Environmental Law Commons^™

Groundwater Challenges In Spain: Lessons From The Western Mancha Aquifer, Pedro Martinez-Santos

Publications

No abstract provided.

Flaring, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about flaring and associated gas. Defines the terms and outlines measures to regulate and reduce flaring in North Dakota. Describes ongoing Energy & Environmental Research Center research to address the issue. [This item is an outdated or superseded version and retained for historical purposes only. It may no longer reflect current information, policies, or practices.]

The Meaning Of Green Growth, Michael A. Livermore

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Although the term is still rarely used in the United States, in recent years “green growth” has become part of the lexicon of global environmental policy. Unfortunately, although it is frequently cited as a public policy goal, green growth has remained vague and ill-defined, leading to conflicting interpretations and confusion over the distinction between green growth and related concepts like sustainable development. This paper seeks to clarify the meaning of green growth as a distinct concept, defining a “green growth frontier” of policies that dominate along both environmental and economic dimensions. The green growth agenda can be understood as moving …

Adaptation And The Courtroom: Judging Climate Science, Kirsten Engel, Jonathan Overpeck

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Climate science is increasingly showing up in courtroom disputes over the duty to adapt to climate change. While judges play a critical role in evaluating scientific evidence, they are not apt to be familiar with the basic methods of climate science nor with the role played by peer review, publication, and training of climate scientists. This Article is an attempt to educate the bench and the bar on the basics of the discipline of climate science, which we contend is a distinct scientific discipline. We propose a series of principles to guide a judge’s evaluation of the reliability and weight …

The Dormant Commerce Clause And California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Kathryn Abbott

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), enacted as part of the State’s pioneering Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), purports to regulate the amount of carbon emissions associated with fuels consumed in the state. Part of this scheme involves assigning numeric scores to vehicle fuels reflecting the amount of carbon emissions associated with their production, transportation, and use. The scores are part of a “cap-and-trade” scheme to lower the state’s total amount of carbon emissions associated with fuel use. Out-of-state industry groups brought a challenge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleging that the …

The Constitutionality Of California's Cap-And-Trade Program And Recommendations For Design Of Future State Programs, Thomas Alcorn

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Global climate change has emerged as one of the greatest challenges of our time. While action has stalled on the national stage, states have started to take action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Confronted with the risk of severe impacts that could cost it tens of billions of dollars annually by the end of the century, California has taken the lead and developed the first comprehensive cap-and-trade program in the nation and seeks to achieve significant reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its economy. The success of California’s program will determine whether other states and the federal …

Why The Extractive Industry Should Support Mandatory Transparency: A Shared Value Approach, Julien Topal, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The Transparency Amendment, included in the Dodd‐Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, can be an important tool in curtailing the resource curse that so heavily burdens resource‐rich developing countries by shedding light on opaque payments between the extractive sector and host countries. From the get‐go, however, extractive industry companies have fiercely opposed the new mandatory disclosure requirements as set out in this regulation. The corporate opposition is for the largest part motivated by the fear of a competitive disadvantage that derives from the fact that the amendment is housed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and thus …

Memo To The Obama Administration On The Burma Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Lisa E. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In September 2013, CCSI sent a memo to President Obama and his Administration in response to the first public reports submitted by U.S. companies in compliance with the Burma Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements. The memo applauded the U.S. Government’s efforts to encourage responsible investment in Burma, noting that robust due diligence is essential to ensuring that international investments contribute to sustainable development. Yet the memo also urged the Obama Administration to take steps to strengthen future reporting. In particular, CCSI urged the Administration to issue clarifying guidance that any U.S. investor submitting a report should (1) provide information on due …

Endangered Species In The Oil Patch: Challenges And Opportunities For The Oil And Gas Industry, Gabriel Eckstein, Jesse Snyder

Faculty Scholarship

Tension among competing interests is nothing new in environmental law. Even among the most tenacious adversaries, the ability to find common ground can serve as an impetus to further the aims of both industry and environmental proponents. Broadly speaking, advocates of the oil and gas industry prefer few restraints, if any, on exploration, development, and production. Comparatively, champions of biological and ecological preservation favor regulatory protections to conserve these interests. Cutting across these often disparate objectives, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) presents a not-so-obvious opportunity for both sides to receive a share of the pie through cooperation and forward planning. …

The Sinking Of Sovereignty And Sovereign Rights? Mitigating The Impacts Of Climate Change To Maritime Jurisdiction And A Proposal For Solutions, I Made Andi Arsana

Indonesia Law Review

While some still debate whether or not climate change is a reality, one of its impacts, sea level rise, is factual. The cause and the rate of sea level rise might have been inconclusive but its impacts have been clearly felt. Sea level rise can also change the legal status of insular features (small islands/rocks and low tide elevation) that will also affect their capacity in making maritime claim. For an archipelagic State like Indonesia, small outer islands/rocks or low-tide elevation are important for location of basepoints forming the entire system of archipelagic baselines. This paper investigates the impact of …

Cutting Carbon, Take Two: A Brief Guide To Federal Electricity-Sector Climate Policy Without Cap-And-Trade, Nathan Richardson, Joshua Linn

Faculty Publications

This paper explores federal policies, other than a carbon price, for reducing emissions from the electric power sector. These policies fall into two major categories: policies that encourage the development of non‐ or low‐emitting energy sources, and regulatory policies under existing legal authority (primarily the Clean Air Act). The paper provides an overview of policy options and a few concrete proposals, along with a summary of insights from economists on their advantages and disadvantages. Economists generally disfavor investment subsidies, but comparing other policy options, including regulatory approaches, technology mandates, and production subsidies, is complex. Excluding existing clean generation from incentive …

A Court-Imposed Nuclear Winter: New York V. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Breaks The Deferential Ice Resulting In National Nuclear Reactor Licensing Freeze, Laura A. Tucker

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Ehb Review - Knowledge, Necessaries, And Bad Faith: What Department Of Environmental Protection V. Danfelt Means For Spousal Liability And Attorney Fee-Shifting, Michael J. Haviland

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

On Solid Ground: Toward Effective Resource-Based Development, Lisa E. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The small island-state of Timor-Leste exemplifies the challenge of resource-based development for a poor country well-endowed with a valuable natural resource. Timor-Leste, which gained its independence in 2002, has accumulated $13 billion in its petroleum fund in less than a decade. Some of the largest multinational oil companies are operating in the country, and the revenues continue to flow. And yet, while Timor-Leste has seen very notable improvements in its development indicators in the past few years, it continues to face a massive challenge of converting financial wealth into economic development. There are also heated debates about how to spend …

All Bite And No Bark: Nonspecific Magic Words Sweep Aside Constitutional Concerns And Remove The Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf From Endangered Species Act Protection In Alliance For The Wild Rockies V. Salazar, Emily A. Cathcart

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness And Environmental Impact Of Economic Development Incentives As Measures To Respond To Environmental Harm, James E. Holloway

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Drilling For Split Estate Clarity: The Impact Of Minard Run Oil Company V. United States Forest Service, Clayton Gritz

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

A Greenhouse Gas Chain Reaction: The D.C. Circuit Warms Up The Epa's Regulatory Authority In Coalition For Responsible Regulation V. Epa, Sara E. Hoffman

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Juxtaposing Nasa’S Aeronet Aod With Carb Pm Data Over The San Joaquin Valley To Facilitate Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (Misr) Pm Pollution Research, John Kanemoto

STAR Program Research Presentations

Airborne particulate matter (PM) has been shown to increase the risk for asthma, chronic bronchitis, cardiopulmonary complications, and respiratory cell membrane damage/infection/leakage. PM levels are currently analyzed from two perspectives: stationary land-based monitoring (LBM) sites and total Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) atmospheric column measurements. Both perspectives often leave miles of space between measuring locations and will have a continually increasing cost from introducing/maintaining sites. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) satellite team hopes to begin investigating/archiving PM levels comprehensively via inputting MISR AOD measurements into a function/model which predicts the amount of ground level PM.

In the future, multivariable spatial correlations …

Trends In Environmental Law Scholarship 2008-2012, Michael P. Vandenbergh, Linda K. Breggin, Jacob P. Byl, Lynsey R. Gaudioso, Seamus T. Kelly

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review (ELPAR) is published by the Environmental Law Institute's (ELI's) Environmental Law Reporter in partnership with Vanderbilt University Law School. ELPAR provides a forum for the presentation and discussion of the best ideas about environmental law and policy from the legal academic literature. As part of the article selection process each year, Vanderbilt University Law School students assemble and review the environmental law articles published during the previous academic year. In this Article, we draw on the results of the ELPAR article selection process to report on trends in environmental legal scholarship for academic …