Friday, November 30, 2012

European Commission Environment Action Programme to 2020 Released

This past week, European Commission released a proposal titled, Environment Action Programme to 2020, "Living well, within the limits of our planet" 2012/0337 (COD). The 37-page document which is available here, is discussed below:
The proposed programme builds on the significant achievements of 40 years of EU environment policy, and draws on a number of recent strategic initiatives in the field of environment, including the Resource Efficiency Roadmap, the 2020 Biodiversity Strategy and the Low Carbon Economy Roadmap. It should secure the commitment of EU institutions, Member States, regional and local administrations and other stakeholders to a common agenda for environment policy action up to 2020.
General environment action programmes have guided the development of EU environment policy since the early seventies. The Sixth EU Environment Action Programme covered the period 2002-2012.
While many EU Member States are struggling to cope with the economic crisis, the attendant need for structural reforms offers new opportunities for the EU to move rapidly onto a more sustainable path. The new environment action programme points the way towards making the most of these opportunities.

UNEP Report Released: Pacific Environment and Climate Change Outlook

This month, the United Nations Environment Programme in conjunction with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and other organizations released a new report titled, Pacific Environment and Climate Change Outlook  (2012). The 232-page report available here, discusses the following:
The Pacific Environment and Climate Change Outlook . . .  [c]over[s] 21 countries and territories, mostly small, low-lying island communities, the report provides a detailed assessment of the state of the Pacific environment, and lays out policy options for improving sustainable development in island communities. The experiences of over 500 communities are included in the study."This report presents concrete evidence that food, freshwater and the livelihoods of Pacific islanders are under threat, and that the Pacific is at the forefront in humanity's efforts to combat and adapt to climate change, "said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
"Enhancing local capacity to directly monitor, and manage, the impacts of the region's changing environment is essential for reducing climate risks, but also for unlocking the potential economic benefits that a transition to an inclusive, low-carbon and resource efficient green economy can bring," said Mr. Steiner.
The report covers the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) of: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.
 

Thursday, November 29, 2012

GAO Report Released: Electricity: Significant Changes Are Expected in Coal-Fueled Generation, but Coal is Likely to Remain a Key Fuel Source

Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, titled Electricity: Significant Changes Are Expected in Coal-Fueled Generation, but Coal is Likely to Remain a Key Fuel Source GAO-13-72 (Oct. 29, 2012). The details of the 54-page report, available here, are discussed below:

Why GAO Did This Study

Coal is a key domestic fuel source and an important contributor to the U.S. economy. Most coal produced in the United States is used to generate electricity. In 2011, 1,387 coal-fueled electricity generating units produced about 42 percent of the nation's electricity. After decades of growth, U.S. coal production and consumption have fallen, primarily due to declines in the use of coal to generate electricity.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using coal to generate electricity is associated with health and environmental concerns such as emissions of sulfur dioxide, a pollutant linked to respiratory illnesses, and carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to climate change. In response to recent environmental regulations and changing market conditions, such as the recent decrease in the price of natural gas, power companies may retire some units, which could affect the coal fleet's generating capacity--the ability to generate electricity--and the amount of electricity generated from coal. Power companies may also retrofit some units by installing controls to reduce pollutants.
GAO was asked to examine (1) how the fleet of coal-fueled electricity generating units may change in the future in terms of its generating capacity and other aspects and (2) the future use of coal to generate electricity in the United States and key factors that could affect it. GAO conducted a statistical analysis of plans for retiring coal-fueled units, interviewed stakeholders, and reviewed information on industry plans and long-term forecasts by EIA and others. GAO is not making any recommendations in this report.

U.S. Energy Information Administration's Monthly Energy Review Released for November 2012

Today, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its Monthy Energy Review for November 2012. The 211-page report available here as a pdf, released on Nov. 28th is "[a] publication of recent energy statistics. This publication includes total energy production, consumption, and trade; energy prices; overviews of petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, renewable energy, and international petroleum; carbon dioxide emissions; and data unit conversions values." Report sections include the following sections: Overview, Energy Consumption by Sector, Petroleum, Natural Gas, Crude Oil & Natural Gas Development, Coal, Electricity, Nuclear Energy, Energy Prices, Renewable Energy, International Petroleum, Environment and Appendices.

Previous editions of the report are available here, dating back to 1996 with Historical Information available from 1973 to 1992.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

People’s Republic of China Issues Report: China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change (2012)

This past week, The National Development and Reform Commission for The People’s Republic of China, issued a version of a white paper titiled, China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change (2012) [available in English].  According to news reports, the 30-page document "outlines actions taken by the Chinese government to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It also documents measures to promote the building of low-carbon communities and advance international negotiation and cooperation." China Issues Report Addressing Climate Change, Xinhua (Nov. 21, 2012).

UNEP Global Environmental Alert Released for November: Gas Fracking: Can We Safely Squeeze the Rocks?

This month, the United Nations Environment Programme released a new Global Environmental Alert titled, Gas Fracking: Can We Safely Squeeze the Rocks? (Nov. 2012). According to the 15-page alert, available here
Hydrological fracturing techniques have made accessible vast unconventional gas reserves. However, observed impacts on the environment and human health raise legitimate public concerns. The potential climate benefits of coal-to-gas substitution are both less clear and more limited than initially claimed. The question of whether to allow or ban gas fracking needs to be carefully assessed by relevant authorities. A review of current related policies and regulations is critically needed.

Prior alerts are available here, dating from Aug. 2010 to the present.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

UNEP Climate Action Book 2012 Released

This month, the United Nations Environment Programme released the Climate Action Book for 2012.  The 176-page e-book available here, discusses the following:
[the] 6th edition of Climate Action; a platform for governments, industry, international opinion leaders, distinguished academics and environmentalists to debate the business case for climate change solutions. The publication provides concrete steps that both governments and businesses can take to reduce carbon footprints through ongoing dialogue and dedicated actions.
Designed to bring to light the key issues in the climate change dialogue, Climate Action aims to stimulate debate and encourage consensus on the environmental issues that so urgently need action.
The online version of the publication has been released and can be viewed here: http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/bookstore/book_2012/
The new edition will be officially presented at the Sustainable Innovation Forum at the InterContinental Hotel, Doha, Qatar and will also be distributed via UNEP's official stand alongside the COP18 proceedings. Register for the Sustainable Innovation Forum here: http://www.cop18qatar.com/registration/.
Prior versions of Climate Action are available here:
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007

UNEP Report Released: Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost


This month, the United Nations Environment Programme released a new report titled, Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost (2012). The 38-page report available here, discusses the following:
Permafrost covering almost a quarter of the northern hemisphere contains 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon, twice that currently in the atmosphere, and could significantly amplify global warming should thawing accelerate as expected, according to a new report released today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Warming permafrost can also radically change ecosystems and cause costly infrastructural damage due to increasingly unstable ground, the report says.
Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost seeks to highlight the potential hazards of carbon dioxide and methane emissions from warming permafrost, which have not thus far been included in climate-prediction modelling. The science on the potential impacts of warming permafrost has only begun to enter the mainstream in the last few years, and as a truly "emerging issue" could not have been included in climate change modelling to date.
The report recommends a special IPCC assessment on permafrost and the creation of national monitoring networks and adaptation plans as key steps to deal with potential impacts of this significant source of emissions, which may become a major factor in global warming.

GAO Report Released: Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Oversight and Status of Implementing a Risk-Informed Approach to Fire Safety

Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, titled Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Commission Oversight and Status of Implementing a Risk-Informed Approach to Fire Safety GAO-18-8 (Oct. 22, 2012). The details of the 40-page report, available here, are discussed below:
 

Why GAO Did This Study

In 1975, a fire at a nuclear power plant damaged critical control cables and hampered operators' ability to monitor the status of the plant's reactor. NRC subsequently issued deterministic fire safety regulations for plants to follow, but differences in plant design, coupled with changes in NRC guidance, made it difficult for most plants to meet the regulations without seeking numerous exemptions. In 2004, NRC issued a regulation permitting plants to voluntarily transition to risk-informed fire protection requirements. This new approach mirrors NRC's efforts to adopt a more risk-informed regulatory approach to nuclear safety in general. In 2008, GAO reported on three key fire safety issues and recommended NRC take action to address them.
GAO was asked to examine (1) NRC's progress in resolving the long-standing fire safety issues raised in GAO's 2008 report at plants remaining under the deterministic approach and at those plants transitioning to the risk-informed approach; (2) the potential benefits of transitioning to a risk-informed approach and the basis for NRC's decision to make adoption of this approach voluntary; and (3) challenges, if any, in efforts to transition to a risk-informed approach in regulating fire safety. GAO reviewed documents; analyzed responses from operators at a nonprobability sample of 12 nuclear plants and from nine consultants or academic experts on fire safety issues and risk-informed regulations; and interviewed NRC, industry, and public interest group representatives.
GAO is not making recommendations in this report. NRC found the report to be accurate and complete.

Congressional Research Service Report: The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), the public policy research arm of Congress, just issued the report The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer (Nov. 26, 2012). The 15-page report authored by Renée Johnson discusses the following:


Summary
Numerous federal, state, and local agencies share responsibilities for regulating the safety of the U.S. food supply. Federal responsibility for food safety rests primarily with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). FDA, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for ensuring the safety of all domestic and imported food products (except for most meats and poultry). FDA also has oversight of all seafood, fish, and shellfish products. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulates most meat and poultry and some egg products. State and local food safety authorities collaborate with federal agencies for inspection and other food safety functions, and they regulate retail food establishments.
The combined efforts of the food industry and government regulatory agencies often are credited with making the U.S. food supply among the safest in the world. However, critics view this system as lacking the organization, regulatory tools, and resources to adequately combat foodborne illness—as evidenced by a series of widely publicized food safety problems, including concerns about adulterated food and food ingredient imports, and illnesses linked to various types of fresh produce, to peanut products, and to some meat and poultry products. Some critics also note that the organizational complexity of the U.S. food safety system as well as trends in U.S. food markets—for example, increasing imports as a share of U.S. food consumptions and increasing consumption of fresh, often unprocessed, foods—pose ongoing challenges to ensuring food safety.
The 111th Congress passed comprehensive food safety legislation with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA, P.L. 111-353). FSMA is the largest expansion of FDA’s food safety authorities since the 1930s. Although numerous agencies share responsibility for regulating food safety, FSMA focused on foods regulated by FDA and amended FDA’s existing structure and authorities, and did not directly address meat and poultry products under USDA’s jurisdiction. Beyond these changes, some in Congress continue to push for additional policy reforms to address other perceived concerns about the safety of the U.S. food supply.
After FSMA was signed into law in January 2011, concerns were voiced about whether there would be enough money to overhaul the U.S. food safety system and also whether expanded investment in this area is appropriate in the current budgetary climate. Although Congress authorized appropriations and new user fees for FDA when it enacted FSMA, it did not provide the full funding needed for FDA to perform these activities. FDA’s FY2012 budget for its foods program was $866 million, and FSIS’s FY2012 budget was $1.004 billion in appropriated funds, with some additional funding available from authorized user fees. Funding levels specific to food safety responsibilities at other federal and state agencies is not readily available.
 

National Academies Report Released: Preparing for the Third Decade (Cycle 3) of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program

Recently, the National Academies Press (NAP) released a report produced by the Committee on Preparing for the Third Decade (Cycle 3) of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program; and the National Research Council titled, Preparing for the Third Decade (Cycle 3) of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program (2012). The 200-page report available here with a one-time registration, discusses how,
[t]he first two decades of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program have provided a successful and useful assessment of U.S. water-quality conditions, how they have changed over time, and how natural features and human activities have affected those conditions. Now, planning is underway for the third decade (Cycle 3) of the Program outlined in the Science Plan, with challenges including ensuring that the NAWQA remain a national program in the face of declining resources, balancing new activities against long-term studies, and maintaining focus amidst numerous and competing stakeholder demands.
The Science Plan for Cycle 3 articulates a forward-thinking vision for NAWQA science over the next decade, building on the previous cycles' data, experience, and products. Preparing for the Third Decade (Cycle 3) of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program explains the national needs outlined in the plan, NAWQA's need to emphasize collaboration with other USGS and external programs, other federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector.

Congressional Research Service Report Released: Controlling Air Emissions from Outer Continental Shelf Sources: A Comparison of Two Programs—EPA and DOI

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), the public policy research arm of Congress, just issued the report Controlling Air Emissions from Outer Continental Shelf Sources: A Comparisonof Two Programs—EPA and DOI (Nov. 26, 2012). The 33-page report authored by Jonathan L. Ramseur discusses the following: 
Summary
Air emissions from outer continental shelf (OCS) operations are subject to different regulatory programs, depending on the location of the operation. The Department of the Interior (DOI) has jurisdiction over OCS sources in federal waters in the western Gulf of Mexico and most of the central Gulf. In addition, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-74), transferred air emission authority in the OCS off Alaska’s north coast from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to DOI. EPA has jurisdiction over sources in all other federal waters.
The primary difference between the EPA and DOI programs is rooted in the different statutory authorities: the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) and the 1978 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). The primary objectives of these statutes are different—air quality versus offshore energy development. The two regulatory programs reflect these underlying differences. For much of the past 30 years, these differences received little attention, primarily because most of the federal oil and gas resources in EPA’s jurisdiction have been subject to moratoria. In 2008, moratoria provisions expired, potentially opening many of the areas in EPA’s jurisdiction to oil and gas leasing activity. If more OCS areas in EPA’s jurisdiction are open for oil and gas leasing, policymakers interest in these differences will likely increase.
For OCS sources in EPA’s jurisdiction, requirements depend on whether the source is located within 25 miles of a state’s seaward boundary (“inner OCS sources”) or beyond (“outer OCS sources”). Inner OCS sources are subject to the same requirements as comparable onshore emission sources, which vary by state and depend on the area’s air quality status; outer sources are subject to various CAA provisions, including the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. In contrast, OCS sources in DOI’s jurisdiction are subject to air emission requirements only if emissions would “significantly affect” onshore air quality.
A key difference between the EPA and DOI programs is the federal emission threshold that would subject a source to substantive requirements. For sources in EPA’s jurisdiction, this is the PSD threshold of 250 tons per year (tpy) of regulated emissions. Sources that exceed this level would likely be subject to Best Achievable Control Technology (BACT) and other provisions. States’ analogous thresholds that apply to inner OCS sources may be more stringent. By comparison, a DOI OCS source applies an exemption formula, based on distance from shore (e.g., a source 30 miles from shore would have an emission threshold of 990 tpy). If a source remains subject after this step, it must conduct air modeling to assess whether its emissions would have a significant effect on onshore air quality. In effect, this two-step process constitutes a much less stringent threshold than EPA’s 250 tpy threshold.
Another substantial difference is the time frame allotted to the agencies for reviewing a potential source’s permit (EPA) or activity-specific plan (DOI). In addition, the EPA permit process allows greater opportunity for input from the public. In particular, EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board offers parties a powerful tool to compel agency review.
Therefore, two identical operations, located in separate jurisdictions, could face considerably different requirements and procedural time frames. Some stakeholders would likely argue that the additional opportunities for public involvement in EPA’s permit process help create a balance between resource development and environmental concerns. Others would likely contend these steps present unnecessary burdens and timing uncertainty in the process.

Congressional Research Service Report Released: Update on Controlling Greenhouse Gases from International Aviation

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), the public policy research arm of Congress, just issued the report Update on Controlling Greenhouse Gases from International Aviation (Nov. 19, 2012). The 10-page report authored by Jane A. Legget discusses the,

European Union’s (EU’s) decision in 2008 to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international flights under its Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS),effective January 1, 2012, has been contentious among nations, prompting threats of noncompliance and retaliatory trade actions. The U.S. Administration and other national governments have objected to the EU law for intruding on national sovereignty with regard to its application to flight operations outside EU airspace. Strong industry opposition has led both the U.S. House and Senate to pass a bill (S. 1956) that directs the Secretary of Transportation to prohibit U.S. airlines from participating in the EU ETS if he determines that doing so is in the public interest. The EU has refused to eliminate the international aviation provisions but has proposed to suspend enforcement on flights to and from EU countries until September 2013. This “stopping the clock” is intended to allow time for nations to agree on equivalent, global actions under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Details of the proposed EU amendment are not yet available. The EU ETS inclusion of international aviation, the reasons leading to it, its costs, and other aspects are discussed in CRS Report R42392, Aviation and the European Union’s Emission Trading Scheme. This report summarizes a few recent developments in the continuing debate over whether and how to address GHG emissions from international aviation.
 
 



Monday, November 26, 2012

UNEP Report Released: The Emissions Gap Report 2012

This month, the United Nations Environment Programme released a new report titled, The Emissions Gap Report 2012. The 62-page synthesis report which is available here, discusses the following:
 

About the Report

Two fundamental questions in the global climate negotiations include:
  1. Will the pledges made by countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions be sufficient to achieve the 2.0 degree or 1.5 degree Celsius temperature limits by year 2020 or will there be a gap between the level of ambition that is needed and what is expected as a result of the pledges?   
     2.  If a gap exists, in what ways can it bridged?
Since 2010, UNEP has been convening scientists and experts to answer these questions through the development of the annual “emissions gap” report. The 2012 report provides the following information:
  • An update of global greenhouse gas emission estimates, based on a number of different authoritative scientific sources;
  • An overview of national emission levels, both current (2010) and projected (2020) consistent with current pledges and other commitments;
  • An estimate of the level of global emissions consistent with the two degree target in 2020, 2030 and 2050;
  • An update of the assessment of the "emissions gap" for 2020. 
  • A review of selected examples of the rapid progress being made in different parts of the world to implement policies already leading to substantial emission reductions and how they can be scaled up and replicated in other countries, with the view to bridging the emissions gap.
Prior versions of the report are available below:
The Emissions Gap Report (2010).
Bridging the Emissions Gap Report (2011).


World Meteorological Organization Report Released: Greenhouse Gas Bulletin for 2011

Recently, the World Meteorological Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations which "provide[s] world leadership in expertise and international cooperation in weather, climate, hydrology and water resources and related environmental issues and thereby contribute to the safety and well-being of people throughout the world," issued its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin for the year 2011.  According to the 4-page report, available here,    "[t]he amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2011 . . . [b]etween 1990 and 2011 there was a 30% increase in radiative forcing – the warming effect on our climate – because of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping long-lived gases."

WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin

Prior versions of the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin are available here:

Bulletin No. 8: November 2012
Bulletin No. 7: November 2011
Bulletin No. 6: November 2010
Bulletin No. 5: November 2009
Bulletin No. 4: November 2008
Bulletin No. 3: November 2007
Bulletin No. 2: November 2006
Bulletin No. 1: March 2006

United Kingdom's Carbon Capture and Storage Cost Reduction Task Force Interim Report Released: The Potential for Reducing the Costs of CCS in the UK

This past week, the United Kingdom's Carbon Capture and Storage Cost Reduction Task Force, "published an interim report confirming that fossil fuel power generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS) has the potential to compete cost-effectively with other low-carbon forms of energy in the 2020s."  According to the presse release, the 70-page report which is available here.
was undertaken as a collaboration between Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), The Crown Estate and industry, demonstrates that UK gas and coal power stations equipped with carbon capture, transport and storage can be cost competitive with other forms of low-carbon electricity generation such as nuclear and renewables. Critically, the sector will be able to generate electricity at a levelised cost approaching £100 per megawatt hour by the early 2020s, and at a cost significantly below £100 per megawatt hour soon after.
The task force believes that reductions in the cost of CCS electricity can be achieved in the early 2020s through:
  • Investment in large offshore CO2 storage clusters, supplying multiple onshore CO2 emitters and with investment in large, shared pipelines, with high usage.  
  • Investment in large power stations with progressive improvements in CO2 capture technology capacity, which should be available in the early 2020s following the first couple of projects.
  • A reduction in the cost of project capital through a set of measures to reduce risk and improve investor confidence in the sector.
  • Exploiting potential synergies with CO2 based enhanced oil recovery in some Central North Sea oil fields.

U.S. Geological Survey Report Released: Landscape Consequences of Natural Gas Extraction in Greene and Tioga Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010

Recently, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a report, titled Landscape Consequences of Natural Gas Extraction in Greene and Tioga Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010, USGS Open File Rep: 2012-1220. The 37-page report available here, discuss how,
[i]ncreased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau, is currently undergoing extensive drilling and production. The technology used to extract gas in the Marcellus shale is known as hydraulic fracturing and has garnered much attention because of its use of large amounts of fresh water, its use of proprietary fluids for the hydraulic-fracturing process, its potential to release contaminants into the environment, and its potential effect on water resources. Nonetheless, development of natural gas extraction wells in the Marcellus Shale is only part of the overall natural gas story in the area of Pennsylvania. Coalbed methane, which is sometimes extracted using the same technique, is commonly located in the same general area as the Marcellus Shale and is frequently developed in clusters across the landscape. The combined effects of these two natural gas extraction methods create potentially serious patterns of disturbance on the landscape. This document quantifies the landscape changes and consequences of natural gas extraction for Greene County and Tioga County in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2010. Patterns of landscape disturbance related to natural gas extraction activities were collected and digitized using National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery for 2004, 2005/2006, 2008, and 2010. The disturbance patterns were then used to measure changes in land cover and land use using the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) of 2001. A series of landscape metrics are also used to quantify these changes and are included in this publication.

EPA Event: Webcast on Planning for Sustainability

On December 13, 2012, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm EST, EPA will host a webinar on how water and wastewater utilities can build sustainability considerations into alternatives analysis as they evaluate and select investments in infrastructure. The webinar is the third in a series of Agency webcasts built around the core elements of its 2012 handbook, "Planning for Sustainability: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater Utilities." The webinar will feature presentations on how utilities in Beaverton, Oregon, and Carrboro, North Carolina, have addressed sustainability in their analysis of alternatives. For more information, contact Jim Horne at (202) 564-0571 or horne.james@epa.gov. Click here to register for the free webcast. Click here to view presentations from past webinars in the series or to download a copy of the handbook.

New Library Acquisitions -- Weeks of November 12th & 19th

Featured Book: 

Wild Hope: On the Front Lines of Conservation Success (2012). This 264-page text authored by Andrew Balmford, a professor of conservation science in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, examines successful conservation efforts around the world.  Featuring stories from such locations as India, the United States, and Africa, this text paints a positive view of what conservationists can do to turn the tide for ecological and biological preservation.

New Library Acquisitions:

 
AGRICULTURE.

BROWNFIELDS.
Reclaiming brownfields : a comparative analysis of adaptive reuse of contaminated properties / edited by Richard C. Hula, Laura A. Reese, Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore

CARBON.
Carbon footprint analysis : concepts, methods, implementation, and case studies / Matthew John Franchetti, Defne Apul

CLIMATE CHANGE.
Shaping the law for global crises : thoughts about the role the law could play to come to grips with the major challenges of our time / Jaap Spier ; Elbert de Jong, [editors]



CONSERVATION.
Wild hope : on the front lines of conservation success / Andrew Balmford

EDUCATION.
Schooling for sustainable development in Canada and the United States / Rosalyn McKeown, Victor Nolet, editors.

ECONOMICS.
Moving to markets in environmental regulation : lessons from twenty years of experience / edited by Jody Freeman and Charles D. Kolstad
 
ECOLOGY.
The earth charter : a study book of reflection for action / Elisabeth M. Ferrero, Joe Holland

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.
ESA, Endangered Species Act / Sam Kalen, Murray Feldman

ENVIRONMENTAL  MANAGEMENT.
Risk and social theory in environmental management / edited by Thomas Measham and Stewart Lockie


FOREIGN LAW.
Environmental law in Serbia / Vid Vukasovic, Dragoljub Todic.


HISTORY.
Children of the sun : a history of humanity's unappeasable appetite for energy / Alfred W. Crosby

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.
Environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing / Frank R. Spellman

LAW OF THE SEA.
Environmental governance of the great seas : law and effect / Joseph F.C. Dimento, Alexis Jaclyn Hickman

PHILOSOPHY.
Wilderness and the American mind / Roderick Frazier Nash

PSYCHOLOGY.
Vulnerability, risks, and complexity : impacts of global change on human habitats / Sigrun K. Kabisch ... [et al.] (editors)

SUSTAINABILITY.
Indicators of sustainable development for tourism destinations : a guidebook
 


TOXICS.
Chelating agents for land decontamination technologies / sponsored by Hazardous Waste Committee of the Environmental Council, Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers ; edited by Daniel C.W. Tsang, Irene M.C. Lo, Rao Y. Surampalli
 
WATER LAW.
Water / David Lewis Feldman
 
WILDERNESS ACT.
Wilderness forever : Howard Zahniser and the path to the wilderness act / Mark Harvey
 
WILDERNESS AREAS.
A storied wilderness : rewilding the Apostle Islands / James W. Feldman ; foreword by William Cronon


ZONING.
Fair land governance : how to legalise land rights for rural development / edited by Jan Michiel Otto and André Hoekema


 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Government Accountability Report Released: Information Management: National Technical Information Service's Dissemination of Technical Reports Needs Congressional Attention

Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, titled Information Management: National Technical Information Service's Dissemination of Technical Reports Needs Congressional Attention GAO-13-99 (Nov. 19, 2012). The details of the 46-page report, available here, are discussed below:

Why GAO Did This Study

NTIS was established by statute in 1950 to collect scientific and technical research reports, maintain a bibliographic record and repository of these reports, and disseminate them to the public. NTIS charges fees for its products and services and is required by law to be financially self-sustaining to the fullest extent possible.
GAO was mandated by Congress to update its 2001 report on aspects of NTIS's operations and the reports in its collection. Specifically, GAO's objectives were to determine (1) how NTIS is currently organized and operates, including its functions, current staffing level, reported cost of operations, and revenue sources; (2) the age of and demand trends for reports added to NTIS's repository; and (3) the extent to which these reports are readily available from other public sources. To do this, GAO reviewed agency documentation, analyzed a sample of reports added to NTIS's collection from fiscal years 1990 through 2011 (reports from the period since GAO's last study and other older reports), and interviewed relevant agency officials.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is suggesting that Congress reassess the appropriateness and viability of the fee-based model under which NTIS currently operates for disseminating technical information to determine whether the use of this model should be continued. In comments on a draft of this report, the Department of Commerce stated that NTIS believes GAO's conclusions do not fully reflect the value that the agency provides. However, GAO maintains that its conclusions and suggestion to Congress are warranted.

UNEP Report Released: A New Angle on Sovereign Credit Risk, E-RISC: Environmental Risk Integration in Sovereign Credit Analysis

Yesterday, the United Nations Environment Programme released a new report titled, A New Angle on Sovereign Credit Risk, E-RISC: Environmental Risk Integration in Sovereign Credit Analysis (2012). The 40-page report available here, examines five test countries including Brazil, France, India, Japan and Turkey and addresses how,
[l]oss of soils, forests and fisheries, as well as rising resource costs, are likely to become increasingly important to a nation’s economic health, and may affect its ability to repay or refinance sovereign debt, says the study issued by the United Nations Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
The report suggests that factoring the way a country manages natural assets into sovereign bond ratings may not only give investors increased transparency when making investment decisions, but also encourage governments issuing sovereign debt to manage their natural resources more sustainably in order to attract investors over the medium to long term.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Report Released: Regional Investment of RGGI CO2 Allowance Proceeds, 2011

Yesterday, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a "market-based regulatory program . . . [designed] to reduce greenhouse gas emissions . . . among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont," released a report titled, Regional Investment of RGGI CO2 Allowance Proceeds, 2011. The 39-page report available here,
estimates that RGGI investments will offset the need for more than 27 million megawatt hours of electricity generation and 26.7 million British Thermal Units (BTUs) of energy generation. This savings will help avoid the emission of 12 million short tons of carbon dioxide pollution, an amount equivalent to taking 2 million passenger vehicles off the road for one year.
In addition to their environmental impact, RGGI investments have also had a positive impact on consumer energy bills and the regional clean energy economy. The report found that, from 2009 to 2011, RGGI investments:
• Directly benefited 2.9 million households and 7,400 businesses.
• Generated an estimated $1.3 billion in lifetime energy bill savings for utility customers.
• Channeled over $617 million into the region’s clean energy economy.
• Returned $69 million in bill credits to an estimated 84,000 low-income families.
• Helped an estimated 2,400 workers secure training in clean energy job skills.

Related Resources

Regional Investment of RGGI CO2 Allowance Proceeds, 2011 Executive Summary (2012), available at http://www.rggi.org/docs/Documents/2011-Investment-Report__ES.pdf.

World Bank Report Released: Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided

This week, the World Bank, a partnership established in 1944, that provides "financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world" released a report titled, Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided. According to the press release, the 106-page report available here,
says that the 4°C scenarios are potentially devastating: the inundation of coastal cities; increasing risks for food production potentially leading to higher under and malnutrition rates; many dry regions becoming dryer, wet regions wetter; unprecedented heat waves in many regions, especially in the tropics; substantially exacerbated water scarcity in many regions; increased intensity of tropical cyclones; and irreversible loss of biodiversity, including coral reef systems.
. . .
The report notes, however, that a 4°C world is not inevitable and that with sustained policy action warming can still be held below 2°C, which is the goal adopted by the international community and one that already brings some serious damages and risks to the environment and human populations.

Monday, November 19, 2012

International Union for the Conservation of Nature Report Released: Nature Resilience: Organising Ecological Restoration by Partners in Business for Next Generations

This month, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released a report titled, Nature Resilience: Organising Ecological Restoration by Partners in Business for Next Generations. The 98-page report available here, as a downloadable pdf, discusses
[t]he essence of sustainability is about reconnecting man's relationship to nature. This paper proposes the creation of a practical international mechanism for creating collaborative partnerships between stakeholders such as scientists, NGOs, foundations, local authorities, and the business community. The proposed mechanism Nature Resilience would initiate and organise tailor-made ecological restoration partnerships between companies and stakeholder groups, wherein the explicit goal would be the restoration of millions of hectares of ecosystems in cooperation with local people, farmers and NGOs, in a way that conforms to international established guidelines.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature Report Released: An Explanatory Guide to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing

This month, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released a report titled, An Explanatory Guide to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing. The 395-page report available here, as a downloadable pdf, discusses
[t]he main goal of this Explanatory Guide is to facilitate the understanding of the legal obligations of the Parties under the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This publication serves as an adaptable tool for future ABS capacity-building and awareness raising initiatives, as well as an important reference for countries in their efforts to implement the Nagoya Protocol and operationalize ABS in practice.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Recent Law Review Articles -- October 2012

Compiled from the Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP).

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW.
Shipley, David E.  The Chevron two-step in Georgia’s administrative law.  46 Ga. L. Rev. 871-936 (2012).

Welkowitz, Bill.  Note. Providing another leg to stand on? A question of the “zone of interests” in challenging agency decision-making under the Air Pollution Control Act.  (Matthews Int’l Corp. v. Commw. Of Pa. Dep’t of Envtl. Prot., 2011 Pa. Envirn LEXIS 40, 2011.)  23 Vill. Envtl. L.J. 303-324 (2012).

AGRICULTURE.
Collins, Shauna R.  Note. Striking the proper balance between the carrot and the stick approaches to animal feeding operation regulation.  2012 U. Ill. L. Rev. 923-968. 

Gathii, James and Keith H. Hirakawa.  Curtailing ecosystem exportation: ecosystem services as a basis to reconsider export-driven agriculture in economies highly dependent on agricultural exports.  30 Va. Envtl. L.J. 1-27 (2012).

McCue, Mallorie.  Note. Follow the money: insulating agribusiness through lobbying and suppression of individual free speech.  6 Pitt. J. Envtl. L. & Pub. Health L. 213-237 (2012).

Cassuto, David N. and student Sarah Saville.  Hot, crowded, and legal: a look at industrial agriculture in the United States and Brazil.  18 Animal L. 185-205 (2012).

Vargas Gallegos, Nathaniel.  International agricultural pragmatics: an inquiry of the orthodox economic breakdowns and an evaluation of solutions with the food sovereignty movement.  16 Drake J. Agri. L. 429-461 (2011).

Rigdon, Kevin C.  Note. Stop the planting! The 1985 Farm Bill, conservation compliance, and America’s agricultural conservation failure.  16 Drake J. Agri. L. 487-507 (2011).

Kiefer, Joseph.  Comment. Turning over a new sprout: promoting agricultural health by fostering the coexistence of organic and genetically modified crops in the wake of Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms and the deregulation of modified alfalfa.  61 Emory L.J. 1241-1285 (2012).

McCabe, Margaret Sova.  Superweeds and suspect seeds: does the genetically-engineered crop deregulation process put American agriculture at risk?  1 U. Balt. J. Land & Dev. 109-155 (2012).

AIR POLLUTION.
Havel, Brian F. and Gabriel S. Sanchez.  Toward an international aviation emissions agreement.  36 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 351-385 (2012).

Secor, Patrick.  Case comment. European Union law—EU emissions standards may be applied to third-state airlines departing from member states.  (Case C—366/10, Air Transp. Ass’n of Am. v. Sec’y of State for Energy & Climate Change, 49(3) C.M.L.R. 1113, 2011.)  35 Suffolk Transnat’l L. Rev. 505-514 (2012).

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY.
Hamilton, Jessica A.R.  Note. Finding new power in the wind, the earth, and the sun: a survey of the regulation of alternative energy generated in American Indian reservations in the United States and First Nation reserves in Canada.  44 Conn. L. Rev. 1383-1416 (2012),

Widener, Michael N.  Current events: reflections on solar power generators’ ground leasing of vacant tracts.  4 Ky. J. Equine, Agri., & Nat. Resources L. 339-388 (2011-2012).

Walker, Renner Kincaid.  Note. The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind: nuisance suits and the perplexing future of American wind farms.  16 Drake J. Agri. L. 509-548 (2011).

Ferrell. Shannon L.  The technical and ethical challenges for lawyers in evaluating wind energy development agreements.  17 Drake J. Agri. L. 55-88 (2012).

ANIMAL LAW.
First Annual Animal Law Review Symposium. Introduction by Nancy Perry; articles by David N. Cassuto, Maneesha Deckha, David Favre, Peter Sankoff and student Sarah Saville.  18 Animal L. 175-320 (2012).

Leung, Andrew S.  Note. The adverse effects of aquatic invasive species on native commercial and recreational fisheries of the Great Lakes and the exacerbation of the problem by judicial reluctance to act.  4 Ky. J. Equine, Agri., & Nat. Resources L. 525-549 (2011-2012).

Sankoff, Peter.  The animal rights debate and the expansion of public discourse: is it possible for the law protecting animals to simultaneously fail and succeed?  18 Animal L. 281-320 (2012).

Waterlander, Tara A.  Some tenants have tails: when housing providers must permit animals to reside in “no-pet” properties.  18 Animal L. 321-359 (2012).

Favre, David.  An international treaty for animal welfare.  18 Animal L. 237-280 (2012).

ARCTIC.
Kikkert, Peter.  Promoting national interests and fostering cooperation: Canada and the development of a Polar Code.  43 J. Mar. L. & Com. 319-334 (2012).

BIOGRAPHY.
Weiss, Edith Brown.  Legacies of Louis B. Sohn: the United Nations Charter and international environmental law.  16 Willamette J. Int’l L. & Disp. Resol. 212-224 (2008).

Noyes, John E.  Louis B. Sohn and the law of the sea.  16 Willamette J. Int’l L. & Disp. Resol. 238-251 (2008).

Weiss, Edith Brown.  Legacies of Louis B. Sohn: the United Nations Charter and international environmental law.  16 Willamette J. Int’l L. & Disp. Resol. 212-224 (2008).

Shearer, Ivan.  World peace through human rights, law of the sea, and the United Nations: a tribute to Loius B. Sohn.  16 Willamette J. Int’l L. & Disp. Resol. 225-237 (2008).

CARBON MARKETS & REGULATION.
Burt, Christopher.  CO2 and regulation authority: the legal and policy implications of California’s proposed cap-and-trade program and Clean Air Act national ambient air quality greenhouse gas regulation.  44 Urb. Law. 429-464 (2012).

Burt, Christopher.  CO2 and regulation authority: the legal and policy implications of California’s proposed cap-and-trade program and Clean Air Act national ambient air quality greenhouse gas regulation.  44 Urb. Law. 429-464 (2012).

Hahn, Robert W. and Robert N. Stavins.  The effect of allowance allocations on cap-and-trade system performance.  54 J.L. & Econ. S267-S294 (2011).

CERCLA.
Percival, Robert V., student Katherine H. Cooper and student Matthew M. Gravens.  CERCLA in a global context.  41 Sw. L. Rev. 727-772 (2012).

Ferrey, Steven.  Reconfiguration of Superfund liability?: the disconnection between Supreme Court decisions and the lower federal courts.  41 Sw. L. Rev. 589-615 (2012).

Symposium. CERCLA and the Future of Liability-Based Environmental Regulation. Foreword by Ronald G. Aronovsky; articles by Steven Ferrey, Robin Kundis Craig, Joel A. Mintz, Alfred R. (Fred) Light, Alexandra B. Klass, Robert V. Percival and students Katherine H. Cooper and Matthew M. Gravens.  41 Sw. L. Rev. 581-772 (2012).

Mintz, Joel A.  EPA enforcement of CERCLA: historical overview and recent trends.  41 Sw. L. Rev. 645-659 (2012).

Klass, Alexandra B.  CERCLA, state law, and federalism in the 21st century.  41 Sw. L. Rev. 679-726 (2012).

CLEAN AIR ACT.
Richardson, Nathan.  Playing without aces: offsets and the limits of flexibility under Clean Air Act climate policy.  42 Envtl. L. 735-783 (2012).

CLEAN WATER ACT.
Brown, Christopher R.  When the “plain text” isn’t so plain: how National Pork Producers Council restricts the Clean Water Act’s purpose and impairs its enforcement against factory farms.  16 Drake J. Agri. L. 375-428 (2011).

CLIMATE CHANGE.
The Future of Climate Change Litigation after AEP v. Connecticut. Henry N. Butler, moderator;  Rick Faulk, Eric Lasker, Amanda Leiter, Mike Myers, panelists.  8 J.L. Econ. & Pol’y 233-256 (2011).

COAL.
Coal and Environment. Articles by Eric Schaeffer, Patrick R. Baker, Peter S. Glaser, F. William Brownell, Victor E. Schwartz, Jonathan Skinner, Michael Brown, Patrick Charles McGinley, Judge Charles H. Haden II and Wenxuan YU.  13 Vt. J. Envtl. L. 131-359 (2011).

COMPARATIVE LAW.
Kotzé, Louis J. and Rebecca Bates.  Similar but different: comparative perspectives on access to water in Australia and South Africa.  15 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 221-273 (2012).

CONSERVATION & PRESERVATION EASEMENTS.
Wolf, Elliot G.  Note. Simultaneously waste and wasted opportunity: the inequality of federal tax incentives for conservation easement donations.  31 Stan. Envtl. L.J. 315-333 (2012).

Phelps, Jess R.  Preserving preservation easements?: preservation easements in an uncertain regulatory future.  91 Neb. L. Rev. 121-169 (2012).

CULTURAL HERITAGE.
Segarra, Jonathan Joseph Beren.  Above us the waves: defending the expansive jurisdictional reach of American admiralty courts in determining the recovery rights to ancient or historic wrecks.  43 J. Mar. L. & Com. 349-391 (2012).

Keeler, Honor.  Indigenous international repatriation.  44 Ariz. St. L.J. 703-801 (2012).

Repatriation at Twenty: A Gathering on Native Self-Determination and Human Rights. Introduction by James Riding In; articles by Manley A. Begay, Jr., Roger Buffalohead, Walter Echo-Hawk, Erin M. Genia, Suzan Shown Harjo, G. Peter Jemison, Honor Keeler, Steve Titla, Rebecca Tsosie, W. Richard West, Jr., Mervin Wright, Jr., Pemina Yellow Bird and students Alyson Vivattanapa and Naomi Thurston.  44 Ariz. St. L.J. 613-926 (2012).

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.
Erikson, Andrew B.  Student chapter. Grizzly bear recovery, whitebark pine, and adequate regulatory mechanisms under the Endangered Species Act.  (Greater Yellowstone Coal v. Servheen, 665 F.3d 1015, 2011.)  42 Envtl. L. 943-975 (2012).

Ruhl, J.B.  The Endangered Species Act’s fall from grace in the Supreme Court.  36 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 487-532 (2012).

ENERGY INDUSTRY.
Symposium: Environmental Impacts of Oil and Gas. Articles by Carl R. Galant, Bruce M. Kramer, Christopher S. Kulander, Edmund R. McCarthy, Jr. and Mark McPherson.  44 Tex. Tech. L. Rev. 817-996 (2012).

Burr, Carolyn F., Rebecca W. Watson and student Chelsea Huffman.  Water: the fuel for Colorado energy.  15 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 275-327 (2012).

Curtis, Spencer.  Casenote. From tailwind to typhoon: Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Inc. v. Energy Facilities Siting Bd. blows federal jurisdiction inland and creates dangerous precedent under slipshod interpretation.  (Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Inc. v. Energy Facilities Siting Bd., 932 N.E.2d 787, 2010.)  23 Vill. Envtl. L.J. 247-276 (2012).

Parke, Nicolas.  Comment. How much is fair?: will Senate Bill 18 ensure condemnors pay just compensation for land taken due to the CREZ transmission lines?  44 Tex. Tech. L. Rev. 1121-1163 (2012).

America’s Energy Plan: From Dinosaurs to the Next Generation—Evolution or Extinction? Introduction by Candace Carpenter; articles by Jonathan C. Augustine, Loïc Conan, Emeka Duruigbo, Wesley N. Harris and Misty Robinson.  37 T. Marshall L. Rev. 175-327 (2012).

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.
Kazazis, Alexander.  Note. The Western Climate Initiative: the fate of an experiment in subnational cross-border environmental collaboration.  37 Brook. J. Int’l L. 1177-1214 (2012).

Cudiamat, Nicole Angeline.  Note. Displacement disparity: filling the gap of protection for the environmentally displaced person.  46 Val. U. L. Rev. 891-938 (2012).
 
Hansen, Rick E.  Climate change disclosure by SEC registrants: revisiting the SEC’s 2010 interpretive release.  6 Brook. J. Corp. Fin. & Com. L. 487-552 (2012)

FOOD LAW & SAFETY.
Morles, Gustavo.  Student article. Catastrophe lurks in South America: tainted food and international commerce in the Andean Community of Nations.  39 Syracuse J. Int’l L. & Com. 411-439 (2012).

Benny, Erik.  Student essay. “Natural” modifications: the FDA’s need to promulgate an official definition of “natural” that includes genetically modified organisms.  80 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1504-1526 (2012).

Van Zuiden, Stacey H.  Note. The good food fight for Good Samaritans: the history of alleviating liability and equalizing tax incentives for food donors.  17 Drake J. Agri. L. 237-262 (2012).

FOREIGN LAW.
Harris, Wesley N.  China energy: a crossroads historiography.  37 T. Marshall L. Rev. 255-301 (2012).

Benda, Stan.  From the land that brought you William Shatner: a warp speed overview of Canadian agricultural law and history.  16 Drake J. Agri. L. 207-240 (2011).

Alviar Garciá, Helena.  Searching for women and sustainable development in Colombia: restructuring the limits.  23 Fordham Envtl. L. Rev. 22-43 (2012).

Murthy, Sharmila L.  Iraq’s constitutional mandate to justly distribute water: the implications of federalism, Islam, international law, and human rights.  42 Geo. Wash. Int’l L. Rev. 749-785 (2010).

YU, Wenxuan.  Low-carbon and more: challenges and solutions of China’s coal industry legislation.  13 Vt. J. Envtl. L. 333-359 (2011).

HEALTH.
Fox, Cory.  Comment. Resisting antibiotic resistance: legal strategies to maintain man’s dominion over microbes.  12 Hous. J. Health L. & Pol’y 35-61 (2011).

HISTORY.
Andreen, William L.  Of fables and federalism: a re-examination of the historical rationale for federal environmental regulation.  42 Envtl. L. 627-679 (2012).

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.
Kramer, Bruce M.  Federal legislative and administrative regulation of hydraulic fracturing operations.  44 Tex. Tech. L. Rev. 837-862 (2012).

Van Ort, Travis D.  Note. Hydraulic fracturing additives: a solution to the tension between trade secret protection and demands for public disclosure.  4 Ky. J. Equine, Agri., & Nat. Resources L. 439-458 (2011-2012).

Manor, Neal J.  Note. “What the frack?” Why hydraulic fracturing is abnormally dangerous and whether courts should allow strict liability causes of action.  4 Ky. J. Equine, Agri., & Nat. Resources L. 459-478 (2011-2012).

Perkins, Nancy D.  The fracturing of place: the regulation of Marcellus Shale development and the subordination of local experience.  23 Fordham Envtl. L. Rev. 44-79 (2012).

Kerner, Kathleen.  Recent development. Fracturing the environment?: exploring potential problems posed by horizontal drilling methods.  1 U. Balt. J. Land & Dev. 235-245 (2012).

INTERNATIONAL LAW.
Conan, Loïc.  Materialization of political risk in the oil & gas industry: the case of Egypt in the turmoil of the Arab Spring.  37 T. Marshall L. Rev. 213-229 (2012).

McKenzie, Scott O.  Note. Egypt’s choice: from the Nile Basin Treaty to the Cooperative Framework Agreement, an international legal analysis.  21 Transnat’l L. & Contemp. Probs. 571-599 (2012).

INTERNATIONAL TRADE.
Gathii, James and Keith H. Hirakawa.  Curtailing ecosystem exportation: ecosystem services as a basis to reconsider export-driven agriculture in economies highly dependent on agricultural exports.  30 Va. Envtl. L.J. 1-27 (2012).

McNish, Tyler.  Carbon offsets are a bridge too far in the tradable property rights revolution.  36 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 387-443 (2012).

Morosini, Fabio.  Trade and climate change: unveiling the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities from the WTO agreements.  42 Geo. Wash. Int’l L. Rev. 713-748 (2010).

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
Barrett, Catherine Anne.  Note. A rose by any other statute would smell as sweet: patent protection of ornamental plants.  4 Ky. J. Equine, Agri., & Nat. Resources L. 501-524 (2011-2012).

LAND USE.
Birch, Michael.  Student article. Take some land for the ball game: sports stadiums, eminent domain, and the public use doctrine.  19 Sports Law. J. 173-207 (2012).

Galiani, Sebastian and Ernesto Schargrodsky.  Land property rights and resource allocation.  54 J.L. & Econ. S329-S345 (2011).

Spoerl, Douglas.  Comment. Land aesthetics v. wireless channel access: the case for local authority to regulate the visible, but not the wireless, interface of antennas.  1 U. Balt. J. Land & Dev. 177-206 (2012).

Cox, Edward.  Helping landowners help new farmers: incentive programs and other legal tools for transitioning land to the next generation of farmers.  17 Drake J. Agri. L. 37-54 (2012).

LAW OF THE SEA.
Pedrozo, Pete.  The U.S.-China Incidents at Sea Agreement: a recipe for disaster.  6 J. Nat’l Sec. L. & Pol’y 207-226 (2012).

Craig, Robin Kundis.  Ocean governance for the 21st century: making marine zoning climate change adaptable.  36 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 305-350 (2012).

MINING.
Neace, Steven A.  Note. The bait and switch: equitable estoppel and Mine Safety and Health Administration jurisdiction.  4 Ky. J. Equine, Agri., & Nat. Resources L. 417-437 (2011-2012).

NANOTECHNOLOGY.
Symposium. The Biggest Issues for the Smallest Stuff: Nanotechnology Regulation and Risk Management. Foreword by Blair H. Moses; articles by Gary E. Marchant, Blake Atkinson, David Banko, Joshua Bromley, Edith Cseke, Evan Feldstein, Devin Garcia, Justin M. Grant, Connor Hubach, Monika Silva, Robert L. Swinford, Simon Willman, Kenneth W. Abbott, Elizabeth A. Corley, Edward R. Glady, Jr., Gregorio M. Garcia, Blair H. Moses, Daniel J. Fiorino, Timothy F. Malloy, Kiril D. Hristovski, Youngjae Kim and Dietram A. Scheufele.  52 Jurimetrics J. 239-381 (2012).

Hristovski, Kiril D.  Scientific challenges of nanomaterial risk assessment.  52 Jurimetrics J. 359-370 (2012).

NATIVE AMERICAN LANDS.
Segal, Alice.  Note. Uranium mining and the Navajo Nation—legal injustice.  21 S. Cal. Rev. L. & Soc. Just. 355-397 (2012).

Hamilton, Jessica A.R.  Note. Finding new power in the wind, the earth, and the sun: a survey of the regulation of alternative energy generated in American Indian reservations in the United States and First Nation reserves in Canada.  44 Conn. L. Rev. 1383-1416 (2012).

Shown Harjo, Suzan.  Native American human rights acts: a brief account of some ways that Native Peoples and friends won repatriation and national Indian museum laws.  44 Ariz. St. L.J. 681-696 (2012).

NATURAL DISASTERS.
Baldridge, Kate.  Student article. Disaster resilience: a study of San Francisco’s soft-story building problem.  44 Urb. Law. 465-492 (2012).

Sweeney, Patricia and Ryan Joyce.  Gubernatorial emergency management powers: testing the limits in Pennsylvania.  6 Pitt. J. Envtl. L. & Pub. Health L. 149-177 (2012).

Augustine, Jonathan C.  A national model for disaster recovery: growing green jobs in the age of energy efficiency.  37 T. Marshall L. Rev. 179-212 (2012).

NATURAL RESOURCES.
Faure, Michael and Jing Liu.  New models for the compensation of natural resources damage.  4 Ky. J. Equine, Agri., & Nat. Resources L. 261-314 (2011-2012).

Tomasovic, Brian S.  The fate of treated wood infrastructure.  30 Va. Envtl. L.J. 28-71 (2012).

Thrope, Jonathan.  Case comment.  (Minard Run Oil Co. v. United States Forest Service, 670 F.3d 236, 2011.)  36 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 567-598 (2012).

NEPA.
Fang, Lilly.  Note. Environmental review problems of cross-border projects under NEPA: lessons from the tar sands pipelines.  31 Stan. Envtl. L.J. 285-313 (2012).

Braeuer, Sally.  Casenote. A slick situation: the First Circuit creates a buzz and it turns to NEPA to strengthen federal oil spill regulation in ...  (United States v. Coalition for Buzzards Bay, 644 F.3d 26, 2011.)  23 Vill. Envtl. L.J. 173-210 (2012).

NUCLEAR ENERGY.
Yanishevskiy, Denis.  Casenote. The California project: Federal Government continues trend of preempting state law in the field of nuclear safety in ...  (Boeing Co. v. Robinson, 2011 WL 1748312, 2011.)  23 Vill. Envtl. L.J. 277-302 (2012).

OIL.
Behrens, Brady Paul.  Comment. Rule 37 exceptions and small mineral tracts in urban areas: an argument for incorporating compulsory pooling into special field rules in Texas.  44 Tex. Tech. L. Rev. 1053-1086 (2012).

Claveloux, Jacob and Jon Stockman.  Note. Eastern Enterprises as the canary in the coalmine: will the Supreme Court hamper the Gulf workforce by continuing to confuse the constitutionality of retroactive liability provisions?  29 Hofstra Lab. & Emp. L.J. 609-649 (2012).

Larsen, Gaia J.  Skewed incentives: how offshore drilling policies fail to induce innovation to reduce social and environmental costs.  31 Stan. Envtl. L.J. 139-194 (2012).

Varty, Johna.  Case note. Pawnee Well Users v. Wolfe: the natural successor to Vance v. Wolfe.  (Pawnee Well Users v. Wolfe, No. 2010CW98, 2011.)  15 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 469-488 (2012).

Duruigbo, Emeka.  Oil, turmoil, and a Texas export for energy security.  37 T. Marshall L. Rev. 231-254 (2012).

Harrigan, Ryan.  Comment. TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline: politics, environmental harm & eminent domain abuse.  1 U. Balt. J. Land & Dev. 207-234 (2012).

OIL SPILLS.
Selby, Brendan.  Case comment.  (In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2011, Order of Aug. 26, 2011, 808 F. Supp. 2d 943, 2011.)  36 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 533-566 (2012).

Kelly, Devin C.  Note. Industry overboard: how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected the Gulf Coast commercial fishing industry and statutory recommendations for future protection.  16 Drake J. Agri. L. 463-485 (2011).

Gignilliat, William R.  Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest winner. The Gulf oil spill: OPA, state law, and maritime preemption.  13 Vt. J. Envtl. L. 385-416 (2011).

Slagle, Emily.  Note. Troubled waters: what the Gulf oil spill reveals about the consequences of bankruptcy.  13 Vt. J. Envtl. L. 361-384 (2011).

RCRA.
Nelson, Ricky R.  Student chapter. Covert RCRA enforcement: seeking compensatory damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act for environmental contamination.  (Myers v. United States, 652 F.3d 1021, 2011.)  42 Envtl. L. 909-941 (2012).

RENEWABLE RESOURCES.
Mormann, Felix.  Enhancing the investor appeal of renewable energy.  42 Envtl. L. 681-734 (2012).

STATE AND LOCAL LAW.
Maguire, Colin W.  The imposing specter of municipal liability for exclusive promotion of green building certification systems.  1 U. Balt. J. Land & Dev. 157-175 (2012).

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
Gender and the Future of Sustainability. Opening remarks by Lucy Wanjiru; articles by Tracy Higgins, Jeanmarie French, Helena Alviar Garciá and Nancy D. Perkins.  23 Fordham Envtl. L. Rev. 1-79 (2012).

TOXICS.
Ballif, Tori.  Note. Political fallout: designing a radiation exposure compensation scheme.  31 Stan. Envtl. L.J. 253-283 (2012).

WASTE TREATMENT.
Sease, Matt G.  Note. What’s that smell: septic systems and Iowa’s time of transfer law.  16 Drake J. Agri. L. 343-358 (2011).

WATER POLLUTION.
Eckstein, Gabriel and George William Sherk.  Alternative strategies for addressing the presence and effects of pharmaceutical and personal care products in fresh water resources.  15 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 369-445 (2012).

Longhurst, Corey.  Note. Where is the point? Water quality trading’s inability to deal with nonpoint source agricultural pollution.  17 Drake J. Agri. L. 175-209 (2012).

WETLANDS.
Brechtel, Vailferree S.  Student article. Delving into Rapanos v. United States, United States v. Bailey, and regulatory guidance: the importance of science in determining federal jurisdiction over wetlands.  (Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715, 2006.)  57 S.D. L. Rev. 67-97 (2012).

ZONING.
Salkin, Patricia E. and student Zachary Kansler.  Medical marijuana zoned out: local regulation meets state acceptance and federal quiet acquiescence.  16 Drake J. Agri. L. 295-319 (2011).