOS and PFOA, two chemicals in the PFAS family, as hazardous substances under CERCLA, or Superfund. CERCLA is the primary legal mechanism in …

Missing Middle Housing: Accelerating America’S Transition From Single-Family Zoning, Lena Zeebuyth, Mallory Moore

Natural Resources Journal

As housing unaffordability and climate change impose increasingly greater costs on American cities and towns, there is a growing sense that single-family residential zoning ordinances are partly to blame for these challenges. Many Americans remain unwilling to address these difficulties by welcoming large apartment buildings into their neighborhoods. Fortunately, policies designed to promote “middle housing” development––visually attractive duplexes and townhome projects––tend to be more politically feasible than policies that drive apartment development. Further, such policies do much to improve the affordability and environmental sustainability of residential neighborhoods. This Article describes how promoting greater middle housing development in the United States …

Climate, Clarity, Controversy: A Constitutional, Statutory, And Policy Analysis Of The Sec’S Proposed Climate Disclosure Rules, Astoneia O. Moss

Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review

The burgeoning ESG movement has heightened investors’ interest in how companies steward the environment in which they operate; manage their human capital; and implement strategies to effectively manage and fulfill the desires of stakeholders. As a result, the SEC has sought to implement a mandatory climate-related disclosure regime to provide investors with public companies’ climate-related data to assist in the investment decision-making process. The proposed climate-related disclosure rule has faced criticism from businesses, politicians, and legal scholars on constitutional, statutory, and policy grounds. This Comment concludes that based on the statutory language of the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities …

Bystanders To A Public Health Crisis: The Failures Of The U.S. Multi-Agency Regulatory Approach To Food Safety In The Face Of Persistent Organic Pollutants, Katya S. Cronin

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) are devastating our food systems and our health. Recent studies link even small exposure to PFAS to a host of adverse health outcomes, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, thyroid disease, liver damage, childhood obesity, infertility, and birth defects.

Food consumption is a primary route of PFAS exposure. PFAS are omnipresent at dangerous levels in our marine and agricultural environments, including in water, soil, fertilizers, compost, and air. From there, they can find their way into virtually every plant, fish, animal, and animal product, and ultimately (in the greatest concentration) into the consumer. In addition, PFAS-laden food …

Enforcing International Human Rights Law Against Corporations, Barnali Choudhury

All Papers

International human rights law is generally thought to apply directly to states, not to corporations since the latter is not a subject of international law. Some domestic courts are, however, enforcing these norms against corporations in domestic settings. Canadian courts have, for instance, recognized that corporations can be liable for breach of customary international law norms while UK courts have enforced international human rights norms indirectly against corporations relying on a combination of domestic corporate and tort law.

At the same time, some states are choosing to enforce international human rights norms against corporations using regulatory initiatives. These initiatives, known …

Putting The Public Back In The Public Trust Doctrine: A Reinterpretation To Advance Native Hawaiian Water Rights, Steven Hindman

Washington Law Review

The public trust doctrine guarantees that the government will hold natural resources in trust and protect them for the common good. The doctrine has played a key role in the allocation of water rights, particularly for Native American and Native Hawaiian interests in the United States. State and federal courts often consider the doctrine when deciding if certain use rights should be granted. In Hawai‘i, the doctrine has taken on a particularly robust form because the State Constitution expressly provides that all public natural resources are to be held in trust for the benefit of all Hawaiians. Unfortunately, the doctrine’s …

Sackett V. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Waters Of The United States" Defined By 0.63 Acres, Brian Gillis

Golden Gate University Law Review

This case note analyzes Sackett v. U.S. Env’t Prot. Agency, 8 F.4th 1075, 1080 (9th Cir. 2021), a case wherein the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit set forth the proper test for determining whether wetlands are “waters of the United States” within the meaning of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1251 et seq. (1972)). In 2007, the Sacketts had purchased a 0.63 acre lot in Idaho, obtained building permits, and began constructing a house, which resulted in the deposit of sand and gravel in areas of standing water on the property. Soon thereafter, the Environmental …

Law School News: Rake To Plate: Rwu Law Students Dive Into The Clamming Industry 10-4-2023, Grace Boland

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Free, Prior Informed Consent And Extractive Industry: Indigenous Action Is The Past, Present, And Future Of Global Environmental Justice, Paige Bellamy

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Free, Prior Informed Consent ("FPIC") from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been central to global Indigenous action against extractive industries’ harmful practices. Yet, it is often not fully recognized as a sovereign right, which hinders Indigenous peoples’ ability to use it to its full potential. Historically, FPIC has been deemed a consultation right, not a right to “veto” industry action on Indigenous land. Countries that have interpreted FPIC as a mere consultation right have allowed further exploitation of Indigenous peoples, usually leading to environmental and humanitarian disasters. However, when courts have respected the right to …

Soaps And Shampoos: Proposals To Reform Regulation In The United States Personal Care Market To Decrease Deforestation From Palm Oil Imports, Kelsey Weston

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Palm oil is the world's most highly sought-after vegetable oil due to its multifaceted uses and cheap cost of production. However, producing this versatile oil comes at a high cost to one of the largest biodiversity on the planet. Over the last two centuries, Indonesia and Malaysia have become the main producers and exporters of palm oil but they are also home to the largest number of mammal species in the world that have seen a staggering decline in populations. Furthermore, palm oil production has caused excessive release of greenhouse gases, increased disruption of forestland, and economic poverty for smallholders …

Integrating Doctrine And Diversity Speaker Series: Can The Socratic Method Be Used In An Inclusive Classroom?, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Unclos, Undrip & Tartupaluk: The Grim Tale Of Hans Isle And Graense, Christopher Mark Macneill

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

“Inuit have lived in the Arctic from time immemorial.” The Arctic, in the face of climate change, has become a hot spot for exploration, resource extraction, and increased shipping and scientific activity. “[The] Inuit . . . have had a common and shared use of the sea area and the adjacent coasts” among their own communities, and contemporaneously with the world. This vast circumpolar Inuit Arctic region includes land, sea, and ice stretching from eastern Russia (Chukotka region) across the Berring Strait, to Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, and Greenland, representing an Inuit homeland known as Nunaat. Hans Isle, a small …

The End Externalities Manifesto: Restatement, Loose Ends, And Unfinished Business, J.B. Ruhl

Pace Environmental Law Review

Professor J.B. Ruhl observes in his article, “The End Externalities Manifesto: Restatement, Loose Ends, and Unfinished Business,” that Elliott and Esty’s proposal for a rights-centric system of environmental law focuses narrowly on a right to recover compensation for harms to human health caused by pollution. He offers suggestions for implementing that proposal, such as using the concept of ecosystem services to trace how harm to ecosystems can cause harm to human health, and he proposes how Elliott and Esty could extend their rights-centric system to a broader conception of human rights and the environment.

Natural Resource Systems And The Evolution Of Environmental Law, Monika Ehrman

Pace Environmental Law Review

Professor Monika Ehrman provides a pragmatic response to Elliott and Esty’s proposal to end all environmental externalities, which she refers to as an “environmental law moonshot.” She examines the value of transforming environmental law and dreaming big as Elliott and Esty recommend, while discussing the practical considerations of doing so. Her considerations include incentivizing technological advancement, compensating environmentally harmed communities to address systemic issues, and breaking down silos in environmental law.

A Balanced Prescription For More Effective Environmental Regulations, W. Kip Viscusi

Pace Environmental Law Review

Government agencies increasingly base the structure and approval of environmental regulations on a benefit-cost test. For regulations that pass this test, total benefits exceed total costs. Under a benefit-cost framework, the degree of regulatory stringency is set at an economically efficient level whereby the tightness of the regulation is increased up to the point where the incremental benefits equal the incremental costs. Setting regulatory standards to achieve the efficient degree of pollution control does not fully discourage entry into polluting industries, provide compensation to those harmed by pollution, or establish meaningful incentives for effective enforcement. This article proposes that the …

Law School News: Joyce And Bill Cummings Of Cummings Foundation To Deliver Keynote Address At Rwu Commencement 4-20-2023, Jill Rodrigues

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Marine Law Symposium: Can Offshore Wind Development Have A Net Positive Impact On Biodiversity? Regulatory And Scientific Perspectives And Considerations April 20-21, 2023, Roger Williams University School Of Law Marine Affairs Institute, The Nature Conservancy

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

The Constitutionality Of Contributing To Climate Change, Madeline Troxell

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Despite the issue of human-caused climate change being upheld by science for decades, topics of its legitimacy, relevance, and repercussions are still debated heavily today. In an attempt to argue for their constitutional right to a safe and livable climate, 21 young plaintiffs have sued the federal government for its affirmative action increasing America’s dependency on fossil fuels, thus exacerbating the climate crisis. The obstacles facing their case can be reduced to an argument concerning the courts jurisdiction over climate issues. This article will argue that the plaintiff's case is centered around the civil rights of children, and thus the …

Marine Law Symposium: Can Offshore Wind Development Have A Net Positive Impact On Biodiversity? Regulatory And Scientific Perspectives And Considerations, April 20-21, 2023, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of International Non-Governmental Organizations On International Environmental Policy: Greenpeace As A Model, Siham Hathouti, Nayif Ahmed Dhahi

Journal of STEPS for Humanities and Social Sciences

Greenpeace is one of the largest and most active international non-governmental organizations in the environmental field. It is making great efforts to defend environmental issues at the international level, also To raise awareness of them, and to limit the effects of threats that our planet facing.

Due to the successes it has accumulated, and the developments it has witnessed throughout its struggle, Green Peace was able to prove its presence on the international scene, and its directions and positions have become more accurate at the present time than they were in the past and more effective, after it had a …

6th Annual Stonewall Lecture 2-2-2023, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Speculative Constitutions In Ursula K. Le Guin’S Hainish Cycle And The Rights Of Nature, Ted Hamilton

Faculty Journal Articles

This paper examines two speculative examinations of humanity as a unified species and agent of ecological change: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle and the rights of nature movement. Le Guin’s Cycle imagines the slow interplanetary reintegration of human polities against a backdrop of cultural and environmental difference. I read the novels of the Cycle as an allegory for the rights of nature movement, which seeks to synthesize traditional and modern knowledge in a legal solution to ecological crisis. Both discourses, I argue, productively imagine a new historical understanding of humanity’s place on Earth, but they provide a weak theory …

Yellow Light: Esg Investing, A Caution To Fast Fashion Brands, Ka’Myia Gunn

Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review Perspectives

No abstract provided.

Protecting The Ocean - Moving Forward At 50: London Convention/Protocol And Stockholm Declaration, Fiftieth Anniversary Proceedings, Ronán Long, José Manuel Pacheco Castillo, Elnaz Barjandi, Ríán Derrig, Linda Del Savio, Dorothee Seybold, Andrew Birchenough, Fredrik Haag

Conference Papers

Fifty years have elapsed since environmental concerns were brought to the fore of the international community’s attention. The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the London Convention and the Stockholm Declaration, two landmark international instruments that set a path towards the current international environmental regulatory framework. The International Maritime Organization and the World Maritime University hosted the joint International Academic Conference ‘Protecting the Ocean – Moving forward at 50: London Convention and Stockholm Declaration’ with the aim of raising awareness, discussing ocean-climate-related topics, and charting new avenues for impactful future research and policy initiatives. This report …

Domestic Emergency Pretexts, Amy L. Stein

Indiana Law Journal

Whereas emergencies used to be the exception to the rule, they now seem to be the norm. Wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, and contagious diseases dominate our daily lives. Although these are not the traditional types of military emergencies of our past, these non-wartime emergencies can trigger some of the same emergency powers. And with their use comes some of the same concerns about abuses of such emergency powers. Much ink has been spilled analyzing the tradeoffs associated with necessary emergency powers and frequent abuses in the context of foreign threats—resulting in reduced privacy, civil liberties, and freedoms.

This Article is not …

La Responsabilidad Internacional De Los Estados Por Violaciones A Los Derechos Humanos Como Consecuencia Del Cambio Climatico: El Rol Del Sistema Interamericano De Proteccion De Derechos Humanos, Jose Daniel Rodriguez Orue

American University International Law Review

El fenómeno del cambio climático es una de las mayores amenazas para la garantía y protección de los derechos humanos a nivel global. Las consecuencias adversas del cambio climático, tales como incremento en el nivel del mar, el aumento de eventos meteorológicos extremos, la perdida de biodiversidad y las sequías, son susceptibles de ocasionar varias violaciones a los derechos humanos en las Américas. Estas violaciones a los derechos humanos se manifiestan con mayor intensidad en determinados grupos poblacionales que se encuentran expuestos de forma desproporcionada a la degradación medioambiental debido a su vinculación especial con los recursos naturales, pero también, …

The Gendered Face Of Climate Change: Exploring The Impact Of Climate Change On Gender-Based Violence And The Role Of State And Non-State Actors In Effecting Climate Justice, Hannah Wilson

American University International Law Review

Climate change affects men and women differently. While some individual women may be less vulnerable to climate change than some men, the global perpetuation of discrimination, inequality, patriarchal structures, and systematic barriers contribute to an overall higher risk of women experiencing harmful effects of climate change. International human rights law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. However, in practice, systematic discrimination, harmful stereotypes, and social, economic and political barriers related to gender can lead to varied climate change impacts with respect to health, food security, livelihoods and human mobility, and more, which may significantly limit women’s and girls’ adaptive …

Criminalizing Environmental Degradation And Devastation: New Prospects For The Icc Rome Statute, Kelly Pisimisi

American University International Law Review

Over the last decade, steadily increasing voices are ringing the tocsin to the international community for the impact of human activities on climate and their potential consequences on human life and dignity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its recent (6th) Assessment Report, confirmed this assertion. Greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions (particularly CO2), as well as the retreat of arctic glaciers and the subsequent sea level rise causing—among other issues—the acidification of the oceanic waters, are some of the most evident human-induced implications on climate and the environment.

La Limitacion De Los Derechos Humanos En La Lucha Contra El Cambio Climatico: El Caso De Los Derechos Culturales De Las Porlaciones Indigenas Y La Energia Hidroelectrica De Embalse En America Latina, Sebastian Sauter Odio

American University International Law Review

El cambio climático es el resultado de la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) producto de actividades antropogénicas. Al ser el sector energético el mayor contribuyente de GEI a nivel mundial, los esfuerzos para mitigar el cambio climático deben comprender la transformación de la matriz energética, hoy basada prioritariamente en la combustión de hidrocarburos, a una que involucre una mayor participación de las energías renovables.

La Migracion Ambiental En La Frontera Colombo-Ecuatoriana: ¿ Es Suficiente La Proteccion Internatcional Para Los Eco-Refugiados ?, David Delgado

American University International Law Review

El cambio climático es un fenómeno mundial que, acelerado por las actividades humanas, provoca grave degradación ambiental causando olas de migración humana y atentando contra el derecho a la vida. Estas actividades, algunas toleradas por la comunidad internacional, provocan el desplazamiento internacional no solo de habitantes de Estados insulares, sino también de terrestres como Ecuador y Colombia. Sin embargo, a pesar que la migración por causas ambientales es un fenómeno mundial cada vez más frecuente, no existe protección internacional para quienes se ven obligados a realizarla. El presente articulo expone la migración ambiental que sufren las comunidades indígenas que habitan …