Environmental Law Commons^™

Voluntary Commitments As Emerging Instruments In International Environmental Law, Edith Brown Weiss

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Today we confront a critical environmental challenge: how to protect the human environment for ourselves and future generations in the face of our unprecedented capacity to alter fundamental physical cycles with global and longrange implications for the robustness of our planet.

Scientists observe that we are leaving the stable Holocene Epoch, embarking on a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, in which humans are the major force for change to the planet. There is evidence that the fundamental carbon and nitrogen cycles are accelerating significantly, and that the hydrological cycle is speeding up. The latter can lead to devastating impacts from …

The Evolution Of Federal Ea In Canada: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?, Meinhard Doelle

Research Papers, Working Papers, Conference Papers

This working paper provides a brief history of federal EA in Canada, and then offers an overview of the federal environmental assessment process (CEAA) before and after major changes introduced in 2012. The paper concludes with a brief summary of issues raised in two judicial review applications recently filed with respect to the application of CEAA 2012.

Reflections On The New Haven School, Molly Land

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chicago's Pet Coke Problem: A Dusty Conundrum, Conor Desmond

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Public Interest Law Reporter

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Fixing Education Spending In Illinois Through Efficient Targeted Funding, Conor Desmond

Public Interest Law Reporter

Educational attainment has been tied to income levels, employment, health, and numerous other benefits. Economic research indicates that if we focus our funding on programs targeting children from birth to age five, the returns on the public investment will result in higher returns than if it was invested in the open market. In fact, fifteen US States spent over $400 million on pre-k education alone in 2013. Illinois spent approximately $300 million in the 2014 Fiscal year. Through this paper, it will be shown that through effective funding of programs that develop cognitive skills in children aged three to four, …

To Whom Should The Job Of Solving Inequity In School Funding Schemes Fall?, Calli Leigh Burnett

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Illinois School Funding Reform: An Overview Of District Variance, Jordan Fries

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

A Step In The Right Direction, But Sb16 Bobby Otter Comes Up Short, Ralph Martire, Bobby Otter

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Comeback Of Community-Based Forest Management: The Need To Revamp Strategies To Promote Decentralized Environmental Governance In India And Brazil, Naysa Ahuja

Florida A & M University Law Review

The governance of forests and their resources has always been a contentious issue. It has created a divide between developing and developed countries, as well as within them. With the increasing recognition of forests as valuable commodities in the global market, the management of forests in developing countries is becoming a matter of constant concern for ecologists, economists, and politicians.

Part I of this article provides an overview of the Participatory Forest Management (PFM) approach in the international context. Part II and III examine environmental governance in the forest sector of two rapidly emerging economies of the world, India and …

President Obama And The New Politics Of Inclusion In The Climate Change Debate, Leslie G. Fields, Royce G. Brooks

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

¡Peligro! Si Usted No Entiende La Etiqueta, Busque A Alguien Para Que Se La Explique A Usted En Detalle: The Need For International And Domestic Implementation Of Bilingual Pesticide Labeling To Enhance Protection Of Migrant Farmworkers In Florida, Vanessa Calcano Thomas

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Responding To Environmental Injustice: The Civil Rights Act And American Federal Institutional And Systemic Barriers To Private Redress Of Disparate Environmental Harm, Michael B. Jones, Peter J. Jacques

Florida A & M University Law Review

This article discusses the use of private action in federal institutions for relief from disparate racial impacts. The courts have eliminated consideration of § 602 disparate impact regulations as the basis for a private right of action challenging environmental harms. Legislative action seems unlikely in this era of gridlock and partisan polarization. Agency action seems to offer the most avenues for consideration of environmental justice concerns. However, agencies are bureaucratic and subject to election results, Congressional oversight and budgetary limitations, and backlogs of determination of environmental justice complaints. Deeply rooted systemic institutional racism further constrains possible reforms to the federal …

Move, Or Wait For The Flood And Die: Protection Of Environmentally Displaced Populations Through A New Relocation Law, Jessica Scott

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Avoiding The Catch-22: Reforming The Renewable Fuel Standard To Protect Freshwater Resources And Promote Energy Independence, Leah Stiegler

Law Student Publications

Part I presents background on the ethanol industry and the implementation and development of the RFS. It also gives a brief overview of the non-water-related reasons that have led various sectors of the economy to oppose ethanol. Part II provides an overview of ethanol production (from cornfield to refinery) and the impact each stage of the process has on freshwater resources in the United States. Given the harm that the current RFS has caused by failing to consider the impact of the ethanol production process on our nation's freshwater resources, a policy change needs to happen. Yet there are some …

Is My Case Mandamusable: A Guide To The Current State Of Texas Mandamus Law., Marialyn Barnard, Lorien Whyte, Emmanuel Garcia

St. Mary's Law Journal

It is important for all Texas lawyers to be knowledgeable about mandamus relief. Unfortunately, there is no bright line rule in terms of mandamus relief. The general rule for when mandamus relief may be granted is when the trial court clearly abused its discretion, and there is not an adequate remedy available from a court of appeals. A clear of abuse of discretion is determined if no other trial court would have come to the same conclusion. In deciding if mandamus relief is proper, appellate courts apply a balancing test. The appellate court considers several factors including: preserving relator’s substantive …

The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act: An Attractive But Risky Alternative To Texas Trade Secret Law., Paul Hanna, Matthew Leal

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Mandamus Review Of The Granting Of The Motion For New Trial: Lost In The Thicket., Richard E. Flint

St. Mary's Law Journal

A trial court’s broad discretion in granting a new trial has been one of the mainstays of Texas jurisprudence since early statehood. Historically, this discretion was not subject to review through the ordinary appellate processes. This principle remains inviolate today, as the granting of a new trial is an interlocutory order from which the appellate courts of Texas do not have jurisdiction. Furthermore, the use of an original mandamus proceeding to compel a trial court to set aside the granting of a new trial has had only limited application. However, in response to the case of In re Columbia Medical …

A Guide To Properly Using And Responding To Requests For Admission Under The Texas Discovery Rules., Robert K. Wise, Katherine Hendler

St. Mary's Law Journal

This article’s purpose is to provide a guide for properly using and responding to requests for admission under the Texas discovery rules. Requests for admission are an extremely effective discovery tool when used and responded to properly. Their use can save litigants considerable time and expense by eliminating and narrowing the issues involved in the cause of action. Often misunderstood, requests for admission are perhaps the least used of the major discovery devices available to litigants. Even though requests for admission have the potential to eliminate unnecessary proof at trial, streamline discovery and motion practice, and reduce pretrial and trial …

A Statute Overtaken By Time: The Need To Reinterpret Federal Rule Of Evidence 803(8)(A)(Iii) Governing The Admissibility Of Expert Opinions In Government Investigative Reports., Edward J. Imwinkelried

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

The Accommodation Doctrine Revisited: Implications In Law And In Policy., Courtney R. Potter

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

On The Waterfront: New York City's Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation Challenge (Part 1 Of 2), Sarah J. Adams-Schoen

Scholarly Works

New York City is a city on the waterfront. With 520 miles of coastline, New York City’s coastline is longer than the coastlines of Miami, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco combined. Nearly nine million New Yorkers live in areas vulnerable to flooding, storm surges and other natural disaster-related risks that are increasing as a result of climate change.

New York City didn’t wait for a devastating storm to begin comprehensively addressing the effects of climate change. The City’s extensive climate change mitigation and resiliency efforts and communications strategy have put the City in a league of its own. But, …

Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation: A Local Solution To A Global Problem, Sarah J. Adams-Schoen

Scholarly Works

Local land use laws offer powerful tools for climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, notwithstanding New York municipalities’ many impressive efforts, local laws are not yet being utilized sufficiently to create disaster-resilient or disaster-adaptive communities. New York City has done substantially more than many other cities, including, critically, setting specific CO2 emissions reduction targets and amending zoning and building codes. But, in light of the evidence of climate change and its impacts, local decision makers, resource managers, and planners throughout the state must ask whether we are doing enough. Failure to do so will continue to be costly in terms …

On The Waterfront: New York City's Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation Challenge (Part 2 Of 2), Sarah J. Adams-Schoen

Scholarly Works

New York City, like other major cities around the world, has acknowledged the problem of climate change and begun to implement proactive policies to decrease the city’s contribution to the problem (i.e., mitigation) and to make the city less vulnerable to the effects of climate change (i.e., adaptation). The City’s initiatives have been comprehensive and progressive, especially its climate change-related data analysis and communication initiatives including NPCC, and its comprehensive reform of building and other related codes. The City’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and its progress toward that goal are also laudable, but the …

How Environmental Review Can Generate Car-Induced Pollution: A Case Study, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

The National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) requires federal officials to draft an environmental impact statement (“EIS”) describing the environmental impact of proposed federal actions that significantly affect the environment, as well as analyze the environmental impacts of alternatives to the proposed action. Almost two dozen states have adopted “little NEPA” statutes imposing similar requirements upon state and/or local governments.

This article focuses on one of the strictest little NEPA statutes: New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”). While most little NEPA statutes cover only government projects,SEQRA also covers private sector projects requiring municipal permits. Furthermore, SEQRA requires the government …

Fundamental Principles Of Law For The Anthropocene?, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

A wide array of questions arises from global change to confront environmental law. The IPCC has examined social decisions affecting the climate in the design of human settlements, transport systems, industrialisation, agriculture and silviculture, waste management, provisions for energy, and virtually all other socio-economic dimensions of human life. The AR-5, too, cannot avoid raising issues of human ethics and values at local and regional scales. Such issues reach environmental policy and law directly. The IPCC’s AR-5 report furthers widespread public debate about the human dimensions of climate change, and how social theory relates to environmental change. Already, climate change has …

The Geography Of Solving Global Environmental Problems: Reflections On Polycentric Efforts To Address Climate Change, Hari M. Osofsky

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lionfish As A Metaphor For Governance In An Era Of Climate Change, Rebecca M. Bratspies

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Expanding The “Geography” Of Policy Options To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Commentary On Hari Osofsky’S The Geography Of Solving Global Environmental Problems, William Ascher

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Conceptual And Jurisprudential Aspects Of Property In The Context Of The Fundamental Rights Of Indigenous People: The Case Of The Shuar Of Ecuador, Winston P. Nagan, Craig Hammer

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.