By Matt Carlisle* I.  Introduction: Storm water is a major polluter. As one judge put it, “Storm water runoff is one of the most significant sources of water pollution in the nation, at times ‘comparable to, if not greater than, contamination from industrial and sewage sources.’”[1] Storm water “runoff may contain or mobilize high levels […]

By Garrett Lenahan* I.  Scoping Plan Background Two prominent pieces of Californian legislation that seek to address climate change are Assembly Bill 32 (“AB 32”) and Senate Bill 32 (“SB 32”). AB 32 required California to reduce its greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions to the 1990 level by 2020. It tasked the Air Resources Board with […]

By Andrew Miller* Introduction In March of 2015, the Associated Press (AP) published AP Investigation: Slaves May Have Caught the Fish You Bought.[1] It was the first in a series of articles the AP would publish over the next eighteen months detailing the squalor and oppression faced daily by thousands of Southeast Asian fishermen.[2] What […]

Kacy Manahan* I. Introduction The scope of the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction has been controversial throughout the statute’s history. Reconciling the extent of Congress’ Commerce Clause authority with the reality of vast hydrological connections across the United States has been an unenviable task delegated to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United […]

By Sevren Gourley* Coastal municipalities are struggling to address the uncertain future risks created by sea level rise. Conventional models of ex ante protection and ex post relief are both too costly and often insufficient to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Sea level derivative instruments provide an alternative model for financing adaptation projects that […]

By Olivia Bensinger* As we move further into the era of climate change, we often find ourselves looking in unlikely places for tools with which to combat global warming. The Endangered Species Act[1] (“ESA”) was enacted in 1973 for the singular purpose of protecting endangered and threatened species of animals and plants. The ESA has […]