Online Articles

Several world leaders meet at the UN in Paris. Some have their hands linked and raised above their heads. Two others are clapping.

The Difficulties of Enforcing Global Environmental Law

February 1, 2019 by De Vann Sago Climate change International

By Taylor Kilduff, Staff Contributor

This post seeks to understand what caused the results of a recent United Nations (UN) report on the international environmental rule of law and outline the international community’s difficulties in implementing and enforcing environmental regulations. Both the domestic politics of individual states and the inherent nature of the international community contribute to the inability of international organizations like the UN to enforce environmental standards on a global scale.

Kids Take a Stand Against Climate Change, but Do They Have Standing?

January 25, 2019 by Rebecca Strauss Air Climate change Litigation

By Rourke Donahue, Staff Contributor

Twenty-one children are suing the federal government over its failure to address climate change. But does the public have a fundamental right to the environment and is climate change an appropriate issue for courts to address?

To Close or Not to Close: National Parks in the Face of Government Shutdowns

January 24, 2019 by Sang Koo

By Sylvie Yudin, Staff Contributor

Government shutdowns can have drastic effects on National Parks. It is up the administration under which the shutdown is occurring to decide whether or not to permit National Parks to remain open, and this decision can have lasting consequences on the environmental sanctity of the Parks.

Litigating the Alleged Carcinogenicity of Glyphosate in Monsanto’s Roundup: The Fairness (and Unfairness) of Deciding Causation Independent of Liability

January 17, 2019 by mjb443 Chemicals Litigation

By Leora Friedman, Staff Contributor.

The Northern District of California readies to hear the U.S.’s first federal test case regarding the carcinogenicity of Monsanto’s glyphosate-containing herbicide, Roundup. Controversially, in early January 2019, Judge Chhabria granted Monsanto’s request for bifurcation—agreeing first to litigate glyphosate’s causation to the plaintiff’s cancer and, only afterward, allowing evidence of Monsanto’s alleged efforts to sway agency positions on glyphosate. But can the reliability of scientific studies be determined without considering the institutions that may have housed and/or nurtured them?

An image of the coast

(Sea) Walling Off the Beach: The Future of California’s Coastal Commons Remains Contested

November 15, 2018 by De Vann Sago Climate change Public Lands State and Local Water

By Ryan Levandowski, Staff Contributor. As rising sea levels threaten California’s coast, the state’s characteristic beaches have become a battleground for homeowners, cities, and state regulatory agencies. Because coastal adaptation policies often pit preservation of public beaches against private property rights, recent litigation over the issue has posed a difficult question for courts: Who should (literally) give ground?

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: An Underappreciated National Security Asset

November 5, 2018 by Rebecca Strauss Energy Fossil Fuels International

By Alex D. Pappas, Staff Contributor

Proposals to reform an emergency storage repository for crude oil known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (“SPR”) abound as President Trump and lawmakers react to changing oil market dynamics. As the policy goals and technical utilization of the SPR are evaluated, policymakers could benefit from additional assessment of the costs and benefits of SPR modifications that could imperil an essential national security asset.