Environmental Law Commons^™

An Overflowing Global Tub: Why Rising Seas Are Spilling Into The Streets And What The Government Can Do In Response, Colleen R. Rush

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Fracking As A Federalism Case Study, Amanda C. Leiter

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Symposium—Growing, Growing, Gone: Innovative Ideas In Resource Management For A Growing Population: Introduction, Rachael E. Salcido

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Earth, Air, Water, Oil: Regulating Fracking In The Monterey Shale With Health And Environment In Mind, Gideon J. Salzman-Gubbay

Pomona Senior Theses

“Earth, Air, Water, Oil: Regulating Fracking in the Monterey Shale with Health and Environment in Mind,” explores how hydraulic fracturing regulation in California’s oil-rich Monterey Shale will impact regional public health, including groundwater and air quality. This is achieved through a combination of case study and policy analysis on both the state and national level.

Mitigating The Impacts Of The Renewable Energy Gold Rush, Amy Wilson Morris, Jessica Owley

Journal Articles

Solar energy developers have turned their sights on California’s deserts. Since 2010, local, state, and federal agencies have approved nearly 9,000 megawatts (MW) of solar energy projects in the California desert, including more than 3,000 MW on public lands. The 9,000 MW of approved projects (if all are developed) would require approximately 63,000 acres of total desert land with 21,000 federal acres. The scale of proposed landscape change is unprecedented. Solar energy facilities can be more land-intensive than other forms of energy generation. Because of concern about the potentially devastating impacts of climate change, most major environmental groups have expressed …

Bright Lights, Bright-Line: Toward Separation And Reformation Of The Transformative Use Analysis, Jennifer Yeh

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Mandatory Ultrasound Statutes And The First Amendment, Shifting The Constitutional Perspective, Cheri D. Smith

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The jurisprudence of abortion law is replete with instances in which the concerns of the woman seeking the procedure have taken a back seat. The newest battleground in abortion regulation involves mandatory ultrasound statutes touted as informed consent regulations. The analysis of courts confronting these statutes has turned on whether the mandatory disclosures violate the physician's First Amendment right to be free from compelled speech. The particular breed of statute at issue in this paper requires a physician not only to perform an ultrasound, but also to make the images visible to the woman, to make audible the heartbeat, and …

Report Of The Nova Scotia Independent Panel On Hydraulic Fracturing, Frank Atherton, Michael Bradfield, Kevin Christmas, Shawn Dalton, Maurice Dusseault, Graham Gagnon, Brad Hayes, Constance Macintosh, Ian Mauro, Ray Ritcey

Reports & Public Policy Documents

On August 28, 2013, the Province of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Department of Energy signed an agreement with the Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment at Cape Breton University to conduct an external review on the environmental, socio-economic, and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing. Simultaneously, Dr. David Wheeler, President and Vice Chancellor of Cape Breton University, was asked to convene and Chair the review and expert panel on a voluntary and unpaid basis.1 The mandate for the review was to: create a panel of technical experts based on input from the public and hire technical …

Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman

All Master's Theses

In response to a dual problem of critical water scarcity and rapid population growth, leaders of metropolitan Las Vegas implemented a region-wide, internationally marketed sustainability campaign. Preliminary studies found that, while sustainability policy attains its rhetorical goals, solutions initiated not only perpetuate but also purposefully expand the original dual problem to justify continuous water resource acquisitions. To examine this sustainability conundrum constructed by leadership—problem-perpetuation rather than problem-resolution—a critical examination in resource management asked two basic questions: what is being sustained and by what means? Via this inquiry, specific processes by which leaders perpetuate problems can be identified; and, so-informed, new …

The Aftermath Of Mexico's Fuel-Theft Epidemic: Examining The Texas Black Market And The Conspiracy To Trade In Stolen Condensate., Luke B. Reinhart

St. Mary's Law Journal

Organized crime has infiltrated the oil patch, creating a theft network with an annual value of $2–$4 billion. Over the past decade, Mexican drug cartels have plundered mass amounts of natural gas condensate produced by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex)—the governing Mexican agency for production and export of hydrocarbons. The Mexican government has not sat by idly. Pemex’s production losses have skyrocketed from $300 million, between 2006 and 2011, to an estimated $585 million in 2013 alone. Considering derivative costs associated with these thefts, Pemex’s annual losses reach into the billions. Diversified and driven by profits derived from the United States black …

From Contract To Legislation: The Logic Of Modern International Lawmaking, Timothy L. Meyer

Scholarly Works

The future of international lawmaking is in peril. Both trade and climate negotiations have failed to produce a multilateral agreement since the mid-1990s, while the U.N. Security Council has been unable to comprehensively respond to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. In response to multilateralism’s retreat, many prominent commentators have called for international institutions to be given the power to bind holdout states — often rising or reluctant powers such as China and the United States — without their consent. In short, these proposals envision international law traveling the road taken by federal systems such as the United States and the …

Solving The Cso Conundrum: Green Infrastructure And The Unfulfilled Promise Of Federal-Municipal Cooperation, Casswell F. Holloway, Carter H. Strickland Jr., Michael B. Gerrard, Daniel M. Firger

Faculty Scholarship

Faced with mounting infrastructure construction costs and more frequent and severe weather events due to climate change, cities across the country are managing the water pollution challenges of stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows through new and innovative "green infrastructure" mechanisms that mimic, maintain, or restore natural hydrological features in the urban landscape. When utilized properly, such mechanisms can obviate the need for more expensive pipes, storage facilities, and other traditional "grey infrastructure" features, so named to acknowledge the vast amounts of concrete and other materials with high embedded energy necessary in their construction. Green infrastructure can also provide substantial …

Opt-Out Process For Developing Countries, Meinhard Doelle

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The Carbon Majors Funding Loss and Damage report by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Climate Justice Programme proposes an international funding mechanism for loss and damage that would be funded by private and state actors that contribute significantly to GHG emissions. This paper explores special rules for state owned companies from developing countries that would be required to contribute to the proposed funding mechanism.

An Analysis Of The Substantive Effectiveness Of The National Environmental Policy Act: Lessons From Ivanpah, Stephanie C. Oehler

CMC Senior Theses

Nearly 45 years ago, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was signed into law to become the first national policy for the environment of the United States. As it has evolved over time through implementation and litigation, numerous countries and states around the world have emulated NEPA with similar environmental impact assessment requirements. Many scholars have evaluated the success of the legislation in accomplishing its lofty goals. Most commonly, however, these studies address the procedural performance of agencies through the creation of environmental impact statements. This thesis examines the effectiveness of NEPA in accomplishing its substantive, rather than procedural, goals …

The Environmental, Social, And Economic Impacts Of Hydraulic Fracturing, Horizontal Drilling, And Acidization In California, Christina Whalen

CMC Senior Theses

The oil extraction mechanisms of hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling, and acidization have recently spread throughout the state of California. This thesis explores and assesses whether federal and state legislation should approve of fracking operations in California after studying its effects on human health, the environment, and the economy. This thesis assesses the impacts of fracking; analyzes the role of current legislation and regulation; compares California fracking to fracking in other states and countries; and provides recommendations for future action.

Climate Geoengineering And Dispute Settlement Under Unclos And The Unfccc: Stormy Seas Ahead?, Meinhard Doelle

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This paper considers the potential for the UNCLOS and UNFCCC regimes to be faced with disputes at the intersection between the management of climate change and ocean governance. Using the example of geo-engineering, the chapter considers how tensions between climate mitigation and management and conservation goals are likely to be addressed under the two regimes. The paper explores the capacity of the existing dispute resolutions mechanisms under the two regimes to deal with these tensions, conflicts and overlap.

Arctic Climate Governance: Can The Canary In The Coal Mine Lift Canada’S Head Out Of The Sand(S)?, Meinhard Doelle

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This paper considers Canada’s climate policy at the federal and territorial levels of government in light of the accelerated impacts and vulnerability of Canada’s Arctic region. The paper considers the level of awareness of current and expected future climate impacts in the Arctic, and the effect of this awareness on climate policy. Climate policy is considered in three broad areas, climate adaptation, climate mitigation and the effect on each jurisdiction’s development path. The paper concludes that there is good awareness of the current and predicted future impacts of climate change in all jurisdictions studied. For reasons explored in the paper, …

The Birth Of The Warsaw Loss & Damage Mechanism: Planting A Seed To Grow Ambition?, Meinhard Doelle

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article starts with an update on the UN climate negotiations with respect to loss & damage. It then explores two approaches to loss & damage that are substantially different form the current path of the negotiations. Both approaches seek to utilize the concern over loss & damage to improve motivation for an adequate and fair global effort to mitigation and adapt to climate change. The approaches differ mainly in the extent they can be integrated into the current UN climate regime. The first approach would create a loss & damage liability fund that seeks to ensure adequate resources to …

The Role Of The Unfccc Regime In Ensuring Effective Adaptation In Developing Countries: Lessons From Bangladesh, Meinhard Doelle, Steven Evans, Tony George Puthucherril

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This paper provides a general overview of the UNFCCCs approach to adaptation, and then conducts a case study of adaptation efforts in Bangladesh. Based on the results of the case study and drawing on existing literature, the paper considers to what extent the current approach under the UNFCCC is likely to be effective, and how UNFCCC adaptation efforts might be strengthened.

Recovery Planning For Pacific Marine Species At Risk In The Wake Of Climate Change And Ocean Acidification: Canadian Practice, Future Courses, Wesley Hartmann, David Vanderzwaag, Katja Fennel

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article evaluates how Canadian recovery planning for Pacific marine species at risk incorporates two pressing 21st century concerns: global climate change and ocean acidification (OA). While many recovery strategies for Pacific species at risk show some understanding of climate change or OA, they generally fail to incorporate key climate and OA information or to consider how these two issues will actually affect the species in question. Two strategies for progress are suggested. First is an administrative strategy that includes the development of a national climate change adaptation strategy, which clarifies how projected climate and ocean acidification impacts should be …

Fracking As A Federalism Case Study, Amanda Leiter

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Utility Air Regulatory Group V. Epa: A Shot Across The Bow Of The Administrative State, Amanda Leiter

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

A New Regulatory Framework For Low-Impact/High-Value Aquaculture In Nova Scotia, Meinhard Doelle, William Lahey

Reports & Public Policy Documents

The report is the result of a detailed assessment of aquaculture regulations in Nova Scotia. It proposes a new regulatory framework for the Nova Scotia aquaculture industry based on the principles of effectiveness, openness, transparency, accountability, proportionality, integration, and precaution. The report is based on a 18 months independent review of the industry and how it is regulated, as well as various forms of engagement with the public and key stakeholders. The report draws on regulatory practice in key jurisdictions around the world, including Scotland, Chile, the US, and other provinces in Canada.

Keynote: Sustaining Society In The Anthropocene Epoch, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This paper explores the argument that human transformation of Earth's systems is eclipsing the international law-making of nation states. Globally the processes of trade law or environmental law often progress transnationally, with little direction by national governments. Intergovernmental and non-governmental international organizations act with autonomy, apart from nations. To be clear, nation states still are the major players in world order, but trends of sustainable development or social networked communications transcend individual nations. Whether viewed as environmental law or sustainability law, this body of law exists at once globally and locally; it is different in kind from the Westphalia legacy …

Citizen Litigants Citizen Regulators: Four Cases Where Citizen Suits Drove Development Of Clean Water Law, Karl S. Coplan

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

One of the key innovations of the 1970s regulatory environmental revolution was the provision for citizen enforcement of regulatory standards. This innovation upset the previous bipolar regulatory model, which was a two-way negotiation between the regulated industries and the (often captive) regulatory agencies. By removing agency enforcement discretion as a means of underenforcing statutory norms, the citizens suit brought a new constituency to the regulatory bargaining table. The citizen suit had the intended effect of implementing a regime of full enforcement of the new environmental norms.

But the revolutionary effect of the newly minted citizen suit was not limited to …

The Resilience Principle, Nicholas A. Robinson

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Resilient self-help is essential in coping with life’s upsets. This essay explores the prospect of recognizing Resilience as a Principle of Law. The propositions set forth here were debated at two conferences held in Brasilia, in December of 2013. The first, for legislators, was convened in the Senate of Brazil by the National Congress’ Joint Permanent Committee on Climate Change, and the second, for judges, was convened by the Federal Judicial Council’s Judicial Studies Center (Conselho da Justiça Federal Centro de Estudos Judiciários) and the High Court of Brazil (Superior Tribunal de Justiça). This eJournal of the IUCN Academy of …

Plain Meaning, Precedent, And Metaphysics: Interpreting The “Pollutant” Element Of The Federal Water Pollution Offense, Jeffrey G. Miller

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article, the second in a series of five, examines the meaning of “pollutant” under the Clean Water Act. Congress and EPA have defined “pollutant” to mean a list of specific substances and broad categories of materials and wastes discharged into water, e.g., “biological materials” and “chemical wastes.” The definition is broad enough to encompass virtually all substances associated with human activity that are discharged to water, regardless of whether the substances cause pollution or are produced through human endeavor. Therefore, “pollutant” is rarely a limiting element. Instead, the issues with the definition of “pollutant” primarily address whether it includes …

Climate Change Securities Disclosures In Australia, Amanda Liu

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This working paper looks at the extent to which current securities filings regulations with the Australian securities authorities require (or alternatively, recommend) listed Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) entities to disclose climate change risks on the performance of a listed entity. The paper also reviews what in practice is being reported for the 2013 reporting year.

Authority Of Pacific Island States To Regulate Greenhouse Gases From The International Shipping Sector, Meredith Wilensky

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This white paper assesses Pacific island states’ legal authority under international law to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the international shipping sector and considers what regulatory options are permissible within this legal framework.

Narratives In Conflicts: Alaska Natives And Offshore Drilling In The Arctic, Michael Burger

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This Symposium Essay examines and elucidates the ways in which the narrative constructions that constitute the “imaginary Arctic” factor into litigation surrounding Shell Oil’s highly controversial attempts to drill for oil and gas in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska’s North Slope. Judges, lawyers and litigants involved in the Shell litigation have deployed a number of well-established storylines against each other: the Arctic as Classical Frontier, the Arctic as Spiritualized Frontier, the Arctic as Ancestral Homeland, the Arctic as Developing World, and the Arctic as Neutral Space. The litigation literature produced by this “battle for the Arctic” offers an …