The U.S. Supreme Court most properly held in Marsh v. Oregon Natural Resources Council that it would be "incongruous" if "blinders to adverse environmental effects, once unequivocally removed, [were] restored prior to the completion of agency action simply because the relevant proposal has received initial approval." Many "actions" taken by federal agencies are not discrete, one-time events, but rather represent "ongoing actions" to which continuing obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) must attach for the Act's purpose to be realized.

Chasing the Wind: Regulating Air Pollution in the Common Law State, a book authored by Noga MoragLevine, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, is a broad indictment of "air pollution control policy" in our common-law state narrated from a "historical" and comparative perspective. In the end, though, the indictment misses its mark. For, while the mistakes of U.S. air pollution control policymakers are many, they are not those spotlighted by this book.

Swept Away: A Cautionary Tale Regarding Endangered Species Mitigation

An environmental management system (EMS) is a systematic approach to identifying and managing an organization's environmental obligations and issues that can complement many aspects of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. An EMS is a "set of processes and practices that enable an organization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency." As such, EMS is a promising means of bringing progressive private-sector environmental management techniques to federal agency management.

Non-indigenous species (NIS) have increasingly come to be recognized in scientific and popular arenas as one of the most significant threats to biodiversity. That recognition has yet to extend to law and policy, which, in the United States, remain fractured and incomplete. This Article surveys the most significant of the many bits and pieces of U.S. federal law that relate to prevention and control of NIS, and argues that a more coherent and powerful legal framework is needed to address the NIS problem.

The need to protect the public from the serious adverse health effects of motor vehicle emissions has been recognized as an important public health goal since the 1960s. Evidence of adverse health effects associated with vehicle emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), benzene, ozone, and lead was the primary driving force behind the enactment of the Air Quality Act of 1967, which set in motion the federal regulation of tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles.

Editors' Summary: The CAA's PSD program is extraordinarily complex. This Article, written in two parts, focuses on the root of the PSD implementation process--baselines, increments, and ceilings. After exploring the essential features of baselines, increments, and ceilings, Prof. John-Mark Stensvaag delves into the complications that clutter up the theoretical simplicity of these features--complications flowing from statutory drafting, regulatory drafting, and interpretative choices made during the first 30 years of the program.

Editors' Summary: Science plays a central role in ensuring that our environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations are protective of human health and the environment. The author presents several instances where scientists were allegedly fired or otherwise attacked because employers or others were disturbed by the results of their scientific research. Kuehn surveys the legal protections available to scientists and the legal tools available to their detractors when disputes over scientific speech arise.

Editors' Summary: Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives Resources Committee launched a Task Force on Improving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), organizing a number of hearings across the country. While industry representatives complained of interference and delays in project approvals, environmentalists asserted that the statute works and praised its venue for public participation. The aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita added more fuel to the controversy.

Editors' Summary: The CAA's PSD program is extraordinarily complex. This Article, written in two parts, focuses on the root of the PSD implementation process--baselines, increments, and ceilings. After exploring the essential features of baselines, increments, and ceilings, Prof. John-Mark Stensvaag delves into to the complications that clutter up the theoretical simplicity of these features--complications flowing from statutory drafting, regulatory drafting, and interpretative choices made during the first 30 years of the program.