February 7, 2019
by Caitlin Meagher
Climate change
Federal Rollbacks
By Capriel Stevenson, Staff Contributor
The physical impacts of climate change affect companies and their profitability drastically. The SEC released guidance in 2010 urging companies to disclose the risks from climate change but has not further urged companies in recent years. Instead, the SEC has shifted towards regulating other issues the current administration has prioritized, leaving investors in the dark about the financial impacts climate change has on businesses.
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.
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?
January 24, 2019
by Gregory Harned
Climate change
Energy
Fossil Fuels
International
Litigation
Natural Resources
Water
By Scott Novak, Staff Contributor
Whereas the Refugee Convention does not provide relief for climate change refugees like Teitiota, the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) might.
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.
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?
November 21, 2018
by Sang Koo
By Sophie Grueterich, Staff Contributor
November 15, 2018
by Alexander Pappas
Energy
By Michelle Endo, Staff Contributor
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?
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.
