The Internal Revenue Code allows taxpayers to claim an income tax deduction for donating perpetual conservation easements to qualified organizations.[1] The federal government has foregone billions of dollars of tax revenue in exchange for such easements…
Unprecedented, warmer, wetter winter seasons have ski communities across the Alps fearful of how rising temperatures and the looming reality of climate change might impact the winter sports industry in the years to come.[1] By contrast, in the Western…
Iowa is often seen as a drive-through state, known for its flat interstates, tall cornfields in the summer, and more recently, the seemingly never-ending array of windmills seen through car windows. At first glance, wind energy seems the perfect renewable…
On November 20th, 2021, the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Honolulu leaked 14,000 gallons of water and fuel.[1] The facility, constructed in the early 1940s, holds over 100 million gallons of fuel a mere 100 feet above the Southern Oʻahu Basal…
When the New York Court of Appeals agreed in May 2021 to hear the habeas corpus case of an Asian elephant named Happy, it marked the first time that the highest court of any English-speaking jurisdiction agreed to hear a habeas corpus case brought on…
On October 27, 2021, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) denied two applications for proposed natural gas-fired power plants.[1] New York State has denied permit applications for fossil fuel infrastructure before,[2] but…
In September 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) began its highly anticipated proceeding to reevaluate the state’s net energy metering successor (NEM 2.0) tariff. Expected no later than January 2022, the decision from the national leader in solar electricity production could have far-reaching impacts on the future of customer-owned solar generation and battery storage.
The utilization of the Public Trust Doctrine in litigations is often premised on its supposed ancient Roman pedigree. This article explores the origins of the doctrine and finds that, in fact, the ancient doctrine was quite different from the one we see in the United States today. What errors do scholars make, and what do those errors mean for the survival of the modern doctrine?
By Myles Douglas Young, Administrative Editor
After a record-breaking wildfire season in 2020, lawsuits are likely to flood the dockets of federal and state courts across the United States. Wildfire liability determinations at either level can be complex, typically implicating many parties and exorbitant damage awards. However, in light of the projected impact of climate change on wildfire frequency and severity, such lawsuits may become increasingly commonplace.
By Alec Williams, Managing Editor
Residents of Flint, Michigan will likely receive some compensation soon for the poisoning of their drinking water. In August, the state of Michigan settled claims against it and Michigan officials, including former Governor Rick Snyder, for $600 million. What are the implications of the Michigan Supreme Court decision that opened the way for this settlement? And how much money are individual residents likely to see?
