The effects of climate change will make swaths of the planet uninhabitable, displacing millions of people. How can the United States’ legal system facilitate an equitable, humanitarian response to those seeking safe resettlement within its borders?
Hydrofluorocarbons, an alternative to the ozone-depleting substances that damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer, are potent greenhouse gases that exacerbate climate change. These chemicals are scheduled for reduction under international law: the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Will the United States join the majority of U.N. Member States in committing to phasing down its hydrofluorocarbon production and consumption in accordance with international law in a Biden administration?
Policymakers should take a closer look at the way the effects of climate change are taking their toll on our most essential workers in agriculture, manufacturing, and emergency response.
"Normal was a crisis." When we say we want to "go back to normal," do we really mean the world exactly as we left it? Or, could we use COVID as a means of building something better than what we had, perhaps greener?
On September 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newson issued an executive order[1] that is expected to reduce the impact of climate change by drastically transforming the State's transportation industry. California experiences many unique climate change-related problems. For instance, as a result of climate change, the duration of California's wildfire season has more than doubled since 1980.[2] Indeed, this year, California is experiencing a record-breaking burn,[3] with wildfires scorching millions of acres of land.[4] The executive order, in an attempt to attenuate some of these climate change-related impacts on the State, requires all new passenger vehicles sold in California to be zero-emission by 2035, effectively banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in just fifteen years.[5]
The coronavirus pandemic provides a unique opportunity to address global climate change.
By Robert Patton, Managing Editor
Bike sharing is considered an environmental-friendly way of commuting.[1] It reduces people’s needs for driving and hence reduces carbon emission.[2] It also provides a solution to the “last mile” issue in urban commuting and promotes the development…
As the Gulf Coast faces the prospect of increasingly intense hurricane seasons, a recently published paper may provide a ray of hope to local communities that already feel the effects of climate change.
By Samuel Harris, Managing Editor
Do children have a right to a government that protects their interest in a sustainable climate? Will Courts give them a chance to voice the urgency of their climate-based claims?
With the consequences of forest fires being felt on both local and global levels, more needs to be done to mitigate these events – domestic government action is essential.
