Environmental Law Commons^™

40 Years After The Moratorium On Commercial Whaling: Assessing The Competence Of The International Whaling Commission To Confront Critical Threats To Cetaceans, Chris Wold

Pace International Law Review

With Japan’s withdrawal from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), no member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) hunts whales commercially except by objection or reservation, thus intensifying the debate over what the IWC should do and what it may do. For decades, some IWC members have questioned the mandate of the IWC to manage small cetaceans, regulate whaling in coastal State exclusive economic zones, and make recommendations concerning entanglement, bycatch, and other threats to whale conservation. An analysis of the ordinary meaning of the ICRW and the practice of the IWC shows that the IWC has …

Repurposing Fossil Infrastructure, Heather E. Payne

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Our built environment includes infrastructure dedicated to fossil fuels: wells, pipelines, compressor stations, refineries, fossil gas storage caverns, gas stations. One challenge as we decarbonize is how we will repurpose these locations and networks as we move toward a decarbonized world.

This Article imagines the outcomes for three distinct pieces of our fossil fuel infrastructure and how each could be a part of our decarbonized future. First, given the challenges seen building long distance transmission, local sources of renewable electricity will become even more critical. In many places, the most plentiful of these is rooftop solar, but it faces a …

Climate Regulation And Co-Benefits: The Reality Of Co-Benefits In Climate Policy And The Reality We Face Without Them, Riley Jacobs

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

The United States has long required administrative agencies to conduct Cost-Benefit Analyses (“CBA”) in their rulemaking. By conducting CBA, agencies “show their work” to Congress, courts, and constituencies as to why the agency wishes to regulate a certain way and what it would cost to do so.

This Article will focus on co-benefits, an increasingly divisive component of CBA. Co-benefits, or benefits occurring secondary to the targeted purpose of statutory authority, assist agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in painting a holistic picture of everything the public has to gain from a rule’s passage. In recognizing that value, the …

Thriving In Theory, Missing The Mark: U.S. Organic Farming IndustryʼS Systemic Malfunctions And How Danish Organic Farming Policy Could Help Solve These Issues, Bailey Webster

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Section one of this Article explains the overall framework of the U.S. organic farming industry, including certification, labeling, education, and funding. Section two explains the background and structure of Danish organic farming, administered by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Denmark. Section three addresses and analyzes current issues afflicting the U.S. organic farming industry. Section four explores a prominent organic farming case, Center for Food Safety v. Perdue. Additionally, this Article details the comparison between the U.S. and Danish organic farming policies that are most relevant to issues in the U.S. industry. Lastly, and most importantly, this …

The Role Of Clean Hydrogen In The U.S. Transition To A Net-Zero-Carbon Economy, Miranda Barfield

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

The goal of this Article is threefold: first, to explain why clean hydrogen has become a key part of the United States’ decarbonization plans in recent years; next, to describe the existing and forthcoming U.S. policies and programs designed to incentivize and enable the growth of the domestic clean hydrogen market; and finally, to examine whether the U.S. is deploying the correct legal tools to successfully unlock the decarbonization potential of the clean hydrogen industry.

Section II explains the decarbonization potential of hydrogen, including an overview of U.S. emissions today and a background discussion of what hydrogen is, how it …

V. 15, 2024 Masthead

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

No abstract provided.

Empowering Cca Leadership: Overcoming Legal And Policy Barriers To A 24/7 Renewable Energy Full Decarbonization Strategy, Doug Karpa

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

The public itself is the best guarantor of its own interests. Thus, the public utility regulatory oversight model that has dominated the electricity sector for over 100 years must be retooled for a modern, more complex era into one that allows greater democratic accountability to protect the public interest affordably. Given the dangerous urgency of the climate crisis, the fate of California and beyond may well depend on California leading by creating a modern governance structure to match its cutting-edge electricity sector.

A Major Question For Antipollution Policy: Artificial Intelligence Regulation In The Wake Of West Virginia V. E.P.A., David Collins

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment proceeds in three parts. Part I traces the development of the Major Questions Doctrine. Under the “old” doctrine, the key determinations that an agency’s ruling was major were (1) policy novelty and (2) policy economic impact. After using these factors to find an agency’s rule to be major, the Court would then independently interpret the statute the agency claimed authority from. The “new” Major Questions Doctrine departs from this previous rationale. Although the Court still considers (1) policy novelty, under this scheme, the Court further assesses (2) the political significance or controversial nature of policy in question and …

Natural Gas Or National Gas–Would A Statewide Natural Gas Ban In New Development Violate The Commerce Clause?, Madison D. Montague

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Article analyzes: (1) the contours of a natural gas installation ban, how municipalities have incorporated these bans, and how the state government may pass a statewide ban; (2) the likelihood that these bans would place a substantial burden on interstate commerce; (3) who, if anyone, would have standing to sue to end these bans; and (4) whether anyone could prevail in an action against a ban on new gas development.

Catalyzing Public And Private Investments To Scale Up Socio-Bioeconomy And Nature-Based Solutions, Lara Fornabaio, Lisa E. Sachs, Meike Siegner, Vivek Pandey, Rajat Panwar

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Socio-bioeconomy presents a promising approach to sustainable development by leveraging biological and social diversity to transition away from a fossil fuel dependent economy while simultaneously creating income and employment opportunities for millions of Indigenous and rural communities worldwide. Because the bioeconomy values the sustainable utilization of renewable biological resources, nature-based solutions (NbS), which are a facet of the socio-bioeconomy, gain increasing prominence. Socio-bioeconomy requires substantial investmentsfrom both public and private sectors to develop effective socio-biodiversity production systems. Socio-bioeconomy development will require improved institutional coordination, robust planning, and novel methodologies to measure trade-offs as well as promote synergies that can generate …

Symposium Introduction: Challenge And Hope, Frank A. Fritz, Kyle-Matthew Taylor

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Let The Sun Shine: Methods For Expansion Of Small-Scale Solar Electricity Toreduce Fossil Fuel Dependence, Ease Financial Energy Burdens, Andenhance Community Resiliency, Karen Consalo

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Military Climate Emissions, Nadia B. Ahmad

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Sacrifice Zones, Jonathan Rosenbloom

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Climate Reparations, Benoit Mayer

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

At The Intersection Of Environmental Justice And Sustainability Lies A More Equitable, Healthy Future For U.S. Communities, Alexandra Dapolito Dunn

UMKC Law Review

This Article offers a brief and recent history of the environmental justice and sustainability movements, with a decidedly U.S. focused approach necessary due to the breadth of the subject matter. This Article then offers examples of how the movements are coming together, in U.S. federal and state law and policy, judicial decisions, and in community applications. This Article then shows how the alignment of environmental justice and sustainability is serving to advance equity and a healthier future for many U.S. communities. This Article concludes that the continued intersection of these movements will serve to benefit our nation and its residents …

The Lawyer's Duty Of Competence In A Climate-Imperiled World, John C. Dernbach, Irma S. Russell, Matthew Bogoshian

UMKC Law Review

The United States has more than 1.3 million practicing lawyers. Under Model Rule 1.1 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and every state’s rules of conduct, each of these lawyers owes clients competent representation. Under the rule, “[c]ompetent representation requires the knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the services.” While law and rules will undoubtedly change in response to the climate crisis, the duty of competence does not await such change or legal reform. The ubiquitous nature of the duty of competence means it is applicable to each lawyer now and will continue to evolve as …

Regulating Forever?: The Epa's Goal To Remediate Forever Chemicals Already In The Environment Under The Safe Drinking Water Act, Anna Donaldson

UMKC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stable State Societies In The Eye Of The Storm: Apocalyptic Forces, John W. Ragsdale

UMKC Law Review

The first part of this Article, also published in the UMKC Law Review, will be incorporated by reference in this work. In this segment the first part will be referred to as "The Eye of the Storm.” This following segment will hereinafter be referred to as "The Apocalyptic Forces."

Sustainability: A Legal Value And A Legal Principle, Irma S. Russell

UMKC Law Review

Introduction to the symposium issue, Sustainability as a Legal Value and a Legal Principle. This issue explores the concept of sustainability as a legal principle, presents food for thought about sustainability development, and provides inspiration for climate action.

Stable State Societies In The Eye Of The Storm, John W. Ragsdale

UMKC Law Review

This Article will discuss the values and beliefs that are vital to sustainability and a prelude to the coming battle against the existential threat of climate change. It will examine the components of the core of a homeostatic, balancing-seeking entity that itself is in constant, rhythmic, corrective motion. The stable state counters the incessant, swirling forces that surround the peace within. Paradoxically, the continued resilience of the sustainable state requires constant vigilance and maintenance.

Still Not At All: Environmental Sustainability In The Supreme Court, James R. May

UMKC Law Review

Some predicted that the Court and litigants would make sustainability principles juridically relevant. Yet this article takes a fresh look and finds express invocation of sustainability still lacking not only in the U.S. Supreme Court but virtually throughout the U.S. federal judicial system comprised of the Supreme Court, 13 federal appellate courts, and 94 federal district courts. Part II tells the story of sustainable development's continued march as a legal principle. Part III engages sustainability jurisprudence before the U.S. Supreme Court and otherwise in the federal court system. It concludes that not only the U.S. Supreme Court but the entire …

Reckless Parties Should Foot The Bill: Advocating For State Agency Search And Rescue Service Reimbursement, Anna Vanbuskirk

UMKC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Protecting Water, Sustaining Communities: Transforming Groundwater Management Entities Into Sources Of Power During And After Environmental Crises, Sarah Matsumoto

UMKC Law Review

Groundwater serves as a vital, limited resource for people all over the world. The United States Geological Survey reports that about 140 million people in the United States rely on groundwater for drinking water, of those, almost 43 million people rely on groundwater from domestic (or private, non-public supply) wells. In rural areas, groundwater is often the only available source of drinking water, making protection of groundwater quality in these regions a paramount concern.

Mirroring the various state regulatory approaches to groundwater management and protection, much of the recent media coverage of groundwater in the West focuses on water allocation …

Cities, E-Commerce & Public Health: 3 Legal Pathways To Limiting Freight Vehicle Emissions, Amy E. Turner

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

In recent years, cities have become increasingly defined by e-commerce – the sprawling network of goods delivery from central warehouses to neighborhood distribution centers to residents’ front doors. This growing network of warehouses and the freight vehicles that serve them contribute significantly to a community’s greenhouse gas emissions and exposure to harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Moreover, so-called last-mile delivery warehouses (or distribution centers) are proliferating, largely in low-income communities and communities of color, where residents are exposed to increasing traffic, pollution, and harmful health impacts.

While a handful of cities have pursued approaches …

Climate Litigation In The Global South: Mapping Report, Maria Antonia Tigre

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

In recent years, climate litigation has undergone a notable transformation globally, witnessing a surge in cases across diverse jurisdictions. While scholarly interest has predominantly focused on cases from the Global North, attention to litigation originating in the Global South has been more limited. Nonetheless, understanding the distinct legal grounds, remedies sought, and objectives of plaintiffs in the Global South is crucial. This report addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive insight into the current landscape of climate litigation in the Global South.

The report utilizes data from the Sabin Center’s Global Climate Change Litigation databases, which has seen an influx …

Transitioning To Regenerative Agriculture One French Fry At A Time, Alexia Brunet Marks

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Struggle Against The Water: Connecting Fair Housing Law And Climatejustice, Jade A. Craig

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Green Gold: The Akkoub’S Settler Ecologies, Irus Braverman

Journal Articles

The akkoub (Gundelia tournefortii) is a thistle-like plant so precious in Palestinian cuisine that it is often referred to as “green gold.” The risks, as well as the mystique, surrounding the akkoub have only intensified since the state of Israel designated this plant as protected under the Nature and Parks Protection Act. The story of the akkoub as depicted in this article illustrates the three tenets of “settler ecologies”: the regime of environmental protections enacted by the settler state that furthers its domination of the natural landscape and its dispossession of local and Indigenous communities. The first and …

Opposition To Renewable Energy Facilities In The United States: June 2024 Edition, Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Harmukh Singh, Noah Schaffir

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Achieving lower carbon emissions in the United States will require developing a massive number renewable energy facilities at an unprecedented scale and pace. Although many renewable energy facilities are sited without any problem, local opposition often arises. This report updates and considerably expands three previous Sabin Center reports, published in September 2021, March 2022, and May 2023, which document local and state restrictions against, and opposition to, siting renewable energy projects, as well as energy storage and transmission projects that are closely tied to renewable energy generation. The time period covered by this report ranges from as early as 1995 …