New Books: Environmental Law

American Grasslands provides a comprehensive review of select laws and policies that have shaped modern western agriculture. Through compelling stories of both famous and lesser-known ranches, the book explores the trajectory of law and policy that has consolidated power in western ranchers and agricultural enterprises. Drawing lessons from historical events such as the Dust Bowl and the current climate and extinction crises, the book illustrates the harmful externalities of agricultural activity and the need for meaningful reform. The book also addresses recent national calls for social and racial justice in the context of western agriculture and public resources like water, land, and wildlife. After highlighting the problems created by current laws and policies, the book offers practical recommendations for future legal and policy reform. American Grasslands is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and future of western agriculture and the role of law and policy in shaping it.

A history and practical analysis of legal protectionsfor urban landscapes of grieving and cultural memory   In this book, RyanSeidemann brings together the areas of burial legislation, urban planning,history, biological anthropology, and archaeology to illuminate the role of thelaw in the protection and preservation of cemetery spaces. Providing a historyand analysis of cemetery site protections in the United States, Seidemann explainscurrent legal and law enforcement realities and discusses how to prevent futuredamage and development in urban burial grounds.             Seidemann shows that while legal measuresare put in place to honor the dead and uphold the maintenance of burial sites, theselaws are unevenly enforced and can be ineffective, often failing to protect cemeteriesimportant to people who do not have the power to fight developers. Offeringcase studies from his own work in Louisiana, Seidemann demonstrates that prioritiesof urban planning and private property are often emphasized at the expense of localcommunities. CemeteryProtections in Urban Environments illustrates the knowledge andspecialization that both archaeology and the legal world contribute to thepreservation of burial locations. This book provides a concise overview of the legaltools that exist and the tools that are needed to preserve such sites, usefulfor researchers and practitioners in a variety of fields.

Most governments have established procedures to appraise the environmental impacts of proposed activities. The focus of these environmental assessment procedures has long been on local environmental issues, such as air, water, and land pollution, which have a direct and concrete effect on communities. In recent years, however, these procedures have increasingly been used to consider how activities could result in the emission of greenhouse gases and exacerbate climate change. Environmental Assessment as a Tool for Climate Change Mitigation builds on a broad survey of over one hundred national environmental assessment practices - legislation, guiding documents, cases, and administrative practice - to reflect on the main conceptual and practical issues facing climate assessment. By presenting and discussing jurisdictional developments and national debates in a global comparative perspective, this book aims to enrich our collective understanding of the modalities of and, ultimately, the mitigation opportunities arising from, the use of climate assessment in relation to proposed activities. The author concludes this timely and forward-looking volume by identifying good practices that lawmakers, regulators, national agencies, judges, and lawyers should consider when developing and applying the law on climate assessment.

Praise for Powering the Future: A Lawyer's Guide to Clean Energy "Energy use touches just about every aspect of our lives and livelihoods, while energy development and delivery reach into almost every corner of the law. Whether it is state, federal or local; whether it is economic regulation, land use, trade policy or environmental protection; our laws define and reflect broader policy ambitions. Increasingly, governments at all levels are striving to accelerate the adoption of clean, carbon-free energy options. Through several recent pieces of legislation, the U.S. Congress has been leading the charge. In that context, it is critically important to step back and look comprehensively at the current energy-related legal and policy landscape. In his usual clear and concise way, Steve Ferrey offers a solid foundation enabling practitioners, stakeholders and students to navigate effectively in this new and accelerating world of energy development." -Steve Weissman, Lecturer at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, Founder and former Director of the Energy Program at Berkeley Law "Steve Ferrey provides a concise 'roadmap' scrutinizing what remains, what is new, what is court-vetted or still to be tested, and what now is legally superseded or preempted for energy, land-use, climate, and environmental law. In sixteen stand-alone chapters, this book analyzes how new laws integrate with existing laws, what states have what particular incentives and clean resources, and how federal, state, and local laws conflict. For any state or federal law that suffers from a gap or deficiency, he provides strategic 'workarounds' to help attorneys and energy professionals transcend each barrier confronted. This book will remain a legal and policy users' manual regardless of political changes." -Mindy Lubber, CEO & President of CERES, Former Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA

Aerospace Law and Policy Series Space resource activities--better known as "space mining"--is the next step in humankind's utilization of outer space. Previous space activities have belatedly caused us to realize that fragile environments do not end with Earth's atmosphere. Today, the most striking problem is the agglomeration and increasing generation of nonfunctional space objects (space debris) in orbit. Tomorrow, with the development of new space activities, unanticipated environmental problems will arise beyond Earth orbit. This book seeks to anticipate the inevitable legal framework that will need to be put in place and, in particular, considers the necessity to create legal standards to support the environmental sustainability of space resource activities. To that end, the book assesses the efficiency of existing space law in addressing environmental threats and reflects on the potential contribution international environmental law can offer. The array of applicable mechanisms considered includes a detailed examination of the following: what kind of environmental problems may arise from space resource activities; which norms of international law are relevant in addressing these threats within the framework of sustainability; the United Nations Space Treaties; domestic space legislations that directly address space resource activities or that are particularly significant from an environmental perspective; and soft law, especially instruments and guidelines from international organizations acting in the space sector, such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Contrary to a common idea, space resources--such as the ones found in situ on celestial bodies--are limited and need to be managed rationally. It is indubitable that activities beyond Earth orbit will have an impact on the surrounding environment, raising a host of potential issues, which go beyond the question of debris, such as contamination and the risk of overexploitation. Ultimately, this book drafts the roadmap for the environmentally sustainable exploitation of space resources from a legal standpoint and proposes a sustainability framework articulated around a set of standards. Concerned lawyers and policymakers worldwide will greatly appreciate the book's set of objective standards and concrete measures. This practical approach, which includes the comprehensive review of instruments governing space activities, will lead them to navigate with assurance the different normative levels of legal action for astro-environmentalism.