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Regulation of Products With PFAS

From cookware to dental floss to stain-resistant fabrics, PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pervade modern life. PFAS are a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals that have a variety of unique qualities that make them useful in industrial and consumer product applications. Unfortunately, there is a growing scientific recognition that many PFAS come with a cost to public health and the environment. While federal and state action is just beginning for PFAS and the regulatory landscape is changing quickly, the toxicity of many PFAS has been well-established.

Pay to Play? The Past, Present, and Future of Recreation Fees on Federal Public Lands

The United States has historically valued free access to most public lands. But federal land management agencies also rely on users’ fee dollars to support critical operations. This tension between “free access” and “user pays” has been an important feature of public land law since the late 1800s. The primary statute at issue is the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), which authorizes fees at some sites while mandating free access at others.

Accelerating Clean Energy: A Road Map for Regulatory Reform

This Article analyzes domestic hurdles to renewable energy development, and explores effective regulatory strategies at both the national and state levels to overcome barriers to clean energy transition. Projections indicate that the United States will need to triple its transmission grid capacity by 2050 to achieve decarbonization at the scale promised under the Paris Agreement. The transition faces major obstacles in permitting and siting, with limited transmission access and complex processes effectively obstructing the transition.

The ESA at 50

December 2023 marked 50 years since the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law. The ESA has proven resilient to numerous legal challenges and saved many species from extinction. But its overall success has been debated, as the list of endangered and threatened species continues to grow, and only 54 species have been taken off of the list completely. On October 26, 2023, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts who explored the successes and shortcomings of the statute and discussed what might happen next as climate change increases the risk of extinction.

The Minerals Challenge for Renewable Energy

One potential obstacle to a successful energy transition involves the critical minerals used in production of photovoltaic solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries. A substantial portion of these will have to come from new and expanded mining operations around the world. But mining is controversial, in part due to the past failures of operators to protect communities and the environment. This Article considers how nations can responsibly identify, source, and process these minerals, and then deploy them in renewable energy products. Its scope is global, but U.S.