Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Addicted To The Pump, Shaneka Reese

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Most of the world has acknowledged a growing problem with greenhouse gas emissions ("GHG"), and has expressed that acknowledgement by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol ("Kyoto"). The United States, however, has refused to ratify Kyoto. Automobiles are responsible for the largest portion of the global increase in carbon dioxide emissions. As part of the most powerful industry in the world, U.S. automakers are capable of reducing emissions as required by Kyoto. Adopting Kyoto will in fact prove beneficial to American automakers, by forcing them to adjust to the new market condition that has contributed to the ascendancy of foreign automakers--the desire …

Methanex V. United States: The Realignment Of Nafta Chapter 11 With Environmental Regulation, Kara Dougherty

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

In July 1999, the Canadian firm Methanex Corporation ("Methanex") notified the United States of its intention to seek approximately $1 billion in damages for the United States's alleged breach of Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"). NAFTA, a trilateral agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico (the "Parties"), gives private, foreign investors from each country the right to bring claims against another Party under certain circumstances. Methanex claimed a California measure banning the use of the gasoline additive MTBE discriminated against and expropriated its investments. The case of Methanex v. United States highlights two unintended …

Beyond Enron: Regulation In Energy Derivatives Trading, Alexia Brunet, Meredith Shafe

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation in December 2002 is the biggest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history. The Houston-based company, formed in 1985, became the nation's seventh-largest company in revenue by buying electricity from generators and selling it to consumers. Because Enron made the market in energy trading, its collapse fundamentally altered the U.S. energy trading industry. Equally important, the disclosure of Enron's role in California's power market crisis shattered confidence in deregulated wholesale-electricity and natural gas markets, creating obstacles for new players seeking to restore confidence in energy trading markets. New market entrants offer their clients a more complete …

Development In International Energy Law, David Van Zandt

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

International energy law embodies a matter of keen interest that affects the daily lives of citizens in developing and developed countries worldwide. Among numerous other effects, international energy law influences gas prices, wages, employment rates and domestic market regulations. The weight of these direct consequences of international energy law and policy led to the creation of this year's symposium topic. The goal of this year's symposium is to identify issues arising from various international energy laws as well as to understand the effects that recent international events, including the fall of Enron, the creation of NAFTA and the political unrest …

Legal Hurdles To Developing Wind Power As An Alternative Energy Source In The United States: Creative And Comparative Solutions, Adam M. Dinnell, Adam J. Russ

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article discusses how parties have used current domestic environmental laws to curb the development of a more "environmentally-friendly" alternative energy source: wind power. As the ever-increasing demand for oil and petroleum around the world leads to rising costs throughout the nation, investing in new energy sources is considered crucial to sustainable development in the United States. Wind power has the potential to serve as a clean, efficient, and renewable source of energy in the 21st Century. The further development of wind power could create a meaningful alternative energy supply, relaxing geopolitical and economic concerns over this country's strict century-old …

Arbitration Of International Oil, Gas, And Energy Disputes In Latin America, Alexia Brunet, Juan Agustin Lentini

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

An increase in global reliance on fossil fuels has prompted greater discussion on energy security. For the United States, interest has focused on ensuring that countries in the Western Hemisphere, which currently supply roughly half of U.S. imports of crude oil and petroleum products, remain stable sources of energy. While concerns have focused on political instability and a rising interest in the hemisphere's energy resources by China and India, the conversation centers on a hemispheric trend toward resource nationalism. Resource nationalism is exemplified by the global trend of placing the world's oil reserves under the control of national oil companies …

Justice, And Only Justice, You Shall Pursue: Network Neutrality, The First Amendment And John Rawls's Theory Of Justice, Amit M. Schejter, Moran Yemini

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

As broadband becomes the public's technology of choice to access the Internet, it is also emerging as the battlefield upon which the struggle for control of the Internet is being fought. Operators who provide physical access to the service claim the right to discriminate among the content providers who use the infrastructure in which the operators have invested. In contrast, content providers warn that exercising such a policy would "undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success."[...] For academic observers, analysis of this issue has thus far been confined to the areas of property law, innovation, and …

Global Climate Change Creates A New Carbon Business For U.S. Companies, Michael J. Zimmer

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Overview: Intersection Of Climate Security With Energy Production And Consumption, Vickie Patton

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Emerging Standards For Sustainable Finance Of The Energy Sector, Kirk Herbertson, David Hunter

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Race To The Top: The Expanding Role Of U.S State Renewable Portfolio Standards, Barry Rabe

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Building Stock Offers Opportunities To Foster Sustainability And Provides Tools For Climate Change Mitigation And Adaption, Edna Sussman

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Misleadingly Green: Time To Repeal The Ethanol Tariff And Subsidy For Corn, Marcel De Armas

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Gas Utilities: At Odds With Conservation, Edward L. Flippen

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Struggle Between Peru's Energy Needs, Indigenous Rights, And Ecosystems, Desiree Moreno Gutierrez

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The Next Generation Of Consumption, Jaesa Mclin

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Achieving Energy Independence & Stopping Global Warming Through A New Energy Economy, John Edwards

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

State Efforts To Promote Renewable Energy: Tripping The Horse With The Cart?, Benjamin K. Sovacool, Christopher Cooper

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Subsidies For Corn-Derived Ethanol May Leave Us Thirsty, Michael W. Lore

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Solar Power In The Southwest: From Chile Ristras To Solar Roofs, Matthew Padilla

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

The U.S. Federal Green Building Policy, Eunjung Park

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

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 …

From Walden To Wall Street: Frontiers Of Conservation Finance, Edited By James N. Levitt, Patrick J. Redmond

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Inter-American System, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Judging Treaties, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Beyond Enron: Regulation In Energy Derivatives Trading, Alexia Brunet, Meredith Shafe

Publications

No abstract provided.

Why Electricity Matters, Developing Nations Matter, And Asia Matters Most Of All, Steven Ferrey

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

There are several common conceptions about global warming that deserve greater scrutiny than they have received. First, is it true that we must resolve the legal and policy responses regarding global warming? Second, does the U.S. matter most of all to affect global warming? Third, are developing nations really bit players in the global warming equation? Finally, is there no blueprint for turning back global warming with renewable power in developing nations? Despite common wisdom, the answer to each is negative. Electricity matters, and it matters most of all in international venues.

In Part II of this article, I explain …

Mission Possible: Reciprocal Deference Between Domestic Regulatory Structures And The Wto, Elizabeth Trujillo

Faculty Scholarship

One of the goals of Article III of GATT is to invalidate domestic regulatory measures, including taxes and non-fiscal policies that amount to non-tariff barriers to trade (NTB) and therefore violate the principles of national treatment. While internal policies that directly discriminate between products based on nationality or origin are clearly in violation of national treatment principles, it is the facially neutral regulatory measures with protectionist and discriminatory effects that are more difficult to assess, even within transparent regulatory processes. However, with their emphasis on the likeness of the products in question, WTO panels run the risk of alienating member …

Power Purchase Agreements For Small Power Producers, Steven Ferrey, Anil Cabraal

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

Five Asian nations, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam began designing or instituting Small Power Producer (SPP) programs in the mid-1990s to support energy development jointly with the private sector. This note draws on important markers and lessons for other countries on how to implement similar programs based on these experiences. While all Asian programs demonstrate certain commonalities due to fundamental legal relationships, each experience has been tailored to local conditions and requirements. Some have introduced innovative bidding, competitive, or incentive structures. The result is a rich palette of experience with small power projects in Asia.

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.