Environmental Law Commons^™

South Africa's Electricity Crisis: The Need To Reconcile Environmental Policy Decisions With International Treaties, Brittany D. Botterill

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment examines whether South Africa’s treaty obligations conflict with the requirement of the country’s government to provide electricity to a burgeoning home-owning population. Section II introduces Eskom, South Africa’s largest utility company, which produces most of the electricity used in South Africa and surrounding countries. Section III discusses South Africa’s role in the Southern Africa Power Pool and the additional obligations this membership places on the country. Section IV then examines the controversial loan that South Africa received from the World Bank to assist in building the Medupi coal-fired power plant. Section V illustrates South Africa’s climate change obligations …

Activities And Achievements: Progress Report 2011-2013, Center For Governance And Sustainability, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Maria Ivanova, Craig Murphy, James Gustave Speth, Christiana Figueres, Alice Odingo

Center for Governance and Sustainability Publications

We joined the University of Massachusetts Boston in the fall of 2010 to develop a new doctoral program in global governance and human security, the first of its kind in the United States. In the spring of 2011, we launched the Center for Governance and Sustainability in an effort to bring academic rigor to real-world policy challenges in environment, development, and sustainability governance.

The Center is housed at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, which takes pride in offering a world-class interdisciplinary education and engaging in values-driven research, demonstrating a deep commitment to making a …

The Scopes Monkey Trial Revisited: How The Coal Industry And The Surface Mining States Ignore Science To The Detriment Of The Appalachian Environment, Sarah J. Surber

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Paradise Lost? A Call To Clarify The Public Purpose Requirement In Ohio's Public Trust Doctrine, Maia E. Jerin

Cleveland State Law Review

The State of Ohio holds all land underlying the waters of Lake Erie and navigable rivers, as well as all artificially filled land, in trust for the benefit of the people of Ohio. Traditionally, private use of trust resources was subject to the public rights of navigation, water commerce, and fishing. This principle, known as the public trust doctrine, exists in every state but takes myriad forms and protects widely varying uses and interests. Many states have clarified their public trust doctrines through statutes or judicial review in order to meet the public’s changing needs, but Ohio’s public trust doctrine …

Human Rights And The Evolution Of Global Environmental Law, Robert V. Percival

Faculty Scholarship

Environmental problems that jeopardize the health of humans increasingly implicate concerns that have played an important role in the development of international human rights. While some have questioned the wisdom or effectiveness of focusing human rights concerns on environmental problems, it seems an inevitable response to the failure of many countries to protect their citizens adequately from harm caused by environmental degradation. This paper reviews efforts to apply human rights concerns to environmental problems. It describes how these developments illustrate the growth of a kind of “global environmental law” that blurs traditional distinctions between domestic and international law and public …

Collaborating To Nowhere: The Imperative Of Government Accountability For Restoring The Chesapeake Bay, Rena I. Steinzor, Shana Jones

Faculty Scholarship

This Article opens with an analysis of why the Chesapeake Bay Program will repeat its past failures unless a reliable mechanism for ensuring accountability is created. It then explains how the independent evaluator should be constructed to make possible the overall success of Bay restoration. Finally, it closes with a rebuttal of the arguments in favor of self--auditing and against independent review.

Community-Scale Renewable Energy, Hannah J. Wiseman, Sara C. Bronin

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Shared-Use Infrastructure: A Prickly Partnership Takes Root, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Only about 30% of Africa has access to electricity, and transport costs in Africa are among the highest in the world. For the World Bank, the annual funding gap for infrastructure investment in Africa is US $31 billion.

This gap however can be filled if the investments of natural resource concessionaires are leveraged and not planned in an enclave model. In resource-rich but infrastructure-poor Africa, natural resource concessionaires have traditionally developed railways, ports and power plants to serve their own needs. Africa has therefore often missed the opportunity of coordinating those large investments with national infrastructure planning and has failed …

Ask The Experts: Mining, Lisa E. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

How can governments best ensure mining produces broad-based economic development?

At the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment at Columbia University, we have identified five “pillars” that are necessary for resource-based sustainable development. Each pillar requires the collaboration of governments, companies, donors and communities.At the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment at Columbia University, we have identified five “pillars” that are necessary for resource-based sustainable development. Each pillar requires the collaboration of governments, companies, donors and communities.

Looking Backward, Looking Forward: The Next 40 Years Of Environmental Law, Robert V. Percival

Faculty Scholarship

The only certainty concerning predictions for the future of the environment is that most of them are likely to be wrong. This is illustrated by the fate of past predictions, such as those contained in Paul Ehrlich's Populations Bomb, Gregg Easterbrook's A Moment on the Earth, and Bjørn Lomborg's The Skeptical Environmentalist. While it is difficult to guess at the future of the environment, predictions concerning environmental law are even more hazardous because they turn in large part on the future of politics. After reviewing current political gridlock over environmental concerns, this Article considers contemporary forecasts of the fate of …

International Law In A Time Of Scarcity: An Introduction, Harlan G. Cohen

Faculty Scholarship

Stories of scarcity litter the morning newspapers. Around the world, resources — food, water, fuel sources, clean air — seem stretched to, or even beyond, capacity. Consequences have already been serious, including suffering and unrest. Competition for resources seems likely only to increase. Does international law have the tools to manage or even solve this growing global problem? It was with this question in mind that the editors of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law convened their 2012 symposium: “International Law in a Time of Scarcity.”

This short essay serves as introduction to that symposium and the related …

"Green" Product Procurement Policy In The European Union: Treatment Of Lifecycle Carbon Analysis And Environmental Ppm Restrictions, Shawna Ganley

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

With approximately 19% of the EU’s GDP going to government purchases, “green procurement” policies could potentially have a sizable impact on carbon emissions, and moreover could bolster the larger consumer market for sustainable goods. This white paper reviews current EC policy in this area, focusing particularly on the way in which the EC treats lifecycle analysis and non-product related “process and production methods” (PPMs), criteria that relate to the way in which the product was produced rather than to the physical properties of the final product. The paper also addresses some of the factors that may have stymied better uptake …

Will Greenhouse Gas Rules Prohibit New Coal Power Plants?, Christine Fazio, Ethan Strell

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Our article on June 28, 2012, discussed a proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would limit, for the first time, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new fossil fuel-fired power plants. The proposal’s standard was based on the emissions of new natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plants. In order to meet the standards, new coal-fired plants would need to employ costly and untested carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The proposal was criticized by supporters of the coal industry because the standard would essentially prevent any new coal-fired power plants from receiving Clean Air Act (CAA) construction permits. …

Corporate Responsibility And Climate Justice: A Proposal For A Polluter-Financed Relocation Fund For Federally Recognized Tribes Imperiled By Climate Change, Randall S. Abate

Fordham Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Occupational Noise Exposure In Amplified Music Venues In Leinster; An Exploratory Risk Analysis., Aoife Kelly

Doctoral

Due to transposition of the EU Directive 2003/10/EC into Irish Law, the entertainment sector was obligated to comply with the requirements of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, Chapter 1 Part 5: Control of Noise at Work since February 2008. Despite this, there is a lack of baseline data on the adoption and appreciation of these regulations within the sector. The aim of this study was to conduct an exploratory risk analysis of occupational noise exposure in nightclubs and examine the application of occupational noise legislation in this industry.

Noise risk assessments were conducted in …

Northeast Natural Energy, Llc V. City Of Morgantown, Emery L. Lyon

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Energy Security, Green Fleets, And Green Warriors, Jennifer Huang

Florida A & M University Law Review

The U.S. military, both our nation's largest consumer and securer of energy, can no longer be absolved of the high costs and environmental consequences of its reliance on conventional fuel sources and energy systems in the face of mounting evidence of unavoidable global warming and climate change. The oil-dependent U.S. national and energy security policies that have helped achieved American military and economic greatness are no longer sustainable; in fact, uncovering the hidden costs of our oil addiction reveals many insecurities. In order to progress towards true energy independence, the U.S. must overcome its congressional in-fighting, and kick-start its promising …

Thirsty For A Solution: Using The Rural Electrification Administration Model To Resolve The Failure Of Privatization Of Water Utilities In Bolivia, Michael Nichola

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Up To Our Ears: Corn Overproduction, Its Environmental Toll, And Using The 2012 U.S. Farm Bill To Limit Corn Subsidies, Increase Environmental Protection Incentives, And Place Accountability On Crop Operations, Christopher Frump

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Fresher Law: Amending The Florida Right To Farm Act To Include Urban Micro Farming As A Key Initiative To Promote Sustainability, Food Access, And Environmental Justice For Low-Income Communities, Cameryn Rivera

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Good Policy, Good Food: Bringing A Just And Sustainable Food System To All, Mark Winne

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Corporate Responsibility And Climate Justice: A Proposal For A Polluter-Financed Relocation Fund For Federally Recognized Tribes Imperiled By Climate Change, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

Climate change threatens to displace as many as 200 million people internally and across national borders by the middle of the twenty-first century. Indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable to these changes. With the loss of their village rapidly approaching, the residents of the Native Village of Kivalina are captives in their homeland bracing for disaster because they do not have the millions of dollars needed to relocate and there is no government fund or process in place to provide them with adequate assistance.

Part I of this article describes the factual context of the Kivalina litigation and how …

A Mild Winter: The Status Of Environmental Preliminary Injunctions, Sarah J. Morath

Akron Law Faculty Publications

Since enactment of environmental legislation in the 1970s, the preliminary injunction standard articulated by the Supreme Court for environmental claims has evolved from general principles to enumerated factors. In Winter v. Natural Resource Defense Council, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent refinement, the Court endorsed but failed to explain the application of a common four-factor test when it held that the alleged injury to marine mammals was outweighed by the public interest of a well-trained and prepared Navy. While a number of commentators have speculated about Winter’s impact on future environmental preliminary injunctions, this article seeks to more precisely …

Plugging The School-To-Prison Pipeline By Improving Behavior And Protecting Core Judicial Functions: A Constitutional Crisis Looms., Patrick S. Metze

St. Mary's Law Journal

The consolidation of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC) into the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) in 2011, produced a unified state juvenile justice agency to promote public safety first and to produce positive outcomes for youth, families, and communities second. As Professor Metze’s second paper discussing ways to effect a change in the School-to-Prison Pipeline, he first highlights the progress of TJJD’s use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in the Texas juvenile correctional context as continued evidence that such techniques, if effective in the correctional setting, will certainly work in the …

Drafting Model Laws On Indoor Pollution For Developing And Developed Nations Workshop, July 12-13, 2012, Boulder, Colorado: Introduction, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Development And Dissemination Of Clean Cookstoves: A Model Law For Developing Countries, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Commonality Among Unique Indigenous Communities: An Introduction To Climate Change And Its Impacts On Indigenous Peoples, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

This special Issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal explores how climate change affects the rights of indigenous peoples. Climate change is a global environmental problem caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Indigenous peoples generally contribute very limited quantities of greenhouse gases to the global atmosphere. Although the causes of climate change are global, the adverse impacts of this problem are disproportionately burdening indigenous peoples.

In recognition of the growing global problem of climate change, legal strategies to address climate change through mitigation and adaptation have been undertaken. This Issue recognizes that indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to climate change, both …

What Every Land Use Lawyer Should Know About The Emerging Use Of Health Impact Assessment And Land Use Decision Making, Patricia E. Salkin, Pamela Ko

Scholarly Works

The field of Health Impact Assessment is relatively new to the United States, but already a number of state and local governments are incorporating these assessments into land use planning and decision making. In five years, the use of HIA in the U.S. has increased dramatically with more than 100 HIAs completed or in progress in the U.S. from 2007 to 2010. This article provides a brief overview of HIA in the United States, describes how it is being used in other states with respect to land use decision making, and examines how HIA is starting to be incorporated into …

To Return From Where We Started: Revisioning Of Property, Land Use, Economy, And Regulation In America, John W. Ragsdale Jr

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Hen In The Parlor: Municipal Control And Enforcement Of Residential Chicken Coops, Chris Erchull

Student Competition & Published Writings

The locavore movement and similar trends in sustainable agriculture and health are renewing interest in backyard residential chicken coops. This Article analyzes some of the regulatory approaches cities and towns have taken to address backyard residential chicken coops. The Article focuses on how regulation can support and encourage the beneficial aspects of keeping backyard chickens while mitigating the potential harmful impact of excessive or irresponsibly managed residential chicken coops. In particular, the Article examines common trends in local regulation, like limits on the number and sex of birds allowed in each residential yard, setback and structural requirements, and animal welfare …