Environmental Law Commons^™

A Mighty Wind: The Turbulent Times Of America's First Offshore Wind Farm And The Inverse Of Environmental Justice, M.W. Marinakos

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

In 2001, Cape Wind Associates announced its proposal to construct America’s first offshore wind farm in the federal waters of Nantucket Sound. This declaration touched off a storm of law suits, fund raising, and protests in the press that still rages to this day. Political pundits and environmental groups of every stripe have taken some surprising positions, based solely on the location of the renewable energy source. The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, posing as an environmental concern, has risen as the archrival to the wind farm. Interestingly, a closer look under the surface of this group reveals a financial …

Environmental Justice On My Mind: Moving Georgia's Environmental Protection Division Toward The Consideration Of Enviornmental Justice In Permitting, David Deganian

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Under the Obama Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is leading efforts to incorporate environmental justice measures into its inner-workings. So, too, are numerous other federal agencies. These efforts, however, have little practical effect at the state level where sources of pollution, such as coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities are granted permits to pollute. Under the cooperative federalism framework that exists today, the federal government cannot directly compel states to consider environmental justice unless such action is required by federal law. Thus, federal guidance pertaining to environmental justice will do little to prevent the pattern of siting pollution …

The Village Of Kivalina Is Falling Into The Sea: Should Cercla Section 9626(B) Be Available To Move The Village From Harm's Way?, Robert J. Martin

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

The Village of Kivalina, and other similarly situated Native Alaska villages, are in danger of falling into the sea. Regional climate change is melting the permafrost that acts as the foundation of their communities. Sea ice that once acted as a barrier during storm season today melts earlier, and erosion rates are increasing. Kivalina’s situation is further worsened by the threat of contamination from a nearby open dump. Without permanent relocation, Kivalina and its residents face imminent harm.

Congress has given the President authority to permanently relocate an Indian tribe or Alaska Native village under CERCLA Section 9626(b). This article …

Validation Of Pcr-Based Assays And Laboratory Accreditation For Environmental Detection Of Aquatic Invasive Species, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

This white paper provides:

a) Background information on the use, accuracy and reliability of PCR-based assays such as environmentally sampled DNA (eDNA) for early detection of aquatic invasive species (AIS) and;

b) Recommendations for establishing a system for validating assays and accrediting laboratories that report on the presence or absence of AIS.

This white paper was developed by the members of ISAC and discusses the need for developing validation requirements for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and other DNA-based molecular assays that are increasingly being used to detect AIS. It does not provide a simplified checklist for evaluation of their ability …

Invasive Species And E-Commerce, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

ISSUE

Internet commerce (hereafter e-commerce) is a growing and vital part of the United States economy. Total e-commerce sales in the United States for 2011 totaled $194 billion, an increase of 16% over 2010. From 2002 to 2011, the proportion of reported e-commerce sales in the U. S. grew from about 1.4% to 5.5% of total retail sales (United States Census Bureau News 2012). Globally, e-commerce is expected to increase at a rate of 13.5% annually, amounting to $1.4 trillion in yearly sales by 2015 (Enright 2011). A portion of this activity includes the sale and trade of living organisms. …

A Tale Of Two Projects; Nepa’S Eis V. Mitigated Fonsis, K.K. Duvivier, Ian London

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Mossville Environmental Action Now V. United States: Is A Solution To Environmental Injustice Unfolding?, Jeannine Cahill-Jackson

Pace International Law Review Online Companion

This article chronicles and analyzes the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) case resulting from the petition: Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States. Part I illuminates the harms faced by the residents of Mossville and the little that has been done to remedy their situation. It provides an in-depth look at the data that has been collected by the U.S. government and analyzed by the members of Mossville Environmental Action Now, which shows levels of dioxin contamination in both the people and the environment of Mossville and their significance. Part I also discusses environmental racism and environmental justice …

Leveraging Extractive Industry Infrastructure Investments For Broad Economic Development: Regulatory, Commercial And Operational Models For Railways And Ports, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The initial phase of the Leveraging Mining-Related Infrastructure Investments for Development project consisted of a worldwide survey of regulatory, commercial and operating case studies of shared use of mining-related infrastructure. This Policy Paper delivers the findings for mineral railways and ports.

Addressing Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation Through Insurance For Overseas Investments: The Example Of The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In 2008, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) estimated that investments of between US$540–570 billion in physical assets and other financial flows will be needed to adequately reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to combat climate change; additionally, tens and possibly hundreds of billions of dollars may be necessary to enable countries to adapt to the phenomenon’s challenges. Through climate negotiations under the UNFCCC in Copenhagen and Cancun, developed country governments committed to provide developing countries roughly US$30 billion between 2010 and 2012 and to mobilize approximately US$100 billion per year by 2020 for climate change activities. …

Sediment Removal From The San Gabriel Mountains, Mary C. Ferguson

Pitzer Senior Theses

The issue of sediment removal from the San Gabriel Mountains has been a complex issue that has created problems with beach replenishment, habitat destruction and the need to spend millions of dollars at regular intervals to avoid safety hazards. Most recently 11 acres of riparian habitat, including 179 oaks and 70 sycamores, were removed for sediment placement. Other sites including Hahamongna Watershed Park and La Tuna Canyon also face a similar fate. This thesis questions: How did we get to this point of destroying habitat to dump sediment which is viewed as waste product? What are the barriers for creating …

Local Promise For Climate Mitigation: An Empirical Assessment, Uma Outka, Richard Feiock

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This interdisciplinary work contributes empirical grounding to the growing literature in law and public policy on local governments and climate mitigation. Much of the recent scholarship presents an optimistic view of the potential in local climate action. Here, we refine the optimism for local governments’ impact with new performance data that probes local progress and capacity for climate governance. Our analysis—based on a new study measuring policy choice, implementation, and influences— reevaluates a number of assumptions undergirding this scholarship and provides direction for targeted investment and research.

Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, And Migration: A Complex Nexus, Mostafa Mahmud Naser

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The individual or combined effects of climate change are likely to trigger mass human movement both within and across international borders. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”) predicts that between 50 and 200 million people may be displaced by 2050. Thus, the human impact on the environment is creating a new kind of global casualty for the twenty-first century—an emergent class of environmental migrants. The exact number of individuals cannot be predicted as scholars and international agencies provide varying statistics depending on underlying methods, scenarios, time frames, and assumptions. Many authors challenge the concept of climate change as …

The Andean Electricity Market: A Competition Law Analysis, Mateo Ferrero

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The countries of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) have great potential to produce clean and reliable energy. However, this potential has only been exploited to a limited extent. Network industries, such as the electricity sector, have special features that create unique challenges for both developed and developing countries seeking to adequately manage this important part of the economy. Although the member countries of the Andean Community have substantially reformed their energy industries in the past decades, this sector still requires further competition. So far, most of the efforts undertaken by these countries have neglected the possibility of …

Have We All Gone Batty? The Need For A Better Balance Between The Conservation Of Protected Species And The Development Of Clean Renewable Energy, Laura Householder

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And Public Nuisance Law: Aep V. Connecticut And Its Implications For State Common Law Actions, Jeffrey N. Stedman

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Gray Wolf Rising: Why The Clash Over Wolf Management In The Northern Rockies Calls For Congressional Action To Define "Recovery" Under The Endangered Species Act, W. Ryan Stephens

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Mining Megaliths In The Argentine Andes: Where Will Victims Of Environmental Degradation Find Justice?, Catherine M. Wilmarth

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property, Traditional Knowledge, And Biodiversity In The Global Economy: The Potential Of Geographical Indications For Protecting Traditional Knowledge-Based Agricultural Products, Teshager W. Dagne

PhD Dissertations

The relationship between international regimes regulating intellectual property, traditional knowledge and biodiversity has received much attention in recent times. Of the many complex and controversial issues in contemporary international legal discourse on this matter, the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) stands out as a significant challenge. Choices abound in the search for modalities to regulate rights to use and control TK systems and their underlying biodiversity. In recent times, the protection of geographical indications (GIs) has emerged as an option for protecting TK. Despite the considerable enthusiasm over it, there is appreciable research dearth on how far and in what …

Misappropriation And Patenting Of Traditional Ethnobotanical Knowledge And Genetic Resources, Maxim V. Gubarev

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Four-fifths of all pharmaceuticals have been developed from natural plant resources, and native plant resources similarly play a significant role in the development of new and improved crops.

Cows V. Capitalists: Visions Of A Post-Carbon Economy, Alison Peck

Journal of Food Law & Policy

I was tempted to entitle this book review something like, "Why the Farm Bill Is the Key to Our Energy Future (Hint: It's Not About Ethanol, Methane Emissions, or Carbon Sinks)." But in addition to being too long to fit across the header of a law review page, such a title would have been slightly misleading. Actually, in Simon Fairlie's view, our future is about ethanol, methane emissions, and carbon sinks - but not in the way our current agricultural policies understand and deal with these subjects.

At The Crossroads: Balancing Public Education And Wildlife Protection, Christopher Jackson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Spinning Sackett: Assessing New And Traditional Media Coverage So Far, Kim Diana Connolly

Other Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Eco-Labeling: An Argument For Regulation And Reform, Lauren Sherman

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of various types of eco-labels, focusing primarily on differences between mandatory and voluntary eco-labeling programs. I argue that many of the problems with eco-labeling could be addressed by improving regulations. The current regulation of eco-labeling in the United States is discussed, especially the shortcomings of the FTC’s Green Guides. I recommend creating enforceable national legislation to regulate environmental claims that includes involvement of key stakeholders, a list of acceptable environmental claims, enforceable national definitions of environmental terms, an avenue for manufacturers and consumers to challenge environmental claims, consumer education, and periodic review and …

Legal Constraints To The European Union’S Accession To The International Maritime Organization, Nengye Liu, Frank Maes

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There is no doubt that the European Union (EU) has become a global actor. The global or intemational context in which the EU has sought to define its identity, promote its interests and constmct its policies, is increasingly seen as the stage on which the EU must act.' Frank Hoffmeister indicates that, the EU has been actively involved in most of the significant international organizations, though many of these organizadons have been less flexible regarding the full membership of the EU.

Water Quality Trading In The Chesapeake Bay, Rena I. Steinzor, Nicholas W. Vidargas, Shana Campbell Jones, Yee Huang

Faculty Scholarship

In May 2009, President Obama issued an Executive Order on Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration, declaring the Bay a national treasure and signaling that EPA will play a strong role in leading Bay cleanup. The order marked a dramatic departure, offering the promise of federal leadership on Bay cleanup. The following year, EPA issued a Chesapeake Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), a pollution budget for Bay states. Faced with a federal commitment, the states have begun work on complying with the TMDL. One Bay-wide approach under consideration is a market-based initiative, water quality trading, that would allow polluters to trade …

A Critical Analysis Of Redd+ Legal Architecture In Reducing Emissions From Forestry Sectors In Indonesian, I Gusti Agung Made Wardana

Indonesia Law Review

A new scheme called “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries plus Conservation, Sustainable Management of Forests, and Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks” (REDD+) is being discussed to be one of the essential elements of the post-2012 global climate change regime. Many countries have put their proposal on the architectures of such scheme to the UNFCCC and demonstrated pilot projects on the ground as well. The research has been conducted to analyze critically the extent to which the REDD+ architecture being designed in Indonesia would be able to deliver climate effectiveness, costs efficient, equity outcomes and social …

Forest Policy And Legal Pluralism: A Case Study In Luwu District, Indonesia, Lukas Rumboko Wibowo, C. Woro Murdiati, Digby Race, Yustiana Ambarini Murdiningrum

Indonesia Law Review

This paper investigates how the potential of the newly enacted village forest policy to improve the welfare of local people and examines how different actors at local level perceive a legal framework suitable for improving the welfare of local people and enhancing local development. We conducted research through in-dept interviews involiving 75 respondents from different actors, such as policy makers, politician, village chief, customary chief and villagers. The research establish that forest policy on village forestry was a good option for local people to improve their welfare; however, litle understanding of the substance of the newly village forest policy of …

Tourism And Environment: Toward Promoting Sustainable Development Of Tourism: A Human Rights Perspective, Ni Ketut Supasti Dharmawan

Indonesia Law Review

Tourism activities in era globalization bring positive and negative impacts especially for the host countries destination. To minimize the negative impacts it is very important to always promote the sustainable development of tourism including from a human rights perspective. This paper will discuss concerning who have responsibility to promote a human rights related with sustainable development of tourism. To explore the topic in this article, Author will study both international human rights instruments and environmental convention as well as the soft law regarding the tourism sector such as the UN WTO Global Code Of Ethics. The Law No. 10 Year …

Tribes, Land, And The Environment, 1d, Sarah Krakoff, Ezra Rosser

Books

Legal and environmental concerns related to Indian law and tribal lands remain an understudied branch of both indigenous law and environmental law. Native American tribes have a far more complex relationship with the environment than is captured by the stereotype of Indians as environmental stewards. Meaningful tribal sovereignty requires that non-Indians recognize the right of Indians to determine their own relationship to the land and the environment. But tribes do not exist in a vacuum: in fact they are deeply affected by off-reservation activities and, similarly, tribal choices often have effects on nearby communities. This book brings together diverse essays …

Tribes As Conservation Easement Holders: Is A Partial Property Interest Better Than None?, Jessica Owley

Contributions to Books

Published as Chapter 8 in Tribes, Land, and the Environment, Sarah Krakoff & Ezra Rosser.