Offshore areas are under pressure to industrialize for renewable energy. To plan for offshore wind development, Rhode Island engaged in a marine spatial planning process that resulted in the Ocean Special Area Management Plan (O-SAMP), a regulatory invention of the Coastal Zone Management Act. Notably, the Rhode Island O-SAMP maps and plans for uses in federal waters beyond the three-mile line dividing state and fedeal jurisdiction, as well as within the state's territorial sea, posing a challenge to the boundaries of offshore federalism.

Abundant, inexpensive, and lower in emissions than traditional coal power sources, natural gas is expected to play an enormous role in our energy future. Although the drilling technique of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" has made it possible to extract natural gas from "plays," such as the Marcellus Shale Play, some members of the public have become increasingly concerned about problems alleged to be associated with fracking and drilling, such as groundwater contamination and air pollution.

In the near future, the use of coal may be legally restricted due to concerns over the effects of its combustion on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Carbon capture and geologic sequestration offer one method to reduce carbon emissions from coal and other hydrocarbon fuel. While the federal government is providing increased funding for carbon capture and storage, congressional legislative efforts to limit carbon emissions have failed. However, regional and state bodies have taken significant actions both to regulate carbon and to facilitate its capture and storage.

This Comment seeks to prepare lawyers to address environmental risk management in the context of transactions, including: (i) transfers of ownership of corporate assets and of real property; (ii) extensions of secured credit; and (iii) issuance of securities. It offers tools for lawyers to assist clients in the identification of environmental risks, their assessment, and their avoidance or allocation to others. It also assists clients in understanding the goals of lawyers seeking to assess and manage environmental liabilities.

In 1982, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary James G. Watt merged the responsibilities for revenue collection and regulatory oversight of offshore oil and gas industries under the Minerals Management Services (MMS). This created a dangerous conflict of interest within the MMS.

The Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol has been in place in China for several years, and today, China exists as the global center of CDM project development. Although the CDM has brought and is expected to bring considerable benefits to China, its limited and in some cases negative impacts may affect China’s sustainable development in the long run. Moreover, as the first Kyoto period is set to expire in 2012, the climate legal regime and the CDM are likely to be changed.

Modern consumption patterns are a product of the historical development and industrialization of the United States, including increased consumer spending and demand for energy-intensive goods. These historical and social trends provide the foundation for understanding contemporary patterns of consumption of natural resources, undoubtedly a cause of global climate change and other serious adverse environmental effects.

In the near future the use of coal may be legally restricted due to concerns over the effects of its combustion on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Carbon capture and geologic sequestration offer one method to reduce carbon emissions from coal and other hydrocarbon fuel. While the federal government is providing increased funding for carbon capture and storage, congressional legislative efforts to limit carbon emissions have failed.

For a number of years, the U.S. federal tax code has imposed a tax on petroleum that finances the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, an earmarked fund to help cover the costs of oil spills. BP’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico provided an unprecedented test for the Trust Fund and underscored the question of who pays for the costs of oil spills. The BP spill taught important lessons about the role of the tax and the Trust Fund, and the federal regulatory regime governing the responsible parties’ liability.