The Second Circuit affirmed a district court order remanding to state court a climate liability lawsuit against an oil and gas company. The state of Connecticut initially sued the company in state court, alleging it engaged in a decades-long campaign of knowingly misleading and deceiving Connecticut...
This Comment argues that what is needed to make sustainability work for business is a National Business Sustainability Council that would develop and promulgate sustainability criteria, be able to evaluate whether specific small businesses are meeting those criteria, and be able to “certify” that a small business is, in fact, meeting these criteria, and is therefore “sustainable.” It asserts the Council’s criteria and evaluation methodology should be both rigorous and transparent, such that when the Council awards a sustainability certification to a business, the federal and state governmen
Plastic pollution is a global environmental problem with a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities and other vulnerable groups. On June 27, 2023, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), ELI’s Women in Environmental Law & Leadership initiative, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and WilmerHale co-hosted a panel of experts who explored the environmental justice implications of continued production and disposal of plastics, and addressed key domestic and international policy efforts.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed denial of fishing rights to the Lummi Nation in a long-running dispute over rights in certain waters in northern Washington. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the Tulalip Tribes, and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe argued that the recognized fishing rights of the Lummi ...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit alleging the Forest Service was liable as a contributor under RCRA for failing to regulate use of lead ammunition by hunters in Kaibab National Forest. Environmental groups argued that, even though the Service's activity was not the direct source of ...
The Fifth Circuit granted oil and gas interest groups' and the state of Texas' petition to review NRC's issuance of a license to a private company to operate a temporary storage facility for spent nuclear fuel on the Permian Basin. Petitioners argued, among other things, that NRC lacked statutory au...
The fashion industry continues to grow exponentially, along with marketers’ use of false and misleading claims about “sustainability” and other environmental attributes of fashion garments. This Article explores recent instances of greenwashing in the industry and other countries’ efforts to address the issue, and proposes specific ways that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should improve its guidelines for environmental marketing claims and expand enforcement.
James O. “Jim” McDonald was the first director of enforcement in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Midwest regional office. His privately published autobiography, Holes in My Shoes: Tales of Growing Up in the Great Depression, provides a candid account of his impoverished childhood and his memorable experiences as a soldier, student, journalist, amateur athlete, and public health official.
A state court held unconstitutional a provision of the Montana Environmental Policy Act that prohibited state agencies from considering the impacts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on climate change in environmental reviews. A group of youths challenged the prohibition, arguing it was causing or co...
This abstract is adapted from Albert C. Lin, Making Net Zero Matter, 79 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 679 (2022), and used with permission.