Environmental Law Commons^™

The Effects Of Partisanship On Legislative Support For Environmental Policies In The United States, Rachel Summers

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study investigates the relationship between political partisanship and support for environmental policies at the state level in the United States from the years 2017-2022. To do this, the study focused on two policy areas, water and land, for the average proposed, enacted, and failed bills for all 50 states in the timeframe, with the states categorized as Democratic, swing, or Republican based on the 2016 and 2020 elections. While the study did find that Democratic states were more likely to introduce environmental bills than Republican states, the study also found that there was no statistical difference in the enactment …

Where To Test A Nuclear Bomb, Tyler Kliegl

The Purdue Historian

The United States detonated three underground nuclear bombs on a far-off Alaskan island called Amchitka in the 1960s and 70s. The goal is to understand what the motive of the United States in selecting Amchitka over the endless potential sites to test at were. What makes a place worthy in being tested on, or unworthy in being left alone. How does the United States deal with resistance from locals and other organizations, fighting to prevent their tests.

Beyond Patents: Incentive Strategies For Ocean Plastic Remediation Technologies, Jacob Stotser

Duke Law & Technology Review

With a garbage truck’s worth of plastic being dumped in the ocean each minute, there is a dire need for effective technological solutions aimed at mitigating the marine plastic pollution problem. However, the reliance of the U.S. patent system on market demand to incentivize this type of innovation has proven insufficient in light of the peculiarities of “green” technologies. To remedy this, this article proposes a multi-faceted incentivization approach that looks beyond the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to stimulate the development of remediation technologies through comprehensive regulatory interventions, the establishment of prize funds and other alternative incentive mechanisms, and …

Legal And Ethical Concerns Within Emergency Management, John R. Hiland, Cody Neal

ATU Scholars Symposium

Emergency management involves a complex interplay of logistical, social, and ethical considerations, with legal frameworks guiding actions at every stage. This research investigates the ethical and legal challenges inherent in the four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Through a multi-method approach including literature review, case studies with comparative analysis, this study aims to clarify the intersection of ethical and legal issues in emergency management and propose practical strategies for addressing these challenges.

In the mitigation phase, equitable resource allocation, environmental sustainability, and transparent decision-making emerge as key ethical concerns, while legal frameworks dictate compliance with regulations …

Climate Zoning, Christopher Serkin

Notre Dame Law Review

As the urgency of the climate crisis becomes increasingly apparent, many local governments are adopting land use regulations aimed at minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The emerging approaches call for loosening zoning restrictions to unlock greater density and for strict new green building codes. This Article argues that both approaches are appropriate in some places but not in others. Not all density is created equal, and compact multifamily housing at the urban fringe may actually in-crease GHG emissions. Moreover, where density is appropriate, deregulation will not necessarily produce it. And, finally, green building codes will increase housing costs and so …

The Impossibility Of Corporate Political Ideology: Upholding Sec Climate Disclosures Against Compelled Commercial Speech Challenges, Erin Murphy

Northwestern University Law Review

To address the increasingly dire climate crisis, the SEC will require public companies to reveal their business’s environmental impact to the market through climate disclosures. Businesses and states challenged the required disclosures as compelled, politically motivated speech that risks putting First Amendment doctrine into further jeopardy. In the past five years, the U.S. Supreme Court has demonstrated an increased propensity to hear compelled speech cases and rule in favor of litigants claiming First Amendment protection from disclosing information that they disagree with or believe to be a politically charged topic. Dissenting liberal Justices have decried these practices as “weaponizing the …

Restore Texas Land: A Proposal To Utilize Emission Reduction Credits To Fund The Railroad Commission Of Texas' Well Plugging Initiative, George Coates Roberts

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Existing Challenges And Possible Pathways For Case Success In Climate Litigation With Human Rights Claims, Daniel Ziebarth

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Secret Lives Of Environmental Rights, Sonya Ziaja

Pace Environmental Law Review

Do constitutional environmental rights change hearts and minds? How could they? This Essay describes three possible hypotheses of the relationships among constitutional environmental rights, meaning, and behavior: The Separate Domains Approach, The Constitutive Approach, and The Mutually Constitutive Approach. The theories underlying these hypotheses, and explored in this Essay, may provide some insight into constitutional environmental rights and how they may evolve throughout generations.

State Constitutions In The Woods, Quinn Yeargain

Pace Environmental Law Review

Before the adoption of environmental rights provisions beginning in the 1970s, most state constitutions did not contain provisions that protected the natural environment from degradation. Instead, to the contrary, many constitutions—especially in western states—contained policies that have long entrenched carbon-intensive infrastructures and have favored extractive industries. But starting in the early 1900s, a handful of states began amending their constitutions to incorporate environmental policy provisions. These additions helped preserve forested lands by giving state governments the power to respond to uncontrolled forest fires and adopt policies to prevent deforestation. Other amendments established fish and game commissions as constitutional entities, safeguarding …

Some Lessons For Crafting A State Constitution-Based Right To A Clean Environment, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

Pace Environmental Law Review

While New York most recently added an environmental rights amendment to its constitution, Pennsylvania and Montana have had these amendments in their constitutions since the seventies. Hawaii, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Massachusetts have enacted weaker iterations of rights to a clean environment. Other states, like Maine, have faced challenges that blocked an amendment’s passage. This Article provides an initial analysis of the state environmental rights amendments currently in place, examining their origins, language, placement in the constitutions, and the major judicial decisions impacting their interpretation. It concludes by comparing the existing environmental rights amendments to the proposed amendment that failed …

Indigenizing The Right To A Healthy Environment, Elisabeth Parker, Heather Tanana

Pace Environmental Law Review

The most severe impacts resulting from environmental degradation are experienced by already-vulnerable populations, including Indigenous peoples. A growing number of countries are formally recognizing the basic human right to a healthy environment, which can help realize environmental and climate justice for these communities. On July 28, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly passed a landmark resolution formally recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. The adoption of this resolution represents a pivotal moment in the understanding and implementation of a human rights-based approach to protecting the environment. However, it is important to recognize that historically, Indigenous …

Green Amendments, Land Use, And Transportation: What Could Go Wrong?, Michael Lewyn

Pace Environmental Law Review

As more states amend their constitutions to include a green amendment, the vague nature of these amendments leaves a concerning amount of interpretative power to courts. This article examines how some courts have interpreted green amendments and how these interpretations risk the misuse of green amendments. Additionally, this article examines how such misuse may be avoided.

The Value Of Constitutional Environmental Rights And Public Trusts, John C. Dernbach

Pace Environmental Law Review

As part of the modern environmental movement of the 1970s, five states (Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Montana, and Pennsylvania) adopted constitutional amendments recognizing a right to a quality environment, a public trust for public natural resources, or both. Half a century later, there is a renewed interest in constitutional environmental rights, inspired in no small part by the failure of existing laws to adequately address the climate crisis. A sixth state (New York) recognized a constitutional right to a quality environment in 2021, and more than a dozen states are considering such amendments. Still, the great majority of environmental protection at …

130 Years And Counting Into Forever — New York's Forever Wild Constitutional Amendment And Lessons For Modern Green Amendments, Timothy E. Cox

Pace Environmental Law Review

In the 135 years of New York’s Forever Wild Amendment’s existence, it has been challenged by a range of court cases and thereby interpreted by courts throughout New York. The results of these cases frequently have upheld the heart of Forever Wild: to protect New York’s Forest Preserve land. This Article provides a history of the Forever Wild Amendment, an analysis of the courts’ and New York Attorney General’s interpretations of the Amendment, and a discussion of how this information can guide the future of New York’s Green Amendment.

Administering Environmental Justice: How New York’S Environmental Rights Amendment Could Transform Business As Usual, Rebecca Bratspies

Pace Environmental Law Review

Since New York became the latest state to pass an environmental rights amendment, there has been a great deal of analysis regarding how the judi- ciary will interpret the Green Amendment; however, state and local officials need not wait for the courts to enforce the Green Amendment. This Article explores the authority state and local officials have to carry out the purpose of the Green Amendment. Additionally, it discusses what the passage of the Green Amendment means in practice and how, and why, state officials such as the Attorney General should implement the Green Amendment.

Introduction, Marisa Barber

Pace Environmental Law Review

Introduction

Brief Of Amicae Curiae Susan Boundy-Sanders And Paula Waters In Support Of Friends Of Sammamish Valley And Futurewise, King County V. Friends Of Sammamish Valley, Washington State Supreme Court Docket No. 102177-1, William Bailey

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Navigating Murky Waters: State-Level Strategies For Wetland Preservation And Tile Drainage Regulation After Sackett V. Epa, Caleb M. Swanson

Honors Thesis

Wetlands are some of the world’s most valuable ecosystems, serving as provisioners of species habitat, carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, water quality purification, and other ecosystem services. Human development has resulted in substantial wetland loss the world over. In the 1970s, the United States Congress passed the Clean Water Act, giving the EPA broad authority over wetland protection. However, in the summer of 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided Sackett v. EPA, limiting the EPA’s jurisdiction over wetlands to those indistinguishably connected to generally recognized “Waters of the United States” and removing federal protection for millions of acres of wetlands, …

What The Trust? Overcoming Barriers To Renewable Energy Development In Indian Country, Malcolm M. Gilbert, Aspen B. Ward

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.