Natural Resources Law Commons^™

Meeting Summary Of Colloquium On Policy, Law, Contracts, And Sustainable Development, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In November 2014, CCSI and the Institute for Human Rights and Business co-convened a colloquium on policy, law, contracts, and sustainable development, with a particular focus on large-scale investments in the extractive industries and the agriculture sector. The colloquium provided an opportunity for practitioners to share information on their related work, as well as to reflect on current practices and remaining gaps regarding efforts to embed sustainability and human rights into large-scale deals. This outcome document provides a summary of the discussion, while its annex includes information on participants’ relevant programs, initiatives, and tools.

Outcome Report Of Roundtable On Governing Natural Resources, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In November 2014, CCSI convened a one-day roundtable focused on lessons learned from good governance initiatives for extractive industry investments and large land-based agricultural investments. The roundtable brought together a range of stakeholders working on extractive industry investments and/or land-based forestry and agricultural investments, including representatives from civil society, government, academia, and the private sector. CCSI has published an outcome note from this roundtable.

Key structural differences between the extractive industries and the forestry and agriculture sectors mean that not all lessons learned from good governance initiatives related to extractives investments or land-based agricultural investments are transferrable. However, large-scale extractive …

Toward Win-Win Sustainable Development, Linda Moon

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

An interview with Lisa Sachs, Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.

Getches Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Fall 2014, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Billionaires, Birds, And Environmental Brawls: Reconceptualizing Energy Easements, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Status Of Bulk Water Exports Under Nafta, Binda Preet Sahni

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Blueprint For The Great Lakes Trail, Melissa K. Scanlan

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The Great Lakes are vast yet vulnerable. There is a need to focus the public’s attention on the significance of the lakes for the region as a cohesive, binational whole. To address this need, build on existing water law, and engage the public, this Article provides a blueprint to establish a Great Lakes Trail on the shores of the Great Lakes. The Trail will link together 10,000 miles of coastline and provide the longest marked walking trail in the world. It will demarcate an already existing, yet largely unrecognized, public trust easement and engage the public with their common heritage …

Legal Protection For Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems, Collin Gannon

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

This Note concerns the legal protection of groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the United States and abroad. By first describing the science and ecology of ecosystems that are dependent on groundwater and then surveying the current American legal system that fails to adequately protect groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs), this Note proposes legal reforms that could vastly improve groundwater management systems. State protection of GDEs is sparse and often only operates indirectly as a result of states’ water policies focused on water quantity upkeep for consumptive purposes. Part I provides an overview of GDEs. Part II discusses state legal protection, including indirect state protection …

Clark Memorandum: Fall 2014, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Byu Law School Alumni Association, J. Reuben Clark Law Society

The Clark Memorandum

• In Praise of Thinking Like a Lawyer (James R. Rasband)
• Choices (Guido Calabresi)
• Be Not Afraid of Greatness (Allison Belnap)
• Marriage, Family Law, and the Temple (Elder Bruce C. Hafen)
• Lamentation (Arta Romney Ballif)

Conchservation In The Caribbean: A Call For Stricter Fishing Regulations Of The Queen Conch, Brett Rogers

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Applying The Third Un Convention On The Law Of The Sea To Living Marine Resources: Comparing The Approaches Of The United States And South Africa To Highly Migratory Species Management, Erica Wright

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Challenges To The Territorial Integrity Of Guyana: A Legal Analysis, Thomas W. Donovan

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Comment On The Guyana-Suriname Boundary Dispute, Honourable Doodnauth Singh

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Three's A Crowd: Examining Georgia's Options In The Tri-State Water Wars Under Principles Of International Law, Eva M. Lamanna

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Sue And Settle: Demonizing The Environmental Citizen Suit, Stephen M. Johnson

Seattle University Law Review

In the spring of 2013, industry groups and states began a concerted lobbying effort to oppose citizen enforcement of the federal environmental laws. The United States Chamber of Commerce and lobbyists for states created a catch-phrase—“sue and settle”—to demonize citizen enforcement and the federal government’s practice of settling lawsuits it is destined to lose in court. The Chamber alleged that the federal government, by settling lawsuits brought by citizens groups rather than defending them in court, was colluding with those non-governmental organizations and excluding other affected parties to reallocate the agencies’ priorities and obligations. Federal environmental laws establish a central …

Community Involvement In Brownfield Redevelopment Makes Cents: A Study Of Brownfield Redevelopment Initiatives In The United States And Central And Eastern Europe, Anne Marie Pippin

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Resource Scarcity From An Applied Economic Perspective, José Cuesta

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

International Law In A Time Of Scarcity: An Introduction, Harlan G. Cohen

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Turtle Power Down Under The Sea?: Comparative Domestic And International Legal Protection Of Marine Turtles By Australia And The United States, Marjorie Palmer

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Agenda: Celebrating The Great Law: The Wilderness Act At 50, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, The Wilderness Society

Celebrating the Great Law: The Wilderness Act at 50 (September 4-5)

"A conference sponsored by the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment and The Wilderness Society."

On September 3, 2014, the National Wilderness Preservation System—established and protected by the Wilderness Act of 1964—celebrates its 50th anniversary. We are gathering on September 4th and 5th to celebrate Wilderness—“ornery old wilderness, scratchy, sweaty, and distant, but sacred every step of the way”—and to commemorate the great law so central to its protection.

This is not an ordinary conference, full of dry presentations or heated policy debates. Instead, this will be a full-throated love song to wild country. We have brought …

Calling Foul: Deficiencies In Approaches To Environmental Whistleblowers And Suggested Reforms, Emily Becker

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Whistleblowers could facilitate the regulation of the environmental sector at little to no cost to the taxpayer. Often, potential whistleblowers have timely access to information that would enable them to avert or minimize environmental damage and to protect our communities. However, existing federal and state regulations fail to adequately protect environmental whistleblowers and to incentivize potential environmental whistleblowers. These failures unjustly penalize whistleblowers and discourage potential whistleblowers. This article uses research findings and a case study to illuminate these failings and to argue for reforms that would better protect and incentivize whistleblowers

Masthead & Front Matter

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Masthead & Front Matter

Billionaires, Birds, And Environmental Brawls: Reconceptualizing Energy Easements, Nadia B. Ahmad

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

In the substantial power outages associated with Hurricane Sandy and the 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes and Colorado floods, which left millions without power, the United States witnessed the insufficiency of its existing energy infrastructure. The lack of access to reliable energy widens the cleavage between the rich and poor, particularly in times of disaster and crisis. Policymakers and government regulators involved with long distance energy transmission projects have not adequately instituted laws and policies for existing and future energy access. This Article holds that current regulations, practices, and norms for long distance energy transmission may be doomed because of complications with …

The Imos Climate Change Challenge: Application Of The Principle Of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities And Respective Capabilities, Stathis N. Palassis

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Since 1997 the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for the regulation of the international shipping sector, has been developing rules for the reduction of the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. Significant difficulties have, however, emerged in the creation of appropriate economic instruments for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, bringing to the forefront the application of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (“CBBDRC”). A key principle within international climate change law, CBDDRC allows developing States, least developed States and the most environmentally vulnerable to be differentially treated based on their special situation and needs. Developing …

Vulnerability And Power In The Age Of The Anthropocene, Angela P. Harris

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Feminist legal theorist Martha Fineman has suggested that recognition of universal human “vulnerability” should be the starting point for thinking about the state’s obligations to its citizens. This Article argues that Fineman’s concept of vulnerability is valuable for situating political and legal theory within a concern for the natural world. We live in what some scientists have dubbed the Anthropocene—an age in which our collective behavior has serious implications for the flourishing of all life on earth. The concept of “ecological vulnerability” recognizes that humans are vulnerable not only because they age, become ill, and die, but because their survival …

Fracking Preemption Litigation, James K. Pickle

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Fracking is not a new technology, but it only recently came to the forefront of energy industry news. Fracking’s recent fame has been both positive and negative. Fracking proponents have lauded the economic and environmental benefits of the process. They cite the process’ ability to extract formerly inaccessible oil and natural gas, which reduces the U.S.’s demand for foreign oil and natural gas and reduces the use of coal. In contrast, fracking opponents state fracking damages the environment by diluting drinking water with harmful chemicals, generating emissions, and creating general nuisances for communities. They believe fracking’s harmful impacts clearly outweigh …

Dr. Carb Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying About The Feds And Love States’ Rights, Dan Strong

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Climate change is one of the largest environmental problems the world is currently facing. At the forefront of the climate change issue is the problem of carbon emissions. Environmentalists were hopeful that a national regulatory structure would be created with the enactment of the Clean Air Act in the 1970s. Since its enactment, however, it is clear the Clean Air Act was not the solution to the national carbon emissions problem environmentalists were hoping for. With the federal government failing to act, states have taken it upon themselves to regulate carbon emissions. California, with its enactment of the California Low …

Table Of Contents

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

No abstract provided.

Ferc Anti-Manipulation Enforcement And The Barclays Proceeding: What Factors Should Regulated Entities Consider Before Deciding To Follow Barclays' Path To Federal Court?, Matthew Hale

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Energy regulation is not a new topic, but after the Enron scandal, Congress made significant changes. The changes were embodied in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. One major change was to FERC's ability to hand down penalties for market manipulation. Recently, FERC has been aggressively enforcing its power and anticipates anti-manipulation enforcement will be a point of emphasis in the future. The first entity to challenge FERC's power in federal court is Barclays. The Barclays case, other recent enforcement actions, and the regulations FERC has promulgated provide a guide to regulated entities about how and when they should challenge …

Water You Waiting For? Balancing Private Rights And Public Necessity In The South Atlantic Wetlands, Alison Leary

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

A healthy and robust network of wetlands protects coastal communities from storm damage caused by hurricanes. Unfortunately, development pressures threaten wetlands along the South Atlantic coast, the region most susceptible to an increased risk of climate change induced hurricanes. If these wetlands are not protected from destruction, coastal communities will be left without a buffer against flooding, storm damage, and sea level rise. In addition to putting the public at large in physical danger, significant environmental justice concerns accompany the failure to protect coastal wetlands. In order to protect these ever-diminishing resources, federal and state law makers have enacted regulatory …