Introduction: Changing Law For A Changing Climate,
2015
UC Hastings College of the Law
Introduction: Changing Law For A Changing Climate, David Takacs
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Legal & Scientific Integrity In Advancing A "Land Degradation Neutral World",
2015
Columbia Law School, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
Legal & Scientific Integrity In Advancing A "Land Degradation Neutral World", Shelley Welton, Michela Biasutti, Michael B. Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
It is no secret that the fight against desertification isn't going well. In the two decades since the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification ("UNCCD") came into force, desertification – defined as degradation in the quality of "arid, semi-arid, and dry subhumid" land areas – has worsened considerably. Recent United Nations estimates suggest that fifty-two percent of drylands currently under agricultural cultivation are moderately or severely degraded, and 12 million hectares of productive land become barren each year due to desertification and drought. And while drylands are the focus of the UNCCD, the challenge isn't limited to them: somewhere around …
Regulating Pot To Save The Polar Bear: Energy And Climate Impacts Of The Marijuana Industry,
2015
Texas A&M University School of Law
Regulating Pot To Save The Polar Bear: Energy And Climate Impacts Of The Marijuana Industry, Gina S. Warren
Faculty Scholarship
It goes by many names: cannabis, marijuana, pot, chronic, grass, reefer, shwag, Mary Jane. Whatever the name, the trend is clear: the weed is legal but the herb ain’t green. Nearly half of all U.S. states have enacted—or have pending— legislation to legalize, decriminalize, or in some way permit the use and cultivation of marijuana. As a result, marijuana has become a significant topic of conversation in the U.S.— especially in the areas of social policy and criminal law. One conversation yet to reach fruition, however, is the industry’s projected impacts on energy demand and the climate. As the industry …
V.6, 2015 Masthead,
2015
University of San Diego
California Challenges & Vulnerabilities Of The New Business Model Design For Power,
2015
University of San Diego
California Challenges & Vulnerabilities Of The New Business Model Design For Power, Steven Ferrey
San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law
This Article compares and contrasts state regulatory decisions, programs, subsidies, and the evolving new business model. Section II examines the revolutionary role of renewable energy, the critical role of electricity, and the changing business model. Section III analyzes how various incentives are being embedded in government programs in many states, how the incentives or the programs affect the evolving business model, how these are valued and shift economic impacts, and criticism of the results. Section IV dissects the motivation for the “regulatory play” in the new business model.
Promoting Clean Reliable Energy Through Smart Technologies And Policies: Lessons From Three Distributed Energy Case Studies,
2015
University of San Diego
Promoting Clean Reliable Energy Through Smart Technologies And Policies: Lessons From Three Distributed Energy Case Studies, Samantha Ruiz, Katie R. Thomas, Kevin B. Jones
San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law
Following the blackout of the electric grid in the 1965 it was hypothesized that large central generation would lead to continued reliability problems. More recently, following Hurricane Sandy, there have been additional criticisms of the risks that large centralized electric systems face in terms of system restoration following catastrophic storms. Together these concerns have led some in the electric industry to conclude that bigger is not always better. In 2007, with the passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act, Congress initiated policy support for a smarter more distributed grid. Since then, utilities have begun to experiment with more distributed, …
Solar Energy, Utilities, And Fairness,
2015
University of San Diego
Solar Energy, Utilities, And Fairness, Troy A. Rule
San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law
This Article analyzes the primary fairness arguments that utilities are leveling against net metering programs and electricity rate designs as rooftop solar energy expands across the country. By categorizing and more thoroughly evaluating these arguments, this Article seeks to enhance the dialogue between utilities, legislators, state regulators, and the solar energy industry over how to best orchestrate the nation’s shift toward more sustainable electricity strategies.
Part II of this Article describes how net metering programs and other factors are spurring dramatic growth in distributed solar energy generation in the United States and how utilities are increasingly lobbying for policy changes …
Getting To Utility 2.0: Rebooting The Retail Electric Utility In The U.S.,
2015
University of San Diego
Getting To Utility 2.0: Rebooting The Retail Electric Utility In The U.S., James M. Van Nostrand
San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law
This Article examines the drivers for this perceived need to revisit the utility business model, focusing primarily on the declining cost of DG resources and the resilience benefits of DG resources in addressing the impact of future extreme weather events. Second, this article reviews the various “Utility 2.0” proceedings underway across the United States, and the common themes emerging from those proceedings. The third section of the Article discusses the possible approaches to a utility business model, based on experience in wholesale and retail electricity markets in the United States and Europe. Fourth, this Article will examine lessons learned regarding …
Electric Utilities And Distributed Energy Resources - Opportunities And Challenges,
2015
University of San Diego
Electric Utilities And Distributed Energy Resources - Opportunities And Challenges, Jeff Winmill
San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law
This Article explores the key business and regulatory issues associated with utility investments in DERs, as well as important considerations for regulators seeking to strike the appropriate balance between DER services provided by third parties and DER services provided by utilities. Part I provides a brief overview of the electric utility industry, and the growth and impact of DERs in recent years. Part II analyzes two emergent distributed technologies––solar photovoltaics (PV) and distributed storage––as well as utility efforts to invest in these technologies. And Part III concludes with a discussion of two different regulatory models for addressing utility-ownership of DERs: …
Climate Change & The Public Trust Doctrine: An Analysis Of Atmospheric Trust Litigatin,
2015
University of San Diego
Climate Change & The Public Trust Doctrine: An Analysis Of Atmospheric Trust Litigatin, Kassandra Castillo
San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law
As Professor Charles Wilkinson explains, “The public trust doctrine is rooted in the precept that some resources are so central to the well-being of the community that they must be protected by distinctive, judge-made principles.” Because a healthy and habitable atmosphere is essential to the survival of the human race, it is imperative that the public trust doctrine be interpreted in a way to include the atmosphere within its scope. Civil litigation is an effective legal mechanism to expand the public trust doctrine’s scope by way of the judiciary. Once a state judiciary can determine the applicability of the public …
"Green" Performance: The Future Of Performance-Based Executive Compensation?,
2015
University of San Diego
"Green" Performance: The Future Of Performance-Based Executive Compensation?, Ben Schwefel
San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law
Although sustainability performance appears to be a logical extension of the traditional performance-based compensation model, the effect and result of such performance remains unclear and untested across the market. The adoption of broad-based sustainability performance measures may be dangerous because, often times, these measures are tailored to the corporation and may decrease total shareholder return in the short run. Regardless of whether or not the corporation decides to introduce these measures, their effect on total shareholder return and other corporate interests requires an individualized analysis.
Part II of this Comment discusses the current state of executive compensation, including the use …
A Response To The Ipcc Fifth Assessment,
2015
Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
A Response To The Ipcc Fifth Assessment, Sarah Adams-Schoen, Deepa Badrinarayana, Cinnamon Pinon Carlarne, Robin Kundis Craig, John C. Dernbach, Keith H. Hirokawa, Alexandra B. Klass, Katrina Fischer Kuh, Stephen R. Miller, Jessica Owley, Shannon Roesler, Jonathan D. Rosenbloom, Inara K. Scott, David Takacs
Scholarly Works
This collection of essays is the initial product of the second meeting of the Environmental Law Collaborative, a group of environmental law scholars that meet to discuss important and timely environmental issues. Here, the group provides an array of perspectives arising from the Fifth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Each scholar chose one passage from one of the IPCC’s three Summaries for Policymakers as a jumping-off point for exploring climate change issues and responding directly to the reports. The result is a variety of viewpoints on the future of how law relates to climate change, a result …
The Environmental Emergency And The Legality Of Discretion In Environmental Law,
2015
Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia
The Environmental Emergency And The Legality Of Discretion In Environmental Law, Jocelyn Stacey
All Faculty Publications
This article argues that environmental issues confront us as an ongoing emergency. The epistemic features of serious environmental issues – the fact that we cannot reliably distinguish ex ante between benign policy choices and choices that may lead to environmental catastrophe – are the same features of an emergency. This means that, like emergencies, environmental issues pose a fundamental challenge for the rule of law: they reveal the necessity of unconstrained executive discretion. Discretion is widely lamented as a fundamental flaw in Canadian environmental law, which undermines both environmental protection and the rule of law itself. Through the conceptual framework …
Sink Or Swim: In Search Of A Model For Coastal City Climate Resilience,
2015
Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
Sink Or Swim: In Search Of A Model For Coastal City Climate Resilience, Sarah Adams-Schoen
Scholarly Works
New York City, like other major cities around the world, has acknowledged the problem of climate change, undertaken a comprehensive risk assessment, created a suite of adaptation and mitigation planning initiatives, and begun to implement policies to decrease the city’s contribution to the problem and to make the city less vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This detailed analysis of the city’s climate change resilience initiatives concludes that, although many of the city’s initiatives provide a model for other coastal communities, the initiatives likely still fall short of what is required to sufficiently moderate harm from dangerous interference with …
A Three-Legged Stool On Two Legs: Recent Federal Law Related To Local Climate Resilience Planning And Zoning,
2015
Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
A Three-Legged Stool On Two Legs: Recent Federal Law Related To Local Climate Resilience Planning And Zoning, Sarah Adams-Schoen, Edward Thomas
Scholarly Works
Notwithstanding a critical gap between climate change related risks and preparedness in the United States, congress has yet to pass any federal law expressly addressing climate change hazard mitigation (or any other aspect of climate change) and appears unlikely to do so anytime soon. Despite this, the first half of 2015 has seen a number of actions in the other two branches of the federal government with significant implications for local hazard mitigation planning, zoning, and development. Of particular note, and as discussed in more detail below, the President issued an Executive Order and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) …
Tribes As Innovative Environmental "Laboratories",
2015
University of Colorado Law School
Tribes As Innovative Environmental "Laboratories", Elizabeth Ann Kronk Warner
University of Colorado Law Review
Tribes are not vestiges of the past, but laboratories of the future. - Vine Deloria, Jr1. Indian tribes, because of their distinctive regulatory authority and significant connection to the environment, possess unique capacities to innovate within the field of environmental law in the over fifty-six million acres that make up Indian country. This Article-the first scholarly work to address this aspect of tribal environmental law advocates for the idea of tribes as "laboratories" for examining environmental regulation. Tribes enact environmental regulation by two primary means-in their capacity as "tribes as states" (TAS) and in their capacity as inherent sovereigns-both of …
How National Park Law Really Works,
2015
University of Colorado Law School
How National Park Law Really Works, John Copeland Nagle
University of Colorado Law Review
This Article provides the first explanation of the relationship between three overlapping sources of national park law. It first explains how the Organic Act affords the National Park Service substantial discretion to manage the national parks, including deciding the proper balance between enjoyment and conservation in particular instances. It next shows how federal environmental statutes push national park management toward preservation rather than enjoyment. Finally, the Article explains that Congress often intervenes to mandate particular management outcomes at individual parks, typically but not always toward enjoyment rather than preservation. The result is that the National Park Service has substantial discretion …
Compromise In Colorado: Solar Net Metering And The Case For "Renewable Avoided Cost",
2015
University of Colorado Law School
Compromise In Colorado: Solar Net Metering And The Case For "Renewable Avoided Cost", Alexander D. White
University of Colorado Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Political Economy Of Environmental Justice: A Comparative Study Of New Delhi And Los Angeles,
2015
Claremont McKenna College
The Political Economy Of Environmental Justice: A Comparative Study Of New Delhi And Los Angeles, Ratik Asokan
CMC Senior Theses
Though mainstream environmentalism, both in the U.S. and India, was initially rooted in social justice, it has, over time, moved away from this focus. The Environmental Justice Movement consequently arose to reunite social and environmental activism. In this thesis, I trace the historical relationship between the mainstream environmentalism, the Environmental Justice Movement, and marginalized communities. After providing this general overview, I examine two case studies – in Los Angeles and New Delhi respectively – where marginalized communities have been involved in Environmental Justice activities. My analysis reveals that marginalized communities often act in an ‘environmentalist’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ manner, without …
Current Legal Framework On South Africa And Cameroon Relating To Plastic Pollution To The Environment On A Comparative Basis : Case Study : South Africa And Cameroon,
2014
World Maritime University
Current Legal Framework On South Africa And Cameroon Relating To Plastic Pollution To The Environment On A Comparative Basis : Case Study : South Africa And Cameroon, Temah Larry Besong Ndi
World Maritime University Dissertations
The objective of these studies is to compare the environmental laws of South Africa and Cameroon with focus on plastic pollution laws on both nations, with a yard stick of that of IMO international conventions. The reason to better the environmental laws of Cameroon, copying that of South Africa which is very much advanced and are signatories to several IMO conventions, in abide to put Cameroon administration on same level. The importance of the marine environment need not be over emphasis as the plastics pollution is now a global concerned and Cameroon at the mouth of Atlantic Ocean, with a …
