Environmental Law Commons^™

Biopiracy: Using New Laws And Databases To Protect Indigenous Communities, Cleo-Symone Scott

Law Student Publications

Indigenous people have a historical link to those who inhabited a country or region at the time when people of different cultures or origins arrived. Traditionally, indigenous people have a special relationship with their ancestral environments. But their way of living has long been under threat. The land that indigenous people live on is home to over 80% of our planet’s biodiversity, but it continues to be appropriated and plundered due to bioprospecting or, as some call it, biopiracy. Bioprospecting is defined as “the exploration and information gathering of genetic and biochemical material to develop commercial products.” While innovation is …

From Community Science To Community Justice: Protecting Data Usability In Community Air Quality Monitoring Networks, Marley Manjarrez

Law Student Publications

Community science holds significant promise for empowering communities to address air quality disparities and advocate for policy change. However, the usability and legal defensibility of community-collected data pose significant challenges. This article argues that with the help of low-cost tools such as air quality monitors, community members can take an active role in combating the disproportionate distribution of air pollutants hidden by our current regulatory scheme. By examining the regulatory frameworks under the Clean Air Act and opportunities for procedural justice at federal, state, and local levels, the article identifies pathways for incorporating community-collected data into air quality regulation and …

Open Hunting Season: Black Bodies As A Threatened Species, Mark C. Grafenreed

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

Tracing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides striking parallels with the historical, legal, and cultural aspects of bondage mapped upon Black bodies. The United States Congress promulgated the Endangered Species Act to protect and conserve threatened and endangered wildlife species. However, this gives rise to a serious moral dilemma and cognitive dissonance in that nearly 1,500 wildlife species benefit from the Endangered Species Act's protections. At the same time, Black bodies disproportionately suffer without similar federal protections. Congress has strengthened the Endangered Species Act's force through four amendments since its inception, even while there have been mounting threats to …

If It Can Make It There, It Can Make It Anywhere: How New York's "Green Amendment" Is Catalyzing Environmental Progress In Light Of Federal Failures, Zoe Zingale

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the challenges faced by minority and low-income communities in seeking legal redress for environmental injustices, highlighting how federal legal avenues like Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have been limited by Supreme Court rulings. It proposes that state-level Green Amendments, such as New York's, offer a promising alternative for these communities to assert their right to a healthy environment and seek relief from disparate environmental impacts.

Table Of Contents, Public Interest Law Reporter

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Diametrically Opposed: A Closer Look At Juvenile Probation In Illinois And Its Intersection With Rehabilitation, Anna Bowser

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Evidence-Based Funding In Illinois: The Solution It Promised To Be?, Marlee Burridge

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Native Nations' Autonomy In The Modern Era, Brynna Collins

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

In The Shadow Of Pico: Book Bans And The Struggle Between Viewpoint Discrimination And Educational Suitability, Tripp Frank

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

U.S. Hyper-Surveillance In The Name Of Counterterrorism: Responses To State-Sanctioned Repression Of Arabs And Muslims Then And Now, Rama Izar

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Epa's Failure To Revise The Clean Water Act And Its Impact On Communities, Will Matushek

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

From Bulwark To Puppet: A Call To Democratize The Archaic Grand Jury, Maris Medina

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Kinship Care: What Could Make This Ideal More Attainable For Families?, Dani Scudder

Public Interest Law Reporter

In recent years, there has been a radical shift by child protective agencies to look towards extended family before placing a child in foster care.¹ Placing children with family or fictive kin, people who are not related but still important to that child's life, is called kinship care.² This shift is a result of increased research surrounding the emotional and physical benefits of kinship care for displaced youth.³ Although professionals agree that placing children with relatives reduces trauma and enhances outcomes, the ability of relatives to care for their extended family members is hindered by financial and …

Pretrial Fairness Increases Procedural Fairness, Isabel Smith

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Collective Bargaining Agreements: An Untapped Pathway For Educators To Advocate For Students With Disabilities, Martha Rubin

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Capital Punishment In Context: Kenneth Smith And The Eight Amendment, Elizabeth Stamper

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Shotspotter And Chicago, Mehreen Tariq

Public Interest Law Reporter

On February 16, 2024, Mayor Brandon Johnson decided not to renew Chicago's contract with ShotSpotter. To better understand Mayor Johnson's reasoning, this article will explore Chicago's history with ShotSpotter, arguments from its proponents, concerns from those in opposition, and national takeaways from other municipalities that have faced a similar decision.

The War On Cannabis, Marla Zappa

Public Interest Law Reporter

Federal legalization of marijuana has the potential to drastically reform the criminal justice system as thousands of Americans face lifelong penalties for simple drug offenses, especially communities of color who are prosecuted at much higher rates compared to white individuals.

Today, possession of marijuana is the leading drug offense for which Americans are arrested.¹ Every year approximately 550,000 individuals are arrested for cannabis offenses, typically possession.² This is because marijuana is the most common illicit drug used in the United States.³ In 2021, over 52.2 million Americans consumed cannabis in some form.⁴ Across the population, marijuana …

Table Of Contents, Public Interest Law Reporter

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

What A Waste: The Prosecution Of Hazardous Substances Crimes During The Trump Administration, Joshua Ozymy, Ph.D., Melissa Jarrell Ozymy, Ph.D.

Public Interest Law Reporter

The Trump Administration went to great lengths to roll back environmental regulatory and enforcement efforts. Yet, researchers know very little about the impact of the Administration on the criminal prosecution of hazardous substance crimes. This study utilizes content analysis of EPA criminal investigations leading to prosecution during the Trump Era to analyze charging and sentencing patterns and illustrate the greater themes that emerged during this period. Prosecutions are dominated by hazardous waste (48%), pesticide (41%), and lead-based paint (11%) crimes. Results show prosecutors were able to pursue crimes involving significant harm and culpable conduct, while securing over $90 million in …

Free Speech Restrictions On College Campuses: When Maintaining The Status Quo Demands Complacency In The Genocide Of Oppressed Peoples, Martha Rubin

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Is Sustainable Finance The Solution To Funding The U.N. Sdgs? Exploring The Potential Of Sustainable Finance Strategies In Achieving Climate Action, Amanda Scheichet

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Coercion, Control, And Criminal Law: Rethinking Accomplice Liability And Duress For Intimate Partner Violence Survivor-Defendants, Rachel Still

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Two Men Walked In Front Of A Storefront: Why The Supreme Court Should Consider Race In Fourth Amendment Decisions, Sara Totten

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Fights Over Continuity - In Life And Law, Jamison E. Colburn

Faculty Scholarship

What is the whole: a river or that river and its tributaries? There is no “natural” answer to the question, only so many answers as there are reasons for asking. Lately, the Clean Water Act has been the captive of such diversions in our Supreme Court’s agenda. Changing it will not free it from that captivity. For whatever reforms we choose could still provide boundless opportunities for frustration in questions like the above. If the Court is as eager to cause that frustration as it has appeared lately, maybe we should help the Court to its fight with this iconic …

Surviving The Megadrought, Warigia Bowman

Faculty Scholarship

According to NASA, the Earth experienced its hottest day in recorded history on July 22, 2024, surpassing the previous hottest day, which was set in 2023. The year 2024 will enter the record books as the hottest year since pre-industrial times. The temperatures in 2024 exceeded the year 2023, during which the average global surface temperature was the warmest ever recorded in the past 174 years. These meteorological facts—although alarming on their own—are the backdrop for the legal analysis contained in this Article. The driest states in the Southwest, including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, have long relied …

The Structure Of U.S. Climate Policy, Michael Pappas

Publications

Urgent emission reduction and community adaptation efforts are necessary to avert catastrophic climate-change harms. To assess our nation’s progress toward such efforts, this Article develops a comprehensive structural analysis of U.S. climate policy at the federal, state, and local levels. It observes that current climate policies reflect disparate federal, state, and local strategies around emissions regulation, emission reduction subsidies, adaptation, and liability approaches. The Article then analyzes the dynamics between federal, state, and local strategies in these policy areas.

This examination leads to some surprising conclusions. Under current policy alignments, further emission regulation measures do not appear to be realistic …

Pfas, Planes, And Problems: Pfas Regulation In The Aerospace And Aviation Industries, Emery G. Green

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Let The Sun Shine: Methods For Expansion Of Small-Scale Solar Electricity To Reduce Fossil Fuel Dependence, Ease Financial Energy Burdens, And Enhance Community Resiliency, Kara Consalo

Journal Publications

With so many benefits to solar electricity generation, it behooves state and local governments across America to explore laws and policies which encourage small-scale solar deployment. To help guide development of such laws and policies, Part I of this Article will explain the mechanics and the financing involved with the installation, operation, and maintenance of an on-site solar system. Part II explores the unique benefits and challenges of small-scale solar usage in low-income and weather vulnerable communities. Part III explains the legal and financial governance of American electric companies and how existing frameworks may lead utilities to erect hurdles to …

Five Considerations For Twenty-First Century Climate Policy, Matthew G. Burgess

FIU Law Review

As the twenty-first century advances, society is entering a new phase regarding climate change. Impacts of climate change are becoming more salient in the present, rather than being only far-off in the future. Progress on flattening—and in many affluent countries, reducing—greenhouse gas emissions is also becoming salient, though the progress underperforms international targets. Slowing economic growth and major technological and geopolitical disruptions are creating new challenges and uncertainties. One of these challenges is a political climate of deep divisions and rising distrust in fact-finding institutions—a climate that is ripe for demagoguery. In the United States and some other countries, the …