Environmental Law Commons^™

California Coast, Carmen King

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

The Hidden Rise Of Efficient (De)Listing, Zachary A. Bray

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

What is the value of the gray wolf, and what might be the costs of including a tiny desert lizard on the list of endangered species? For decades, Congress has formally excluded questions about the economic value of species and the costs of their protection from agency decisions about whether a species should be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Recently, however, a number of federal legislators have sought to incorporate their own ad hoc views about the value of individual species in peril, and the costs of protecting such species, into listing decisions. This goal has been accomplished through …

Got A Better Idea?: Promoting Greenhouse Gas Regulations Through Solution-Based Informal Rulemaking, Lorraine J. Baer

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In September 2013, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions from newly constructed, coal-fired power plants. Coal industry lawyers immediately began preparing for litigation. Like many industry-led arbitrary and capricious challenges, their goal is to stop the regulations from moving forward. This Note analyzes the new rule, concluding that although the EPA's rule is legally sound, it does have some potential weaknesses. Rather than merely blocking the regulations through litigation, however, this Note proposes that interest groups should instead submit their own solutions during the notice-and-comment rulemaking process, which would reduce regulatory gridlock and …

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge: On A Rocky Road To Creating A Community Asset, 47 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1401 (2014), Rachel Salcido

UIC Law Review

This paper examines the RMA Refuge restoration in terms of key benchmarks of successful restorations: 1) biological integrity; 2) historical fidelity; 3) identifying root causes of and addressing practices leading to environmental degradation; and finally, 4) public engagement, connecting with the public and encouraging environmentalism.

Reap What You Sow: Soil Pollution Remediation Reform In China, Dustin D. Drenguis

Washington International Law Journal

As China undergoes the fastest economic development in the history of the world, so too has its environmental problems shattered all precedents. While China’s leaders recognize they must change course, environmental concerns have long taken a back seat to economic development. Soil pollution is destroying China’s environment, affecting public health, and reducing the country’s food supply. Soil pollution slows China’s economic development, preventing land development in urban centers. Soil pollution also threatens China’s social stability because it has inspired marginalized groups to organize in protest of environmental conditions. Environmental remediation, or the obligations of a facility or the government to …

Food Miles: Environmental Protection Or Veiled Protectionism?, Meredith Kolsky Lewis, Andrew D. Mitchell

Michigan Journal of International Law

Eat local. Such a small phrase yet such a loaded proposition. Buying food from nearby sources has become a popular objective. This aim is associated with helping farmers in one’s country or region; observing the seasonality of one’s location; eating fresher foods; striving for food security; and protecting the environment. One of the unmistakable messages of the “locavore” movement is that importing food—particularly food that comes from far away—causes environmental harm. The theory is that transporting food long distances results in the release of high levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere and is thus a dangerous contributor to …

Will Latin's Scheme Replace Fossil Fuels More Quickly Than Existing Approaches?, David Dreisen

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Climate Change Mitigation And Decarbonization, Howard A. Latin

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Climate Change Mitigation And The Global Energy System, Frank A. Felder

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Alternative Energy Technologies For Transportation, Ajay K. Prasad

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Ethical Energy And The Clean Electron, Michael C. Trachtenberg, Gal Hochman

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Pulling The Trigger On Pollution Or Jumping The Gun On Gun Control?: An Overview Of The Environmental Impacts Of Guns And Ammunition, Jeffrey F. Hall-Gale

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Endangered Species Act: Trends In Mega-Petitions, Judicial Review, And Budget Constraints Reveal A Costly Dilemma For Species Conservation, Candee Wilde

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

The International Sugar Trade And Sustainable Development: Curtailing The Sugar Rush, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A National Mineral Policy As An International Investment Law Stratagem: The Case Of Tajikistan's Gold Reserves, Nadia B. Ahmad

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article proposes that a national mineral policy ("NMP") can be crafted to generate foreign direct investment ("FDI") and strengthen sustainable development goals. Less-developed countries ("LDCs") typically overlook or underestimate this federal policy imperative while seeking to harness mineral resources.' Creation of a NMP and complementary changes to federal mining investment laws can provide host countries increased opportunities as well as autonomy to profit from their own natural resources and, at the same time, investor nations can benefit from a NMP because of further mining prospects.

This Article goes on to discuss how the formulation and implementation of a NMP …

In Memoriam: David Sive (1922-2014) And Joseph Sax (1936-2014), Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In 1995, Professor of Law David Sive and Pace’s Law Faculty established this lectureship, in honor of Lloyd K. Garrison, to commemorate Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission.1 Known as the Storm King case, this ruling inaugurated what we today call environmental law. Two individuals above all others guided and framed the jurisprudential foundations for environmental law. We honor these founders today. Their lives were intertwined.

Mitigating The Adverse Impacts Of Hydraulic Fracturing: A Role For Local Zoning?, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article focuses on the action localities have taken toward mitigating some of the adverse impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking. The Article will explore impacts at the local level and will show the governance gap that has resulted from federal and state regulations that leave many local impacts unmitigated. Zoning laws and other practices that local governments are adopting are also discussed, explaining why state preemption over the traditional role of local governments in regulating this particular heavy industrial activity is not the ideal situation.

The International Sugar Trade And Sustainable Development: Curtailing The Sugar Rush, Nadia B. Ahmad

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article will briefly examine the history of the international sugar trade and discuss the current status of the sugar industry in world markets, specifically in Brazil, India, and the United States. The international sugar trade industry should consider instituting sustainable development practices not only for the public good, but also to enhance its bottom line. As "one of the most highly distorted agricultural commodity markets," the international sugar market is an ideal environment to implement sustainable development practices and begin change with respect to CSR through "guaranteed minimum payments to producers, production and marketing controls (quotas), state-regulated retail prices, …

Preface To Protecting The Environment Through Land Use Law: Standing Ground, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Protecting the Environment Through Land Use Law: Standing Ground takes a close look at the historical struggle of local governments to balance land development with natural resource conservation. This book updates and expands on his four previous books, which established a comprehensive framework for understanding the many ways that local land use authority can be used to preserve natural resources and environmental functions at the community level. Standing Ground describes in detail how localities are responding to new challenges, including the imperative that they adapt to and help mitigate climate change and create sustainable neighborhoods. This body of work emphasizes …

Greenwashing And Self-Declared Seafood Ecolabels, Jason J. Czarnezki

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The credibility and veracity of an environmental claim depends on a high degree of transparency, clarity, and trust. Businesses that utilize ecolabels to market the environmental performance of their seafood products often turn to third-party certifications to minimize the potential for greenwashing and provide a level of verification and independence. Others rely on a riskier approach by developing their own self-declared or first-party ecolabels. Seafood retailers and suppliers considering the creation and use of an ecolabel, certification, or seal to be used in the marketing of seafood products should ensure compliance with applicable Food and Drug Administration and United States …

The Charter Of The Forest: Evolving Human Rights In Nature, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Carta de Foresta, the Charter of the Forest of 1217, is among the first statutes in environmental law of any nation. Crafted to reform patently unjust governance of natural resources in 13th century England, the Charter of the Forest became a framework through which to reconcile competing environmental claims, then and into the future. The Charter confirmed the rights of “free men.” Kings resisted conceding these rights. When confronted with violation of the Charter, barons and royal councils obliged kings repeatedly to reissue the Forest Charter and pledge anew to obey its terms.

Plain Meaning, Precedent, And Metaphysics: Interpreting The “Addition” Element Of The Clean Water Act Offense, Jeffrey G. Miller

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The Clean Water Act (CWA) prohibits addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source by any person without a permit. Surprisingly, the first element of this prohibition, “addition,” remains undefined. It has been interpreted broadly by regulators and judges to expand the prohibition to such an extent that it threatens to capture innocent people. EPA in particular has confused “addition” with “navigable waters” to such an extent that it threatens to eviscerate half of the CWA’s regulatory strategies and programs: water quality standards and the § 404 program protecting wetlands. This Article examines the interpretation of “addition” …

Comparing The Clean Air Act And A Carbon Price, Nathan D. Richardson, Arthur Fraas

Faculty Publications

Over the last half-decade, a variety of federal legislative proposals for limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been put forward, most of which would set a price on carbon. As of early 2013, the one politically plausible policy appears to be a carbon tax, passed as part of a larger fiscal reform package. Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun regulating GHG emissions from a variety of sources using its authority under the Clean Air Act. It may be necessary to choose between these two policies, however. The Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill that failed in 2009 would have preempted much …

Preserving Preservation: Long Green Valley Association, Conservation Easements, And Charitable Trust Doctrine, Alyssa J. Domzal

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

A Decade Of Adaptive Governance Scholarship: Synthesis And Future Directions, Barbara Cosens

Articles

Adaptive governance is an emergent form of environmental governance that is increasingly called upon by scholars and practitioners to coordinate resource management regimes in the face of the complexity and uncertainty associated with rapid environmental change. Although the term “adaptive governance” is not exclusively applied to the governance of social-ecological systems, related research represents a significant outgrowth of literature on resilience, social-ecological systems, and environmental governance. We present a chronology of major scholarship on adaptive governance, synthesizing efforts to define the concept and identifying the array of governance concepts associated with transformation toward adaptive governance. Based on this synthesis, we …

Human Rights And The New Reality Of Climate Change: Adaptation's Limitations In Achieving Climate Justice , Zackary L. Stillings

Michigan Journal of International Law

In 2005, the Inuit of Canada and the United States filed a petition with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that their respective governments had violated their human rights by failing to mitigate climate change harms. The Inuit alleged violations of several specific human rights, including the right to enjoy their culture; the right to enjoy and use the lands they have traditionally occupied; the right to use and enjoy their personal property; the right to health; the right to life, physical integrity, and security; the right to their own means of subsistence; and the right to residence …

The Spirit Of The Buffalo: The Past And Future Of An American Plains Icon, William Holland

Animal Law Review

Though bison are iconically associated with the United States, their historical fortunes have often been opposite those of the U.S. As the nation expanded westward, government policy, de­mand for bison products, and changing land use perilously re­duced bison numbers. Efforts to restore bison have been complicated by overlapping legal concerns: state, federal, tribal, and constitutional. This Note examines the legal context sur­rounding bison restoration, focusing particularly on the critical herd connected with Yellowstone National Park. Former mem­bers of the Yellowstone herd, in turn, are the subjects of the Montana Supreme Court's 2013 ruling in Citizens for Balanced Use v. Maurier, …

Harming The Tinkerer: The Case For Aligning Standing And Preliminary Injunction Analysis In The Endangered Species Act, Danny Lutz

Animal Law Review

Reviewing preliminary injunction motions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), most district courts evaluate “irreparable harm” through one of two lines of analysis. One line, promoted by property rights interest groups, reasons that individual mortalities might not constitute irreparable harm if they do not impact survival of the species. In contrast to this “species-level harm” analysis, another approach argues that “individual-level harm” suffices because it is irreparable to the animal. The recent First Circuit opinion in Animal Welfare Institute v. Martin attempts, but ultimately fails, to bridge the divide over which level of analysis to apply for irreparable harm under …

Water Governance Challenges In New Mexico's Middle Rio Grande Valley: A Resilience Assessment, Melina Harm Benson, Dagmar Llewellyn, Ryan Morrison, Mark Stone

Publications

No abstract provided.