Environmental Law Commons^™

Short Presentations Followed By Facilitated Discussions, James Houck, David Titley, Michael Mann

Penn State Symposium on the Arctic

Retired Navy Vice Adm. James W. Houck is interim dean and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Penn State Law and the School of International Affairs. Houck focuses his research and teaching on international law and national security law, with a particular emphasis on the law of the sea and the law of armed conflict. He joined Penn State in 2012 after retiring as the 41st judge advocate general of the U.S. Navy, during which time he was the principal military legal counsel to the secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations. In this role, he led the 2,300 …

Law, Regulation, And Policy In The Arctic, Michael D. Farber, Klaus Keller

Penn State Symposium on the Arctic

Klaus Keller is a professor of geosciences at Penn State, with an adjunct appointment as a professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. At Penn State, Keller directs the Center for Climate Risk Management (CLIMA) as well as the NSF-sponsored research network for Sustainable Climate Risk Management (SCRiM). Before joining Penn State, he worked as a research scientist and lecturer at Princeton University and as an engineer in Germany. Keller graduated from Princeton with a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering. He received master’s degrees from M.I.T. and Princeton as well as an engineer’s degree from …

Nga Brings Geospatial Intelligence To The Arctic, Rachel Bernstein

Penn State Symposium on the Arctic

No abstract provided.

Keynote - Why The Rapidly Changing Arctic Matters To Science, Hon. Fran Ulmer

Penn State Symposium on the Arctic

Fran Ulmer is chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, where she has served since being appointed by President Barack Obama in March 2011. In June 2010, Obama appointed her to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. From 2007 to 2011, Ulmer was chancellor of Alaska's largest public university, the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Prior to that, she was a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Policy and director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research at UAA. She is a member of the Arctic Council chairmanship, the global board of The …

Keynote - Arctic Council Update: Perspective From The Chairmanship, Robert J. Papp Jr

Penn State Symposium on the Arctic

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr. became the State Department’s special representative for the Arctic in July 2014. He leads the effort to advance U.S. interests in the Arctic region, with a focus on Arctic Ocean governance, climate change, economic, environmental, and security issues in the Arctic region as a member of the Arctic Council chairmanship. Prior to this appointment, Papp served as the 24th commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, and led the largest component of the Department of Homeland Security. As a flag officer,Papp served as commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area; chief of staff for the …

Building Codes To Minimize Cover Collapses In Sinkhole-Prone Areas, George Veni, Connie Campbell Brashear, Andrew Glasbrenner

Sinkhole Conference 2015

Cover- collapse sinkholes are forming with increasing frequency under buildings. Analyses of sinkhole distribution in Beacon Woods, Florida, preliminarily indicate their occurrence is an order of magnitude greater in urban versus undeveloped areas, suggesting the structures themselves are enhancing the collapse process. The most likely causes are induced recharge via at least one of two sources. First, runoff and drainage from roads, structures, and impoundments that is not adequately dispersed will promote sinkhole development. Second, leaking water, sewer, and septic systems beneath or adjacent to a structure will also promote collapse. The process of cover-collapse from induced recharge is well …

California's Redd Rubberstamp: Avoiding Constitutional Concerns, But At What Cost?, Ryan Mock

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

The purpose of this note is to examine the issues surrounding California's carbon market, the challenges of effectively regulating such a market that allows domestic companies to purchase carbon credits generated abroad, and the need for federal intervention if carbon trading is to become an effective and ethical reality in the United States. This note also provides background on the United Nation's REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) programs, as well as covers the history of California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. In addition, this note explains the problems California has with negotiating with foreign governments since those …

Submerging Islands: Tuvalu And Kiribati As Case Studies Illustrating The Need For A Climate Refugee Treaty, Rana Balesh

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Climate change will significantly impact vulnerable populations. Included in those populations are island indigenous peoples. Small island developing states are particularly vulnerable to the rise in seal level. Loss of territory due to rising sea levels is not the only problem however, infrastructure and food supplies are also at risk. As such, this article addresses the need for a comprehensive climate change refugee treaty using Tuvalu and Kiribati's circumstances to illustrate the situation.

Earthonomics: Balancing Between Earth And Business, Yazen Abdin

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Economists consistently fail to account that Earth has a finite amount of resources. This article analyzes the behavior of corporate America and the effect it has on the world form an Earth jurisprudence standpoint. It will explore twp specific industries, oil and food, and what role they have played in the environment's health. It also explores potential solutions.

Bombs And Babies: The Unfortunate Results Of Conversion Of A Military Defense Site To A Residential Neighborhood, Karen Zagrodny Consalo

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

There are over 9,000 Formerly Used Defense Sites in the United States. One of these sites, the Pine Castle Jeep Range, was located in what is now east Orlando. As a defense site during World War II, the area was intentionally bombarded with among other things, explosive and chemical bombs. Fifty years later, a population boom drew many to purchase their homes in the same area. This article examines the history of the Pine Castle Jeep Range and the issues resulting from subsequent increase in population. The author hopes this article will provide practical legal and technological advice for other …

Responding To The Great Work: The Role Of Earth Jurisprudence And Wild Law In The 21st Century, Dr. Michelle Maloney, Sister Pat Siemen Op, Jd

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

In this lead article, the authors build on the idea that we do not need more environmental law in response to the deteriorating health of the natural world. Rather, they argue that what is needed are different approaches to managing human relationships with the earth. They argue that the burgeoning Earth jurisprudence movement offers a deep philosophical anchor and a range of practical and multi-disciplinary approaches necessary to create law reform and societal change that will better support the natural world and human societies than our current system. The authors will outline the origins and key elements of the Earth …

Barriers To Neighborhood Wildlife Habitats: Is Lawn Uniformity Worth Biodiversity Loss?, Sonya Cunningham

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Local ordinances and covenants, conditions or restrictions (CCRs) usually create barriers to wildlife habitats in neighborhoods. Fortunately, it is possible under limited circumstances for a homeowner to have a wildlife habitat in their lawn. This comment will provide and overview of those limited circumstances, as well as provide steps to challenge the enforcement of ordinances and CCRs. In addition, this define and examine the concept of biodiversity and biodiversity loss.

Texas Colonias: Injustice By Definition, Caitlin Lewis

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Colonias are usually characterized as rural or semi-rural slums inhabited by Mexican-origin immigrants and Mexican Americans. This Comment examines the socioeconomic and environmental burdens faced by Texas colonias and the public and private attempts to address these hardships.

Interpreting "Enhancement Of Survival" In Granting Section 10 Endangered Species Act Exemptions To Animal Exhibitors, Anne Haas

Pace Environmental Law Review

Managing endangered species in captivity presents a unique set of problems. Despite their enormous potential to preserve species in the wild - through captive breeding programs, conservation initiatives, and environmental advocacy - many facilities are lagging behind. Part II of this note discusses the evolution of zoos from ancient Egyptian displays of wealth to modern day conservation and education centers. Focusing on the Endangered Species Act, Part III introduces various laws protecting captive animals. Part IV discusses the great potential of zoos to preserve species and the ecosystems on which they rely, while acknowledging the diverse nature of animal exhibitors …

A Sitting Duck: Local Government Regulation Of Hunting And Weapons Discharge In The State Of New York, Gary E. Kalbaugh

Pace Environmental Law Review

On March 31, 2014, the New York State Legislature significantly modified New York's Environmental Conservation Law. The Environmental Conservation Law imposes limitations on the discharge of longbows. A longbow is defined by New York's Department of Environmental Conservation as “a longbow, recurve bow or compound bow which is designed to be used by holding the bow at arm's length, with arrow on the string, and which is drawn, pulled and released by hand or with the aid of a hand-held trigger device attached to the bowstring.”

Before the 2014 amendment, longbows could not be discharged in such a way that …

A Comparative Legal Approach For The Risks Of Offshore Methane Hydrates: Existing Laws And Conventions, Roy Andrew Partain

Pace Environmental Law Review

This article provides a review of the existing laws and conventions that might be applied to the development of offshore methane hydrates. Offshore methane hydrates are an exciting emerging new energy resource; one with great potential to provide vast energy supplies, and also one with substantially novel risks and hazards to the environment, marine flora and fauna, and adjacent human communities. Some of these new risks include cataclysmic levels of greenhouse gas emissions, subsea landslides, and tsunamis. As such, it is important to take a survey of the existing laws and conventions that could be applied to such risks, examine …

The Curious Untidiness Of Property & Ecosystem Services: A Hybrid Method Of Measuring Place, John Page, Ann Brower, Johannes Welsch

Pace Environmental Law Review

Theoretically, this paper builds on ideas of ecosystem services (ES) in landscapes, property theories of plurality and marginality, and the legal geography of localized place. Methodologically, we will explore three divergent ways of measuring ES in a propertied landscape. Substantively, combining property theory and spatial methods in this way will allow for future consideration of property arrangements that might be more optimal and representative of contextualized place.

Part II presents the qualitative method--a narrative description of the flow of resources and services across a transect from the mountains to the sea. Narrative is effective in describing the aesthetics and indelibly …

Innovative Financing For Renewable Energy, Richard L. Ottinger, John Bowie

Pace Environmental Law Review

This paper discusses successful innovative methods for financing the high initial equipment costs of many renewable energy resources, with case studies of their application. Financial instruments for renewable energy installations are frequently dependent on physical and economic infrastructure. In response to this fundamental interconnectedness between infrastructure, economy, and financial instruments, this paper follows a rough structure of financing methods used in: Areas unserved by an electricity grid; Areas of modest means served by limited transmission interconnections; and Areas with developed regional or national grid connectedness.

Renewables have many benefits, but they also face challenges as they enter the existing market …

Improving The Legal Implementation Mechanisms For A Carbon Tax In China, Haifeng Deng

Pace Environmental Law Review

Within the framework of existing Chinese environmental laws, carbon taxation faces four main challenges: the contradiction of existing taxes, conflict with the carbon emissions trading system, necessary adjustments to the organizational structure of tax collection and management, and coordination with international trade rules. Implementing a carbon tax is a complete and systematic process containing three stages: introduction, collection, and impacts assessment. In order to address these problems, it is necessary to construct legal implementation mechanisms for carbon taxation in China. The legal mechanisms of implementing a carbon tax include a series of coordination and safeguard measures aimed at optimizing the …

Alternative Funding For An Equitable Park System In New York City And State, Christopher Rizzo

Pace Environmental Law Review

Private efforts have successfully transformed a select few parks, which has created allegations of park inequity at a time when many neighborhood parks are overgrown and understaffed. Public-private partnerships reflect a national debate about the proper role of the private sector in maintaining parks, highways, bridges, and other essential civic infrastructure. But for most neighborhood parks the debate is irrelevant. They completely lack access to either adequate public funding or private revenue. One-time infusions of public capital dollars into the neediest parks cannot solve the ongoing operation and maintenance problem.

This paper identifies an array of alternative revenue strategies to …