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No Road to Change: The Weaknesses of an Advocacy Strategy Based on Agency Policy Change

The Trump Administration has aggressively rolled back prior administrations’ environmental regulations and natural resource policies, and critics of this agenda have turned to the judiciary. A remarkable string of federal court decisions has faulted the Administration for failing to follow the standard for agency policy change articulated in Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc.

Bankruptcy Actions Involving Environmental Legacy Portfolios

This Article reviews the legal and environmental issues in bankruptcy matters involving: (1) a trustee responsible for dispersing funds to stakeholders, including those responsible for addressing environmental liabilities; or (2) alleged fraudulent transfer actions claiming inadequate environmental cost projections for environmental liabilities. In the first instance, the trustee must assign current costs for necessary and appropriate actions to achieve regulatory closure so that excess funds can be distributed to remaining stakeholders.

Annual Review of Chinese Environmental Law Developments: 2019

The Communist Party of China (CPC) reaffirmed its emphasis on environmental protection in a decision adopted by the fourth plenum of its 19th Central Committee, held in December 2019.1 Part 10 of this decision specifically addresses environmental protection under the topic of Developing a System of Rules for Ecological Civilization, and consists of an introductory paragraph and four additional paragraphs calling for (1) the most stringent legal rules for environmental protection, (2) rules on the efficient use of resources, (3) rules on ecological protection and restoration, and (4) rules o

Ethics and the Human Enterprise in the Anthropocene Age

In the first decades of the 21st century, those working to assure that earth continues to be a viable home for humanity as well as for all other life have been in a crisis regarding their purpose and direction. This is a departure from the past century and a half, when the giants of conservation and environmental protection—personalities such as John Muir, Rachel Carson, and David Brower— were certain of their cause and the actions needed to sustain it.

Building Credibility: Lessons From the Leadership of William Ruckelshaus

The recent passing of William D. Ruckelshaus has recalled and re-invited comparisons between the Trump and Nixon presidencies. Although Ruckelshaus might be most widely remembered for the “Saturday Night Massacre,” a review of his career in the Nixon and Reagan Administrations demonstrates a through-line of sound administration and independent regulatory leadership, at times in contrast to or in spite of his political environment.

The Meat of the Matter: Shoring Up Animal Agriculture at the Expense of Consumers, Animals, and the Environment

This Article analyzes the recent proliferation of “tag-gag” laws aimed at undermining the emerging plantbased and cell-based food industries. It examines potential constitutional challenges to these laws, including those based on the First Amendment, the dormant Commerce Clause, Supremacy Clause, and Due Process Clause, as well as the likely arguments that states will proffer in their defense. It concludes with a discussion of the consequences and implications of various outcomes of these cases, and how animal advocates can responsibly bring these types of constitutional challenges.

A Game Changer in the Making? Lessons From States Advancing Environmental Justice Through Mapping and Cumulative Impact Strategies

This Article focuses on lessons learned from state practice in environmental justice (EJ) mapping and screening, and their relationship to the central issue of cumulative impacts—the reality that EJ communities typically suffer from a concentration of pollution sources and negative land uses as well as health and social vulnerabilities. These lessons are based on work in California and the development, use, and impact of the California Environmental Protection Agency’s CalEnviroScreen tool; the Article also examines the U.S.