Environmental Law Commons^™

Eyes On A Climate Prize: Rewarding Energy Innovation To Achieve Climate Stabilization, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

Stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at double their pre-industrial levels (or lower) will require emission reductions far in excess of what can be achieved with current or projected levels of technology at a politically acceptable cost. Substantial technological innovation is required if the nations of the world are to come anywhere close to proposed emission reduction targets. Neither traditional federal support for research and development of new technologies nor traditional command-and-control regulations are likely to spur sufficient innovation. Technology inducement prizes, on the other hand, have the potential to incentivize and accelerate the rate of technological innovation in the …

A Dead Horse, You Can't Beat It: Equine Carcass Disposal Laws And Practices, Robert F. Dahlstrom, Kerry O'Neill Irwin, Emily J. Plant

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Cause And Effect: Surface Mine Reclamation And Flood Litigation In Appalachia, Bethany N. Baxter

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bag): A Comprehensive Assessment Of China's Plastic Bag Policy, Mary O'Loughlin

Student Articles and Papers

On June 1, 2008, the Chinese government enacted a nationwide policy prohibiting all stores from freely distributing plastic bags to customers. This new policy requires that, henceforth, all retailers must charge a nominal fee for plastic bags and that those purchasable bags must meet certain quality requirements to improve their potential reusability. These retailers, which include everything from grocery and clothing stores to farmer’s markets and food stalls, individually determine how much to charge for their bags and get to keep all related proceeds. The policy is an effort to mitigate the “white pollution” that is choking China’s landscape, as …

Issues Concerning Charges For Driving While Intoxicated In Texas Federal Courts., Brian L. Owsley

St. Mary's Law Journal

Each year numerous defendants appear in courts located in Texas, both state and federal, charged with offenses related to driving while intoxicated (DWI). Defendants appearing before state courts are prosecuted pursuant to Texas statutes, regulations, and binding case law. In certain circumstances, defendants appearing in federal courts face the same statutory elements of a crime and the same potential penalties as in a Texas state court. In many of the cases, however, statutory elements and potential penalties differ. Furthermore, certain rights and regulations afforded to Texas state defendants are unavailable to those charged in federal courts located in the state. …

Home Sweet Homestead - Not If You Are Subject To A Mandatory Homeowners' Association., Bridget M. Fuselier

St. Mary's Law Journal

Changes must be made to current Texas laws to strike a proper balance between the homeowners’ rights and the homeowners association’s (HOA) rights. The Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Inwood North Homeowners’ Ass’n v. Harris allows liens to attach to what would otherwise be considered homestead-protected property. Although the promise in Inwood was set forth in writing, touched and concerned the land, was intended to run with the land, and was properly recorded, that did not create a contractual lien. The court, however, incorrectly combined the concepts of liens and covenants. Furthermore, the court seemed to ignore the important and …

What Happened: Confronting Confrontation In The Wake Of Bullcoming, Bryant, And Crawford., Dibrell Waldrip, Sara M. Berkeley

St. Mary's Law Journal

Crawford v. Washington and its progeny demonstrate the difficulty of delineating both the core and the perimeter of the Confrontation Clause. Crawford abrogated Ohio v. Roberts, forcing trial lawyers to re-evaluate the use of various types of hearsay formerly admitted upon a finding of adequate “indicia of reliability.” Later the Court issued two decisions further altering the contours of Confrontation Clause jurisprudence. Michigan v. Bryant and Bullcoming v. New Mexico. With these options, the old Roberts “indicia of reliability” test transformed into the new “primary purpose” test to identify certain testimonial statements. By significantly altering the contours of Confrontation Clause …

Limiting The Foreclosure Power Of Texas Hoas With A Percentage Threshold Comment., Laci Ehlers

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

An Interpretation Of The Internal Revenue Code And Treasury Regulations Supporting The Tax Deductibility Of The Voluntary Charitable Contribution In Perpetuity Of A Partial Interest In An Appropriative Or Riparian Water Right Transferred Instream For Conservation Purposes (With An Emphasis On California Water Law), Thomas Hicks

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Carbon Offshoring: The Legal And Regulatory Framework For Coal Exports, Daniel M. Firger, Robert Denicola, Katherine English, Daniel Raichel, Ross Wolfarth, Kennan Zhong

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This report examines the legal and regulatory framework for U.S. coal exports, focusing in particular on the significant improvements in railroad and port infrastructure that will be necessary in order to boost the volume of overseas coal shipments to the degree anticipated by recent industry projections. While existing railroads and ports have the capacity to handle current coal export volumes, much more infrastructure will be needed to meet surging foreign demand. A wide variety of new construction projects are under consideration to expand capacity and relieve congestion. These range from double-tracking existing Class I railroad rights of way to dredging …

Memorandum On China’S Measures For Addressing Sea Level Change, Zhang Zhongmin

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This paper describes the current state of China’s recognition of sea level rise in the context of global climate change. The author analyzes official state documents addressing sea level rise, including the annual China Sea Level Communiqué, and compares them with local government initiatives and perspectives from non-governmental sources such as academia, NGOs and the general public. The paper concludes that, while China has taken many commendable steps towards addressing sea level rise, there are still considerable obstacles to be overcome. Finally, the author recommends that local governmental and non-governmental actors play a larger and better defined role. The author …

Measurement, Reporting & Verification Of Chinese Mitigation Commitments, Quiyan Zhao

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This paper discusses China's new transparency pledge – MRV as it relates to Chinese mitigation commitments – as laid out in the non-legal binding agreement reached at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen on December 18. 2009. Specifically, this paper compares China’s position on MRV with relevant mechanisms and requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, the Bali Action Plan, and the Copenhagen Accord. Furthermore, this paper seeks to answer several questions pertinent to the progress and challenges of China’s MRV regime: Are China’s GHGs emissions measured continuously? Are there review …

Economic Loss, Punitive Damages, And The Exxon Valdez Litigation, Dr. Ronen Perry

Georgia Law Review

On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on
Bligh Reef off the Alaskan coast, spilling millions of
gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. At the

time, the spill was probably the worst environmental
disaster in American history, and it sparked unusually
extensive and complex litigation, as well as a vast
academic literature. The Article uncovers a fundamental
yet unnoticed inconsistency in American land-based and
maritime tort law that surfaced through the Exxon Valdez
litigation. On the one hand, liability for purely economic
losses was strictly limited under Robins Dry Dock v. Flint,
leaving dozens of thousands …

A "Fisheye" Lens On The Technological Dilemma: The Specter Of Genetically Engineered Animals, George Kimbrel, Paige Tomaselli

Animal Law Review

One year ago, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed approval of the first genetically engineered (GE or transgenic) animal for food production—a salmon engineered to grow much faster than normal using genetic material from an ocean pout. Faced with concerns from scientists and the public that these “super” salmon will escape into the wild and be the final blow to wild salmon, proponents crafted a scheme that is half Michael Crichton, half Kurt Vonnegut: The engineered salmon eggs will begin life in a lab on a frozen Canadian island, then be airlifted to a guarded Panamanian fortress, …

State Leadership For Safer Chemicals Policy Reform: Lessons From California, Maine, Minnesota And Washington, Michelle A. Russell

Honors Theses

Chemicals regulation under the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 fails to protect human health. In the absence of federal protection, safer chemicals legislation and implementation is moving forward in four states: Maine, Minnesota, California and Washington. Working in response to a loud public cry of concern and persistent grassroots organizing, these four states have enacted laws that regulate chemicals in consumer products. Maine, Minnesota and Washington chose to focus on regulating the chemicals used in children’s products, taking into consideration greater vulnerability in early development and the compelling public priority to protect children’s health. The most important factors …

The Problem Of Environmental Monitoring, Eric Biber

University of Colorado Law Review

Environmental law depends on the regular collection of accurate information about the state of the natural environment ("ambient monitoring") in order to assess the effectiveness of current regulatory and management policies and to develop new reforms. Despite the central role that ambient monitoring plays in environmental law and policy, the scholarly literature has almost ignored the question of whether and how effective ambient monitoring will take place-even though there is ample evidence that our current ambient monitoring data have extensive gaps and significant flaws. Moreover, the importance of ambient monitoring will only increase in the future with the shift to …

A Prediction Market For Climate Outcomes, Shi-Ling Hsu

University of Colorado Law Review

This Article proposes a way of introducing some organization and tractability in climate science, generating more widely credible evaluations of climate science, and imposing some discipline on the processing and interpretation of climate information. I propose a two-part policy instrument consisting of (1) a carbon tax that is indexed to a "basket" of climate outcomes, and (2) a cap-andtrade system of emissions permits that can be redeemed in the future in lieu of paying the carbon tax. The amount of the carbon tax in this proposal (per ton of C0 2) would be set each year on the basis of …

Climate Change, Forests, And Federalism: Seeing The Treaty For The Trees, Blake Hudson

University of Colorado Law Review

Despite numerous attempts over the past two decadesincluding, most recently, the Copenhagen climate discussions in late 2009-international forest and climate negotiations have failed to produce a legally binding treaty addressing global forest management activities. This failure is due in large part to a lack of U.S. leadership. Though U.S. participation in ongoing forest and climate negotiations is essential, scholars have not fully explored the potential limiting effects of federalism on the United States' treaty power in the area of forest management. Such an exploration is necessary given the debate among constitutional law scholars regarding the scope of the treaty power, …

Environmental Crisis And The Paradox Of Organizing, Gregg P. Macey

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Silencing The Public's Voice: The Adverse Effects Of Mountain Communities For Responsible Energy V. Public Service Commission Of West Virginia, Michelle Green

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.