The Importance of GIS in Emergency Management
GIS (geographic information system) is a computer system for “capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on the Earth’s surface.”[1] It allows multiple layers of information to be displayed at once, enabling one to visualize and understand relationships on a map.[2] Different types of information can be overlaid …
Read MoreJudging a Book by its Cover: The Tension between Evidentiary Gatekeeping and Compensatory Theories of Tort
I. Introduction Human minds are primed to jump to conclusions. Call them intuitions, or things we just know, our ability to draw conclusions is a survival instinct, developed over many years of evolutionary progress. Now assume a man has been largely healthy his entire life. Maybe this man is a …
Read MoreConstitutions & the Environment: Comparative Approaches to Environmental Protection and the Struggle to Translate Rights into Enforcement
Introduction Every nation around the world faces ecological hardships. Almost every nation has responded with a legal regime that attempts to ensure environmental protection. These environmental law schemes come in various forms. Some nations place environmental protection at the highest level, securing it within a national constitution, while others relegate …
Read MoreWith Energy Law Federalism Under Construction, State Policymaking May Be Delayed
Introduction As the public has become more aware of the intense connection between the practices of electric utilities and greenhouse gas emissions, interested groups have shone a brighter spotlight on the regulation of utilities in the United States. Some have called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) to take …
Read MorePipelines, Protests and General Permits
Abstract The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) has become a contentious topic in recent months. The controversy centers around Dakota Access, LLC[1], a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company, LLC, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota[2] (the Tribe or Sioux), a federally-recognized Indian tribe. The …
Read MoreScience And Deference: The “Best Available Science” Mandate is A Fiction in the Ninth Circuit
I. Introduction Many recent decisions by the Ninth Circuit[1] have required the court to review agency actions under the Administrative Procedure Act[2] (APA) arbitrary or capricious standard.[3] The Supreme Court has held that the arbitrary or capricious standard is a “highly deferential” standard of review, though the inquiry must nonetheless …
Read MoreAn Ecology of Liberation: The Shifting Landscape of Environmental Law in an Era of Changing Environmental Values
I. Introduction In 1971, the Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest Gustavo Gutiérrez published his seminal work, A Theology of Liberation, in which he advocated an activist approach to Christianity based on the belief that it is only through living in solidarity with exploited and impoverished populations that all people can …
Read MoreWWII-Era Government Contractor Indemnification Clauses Come to the Fore in CERCLA Litigation as Other Grounds to Shift Costs to the Government Narrow
I. Introduction Before World War II, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto wrote: “Because I have seen the motor industry in Detroit and the oilfields of Texas, I know Japan has no chance if she goes to war with America, or if she starts to compete in building warships.”[1] As he anticipated, after …
Read MoreEthical Convergence and the Endangered Species Act
Introduction The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is both lauded and criticized as one of the most powerful environmental laws ever enacted. Proponents of the law praise it for protecting thousands of endangered species over the last forty years, while detractors argue it is a bureaucratic mess that no longer benefits …
Read MoreA Primer on Rails-to-Trails Conversions in the Eastern U.S.
Garrett M. Gee, J.D. Candidate, William & Mary Law School, 2016; Staff Member, William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Click the link or scroll through to leave a comment. This article explains the process to convert a rail …
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