Environmental Law Commons^™

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.

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

The Accidental Postmodernists: A New Era Of Skepticism In Environmental Law, Shi-Ling Hsu

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

A Proposed Reconciliation Of Stakeholder Interests In The Ge Soybean Industry And Role Of Earth Jurisprudence Principles, Kristen N. King Jaiven

Florida A & M University Law Review

The historical art of seed saving ensured farmers would have enough quality seeds for the following season. Traditional and indigenous farmers mastered seed saving techniques, saving the healthiest and strongest seeds to ensure preservation of seed diversity and adequate crop yields. To provide adequate protection and meet maximum sustainability for all interested parties, it is essential that laws governing the soybean industry consider the soybean as a stakeholder.

The State Response To Climate Change: 50 State Survey, Laura Jensen, Kelly Nishikawa, Benjamin Lowenthal

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This survey accompanies Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, Second Edition (Michael B. Gerrard and Jody Freeman, eds, 2014). It compiles state legislation, rules and executive orders that specifically address climate change as of the end of April 2014. It also includes a wide variety of state activities that may have an impact on greenhouse gases including legislation related to energy efficiency and renewable energy. The focus of this material is to provide readers with an understanding of the range of state activity that may contribute to greenhouse gas reduction and climate change. Some types of energy efficiency, alternative fuels …

Highest Court In New York Affirms Local Power To Regulate Hydrofracking, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In one of the most anxiously awaited New York land use decisions in recent memory, the State’s highest court held that local governments have the power to regulate hydrofracking under their authority to enact zoning ordinances. Both the Towns of Dryden and Middlefield enacted zoning laws that entirely banned gas drilling and associated activities within their borders. The plaintiffs, a private gas company in one case and a private property owner in the other, claimed that a supersession clause in the State Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Law (OGSML) preempted local authority. After reviewing the plain language of the OGSML, …

Researching Environmental Justice: A Conversation, Virginia C. Thomas, William W. Lefevre

Library Scholarly Publications

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” The concerns that arise in this complex environmental context extend beyond the scope of traditional legal research resources to include historical, social, scientific, and governmental documents that reside in unique archival collections.

Through the conversation that follows, senior archivist William LeFevre of the Walter P. Reuther Library shares his experience and insights on how archival resources can provide essential support …

Positive And Negative Spillover Of Pro-Environmental Behavior: An Integrative Review And Theoretical Framework, Heather B. Truelove, Amanda R. Carrico, Elke U. Weber, Kaitlin Toner Raimi, Michael P. Vandenbergh

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

A recent surge of research has investigated the potential of pro-environmental behavior interventions to affect other pro-environmental behaviors not initially targeted by the intervention. The evidence evaluating these spillover effects has been mixed, with some studies finding evidence for positive spillover (i.e., one pro-environmental behavior increases the likelihood of performing additional pro-environmental behaviors) and others finding negative spillover (i.e., one pro-environmental behavior decreases the likelihood of additional pro-environmental behaviors). Different academic disciplines have investigated this question, employing different methodologies and arriving at divergent findings. This paper provides a unifying theoretical framework and uses the framework to review the existing research …

Using Non-Environmental Law To Accomplish Environmental Objectives, Todd S. Aagaard

Faculty Publications

The current prolonged period of congressional impasse on environmental issues, in which symbolic ideological skirmishes have largely supplanted constructive engagement, makes clear that Congress is unlikely to generate progress on environmental issues any time soon. In response to this legislative stalemate, some environmental law scholars have advocated for giving the Environmental Protection Agency enhanced capability to take administrative action under the authority of existing environmental statutes.

Without disagreeing with those arguments, this article contends that we also need strategies for environmental law that transcend, not just adapt, the canonical environmental statutes that have been the field’s mainstay since the early …

Implications For The Mille Lacs Lake Fishery With Continued Enforcement Of The 1837 Treaty Of St. Peters, Matthew Steffes

Journal of Public Law and Policy

Mille Lacs Lake, one of Minnesota’s over 13,000 lakes, holds a reputation for being one of the best walleye fisheries in Minnesota, as well as being a fishing destination for anglers across the nation. In 1999 the Supreme Court held that the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians retained hunting and fishing rights on ceded land that were granted to them in the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters. Part of this ruling allowed the Mille Lacs tribe to continue their commercial walleye fishing operation on Mille Lacs Lake. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, the walleye population on Mille Lacs Lake …

Assessing The Silica (Frac) Sand Mining Environmental Regulatory Frameworks In Minnesota And Wisconsin: Who Has A Better Plan For Digging, The Gophers Or Badgers?, William Miley

Journal of Public Law and Policy

In recent years silica (frac) sand mining activity in Minnesota and Wisconsin has grown significantly due to high demand for the sand from the hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) oil and gas extraction industry. Consequently, there has been much debate in the region over the proper state and local regulatory controls and overall framework to adequately protect against health and environmental impacts associated with the mining activities while also avoiding undue regulatory burdens that hinder economic development. This article analyzes the silica sand mining regulatory schemes in Minnesota and Wisconsin to determine if this booming industry is met with appropriate oversight. …