Climate change is projected to have catastrophic impacts on the hydrological cycle. Responding to its projected adverse impacts requires building flexibility and adaptability into watercourse treaties. Exploring the treaty practices of other shared watercourses, this Article studies the context of the Nile Basin, and concludes that the legal regime governing the Basin lacks the flexibility needed to adapt to climate change.

Demand for generic pharmaceuticals has resulted in China and India becoming the largest producers of these products in the world. Pollution from pharmaceutical manufacturing in both of these countries is a recognized environmental and public health problem, and the release of residual antibiotics is a contributor to antimicrobial resistance, which is projected to result in 10 million deaths per year by 2050 unless significant action is taken.

The Endangered Species Act provides for the designation as “critical habitat” of habitat deemed “essential” for conservation of listed species. To understand the incentive effects of critical habitat designations, this Article examines the designation for the dusky gopher frog, which included private land unoccupied by the frog and which reached the U.S. Supreme Court. It argues that critical habitat designations can penalize landowners for conserving habitat features, thereby disincentivizing habitat maintenance and restoration.

This Comment responds to a comment by Karrigan Börk et al. published in the September issue that critiqued a biological opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under §7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that analyzes the effects of ongoing operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project on the Delta smelt.

When food waste decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas with at least 25 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. Municipalities and organizations are beginning to prioritize diverting food waste from landfills by preventing waste, rerouting edible food to food-insecure households, or recycling waste through composting, animal feeding operations, or anaerobic digestion (AD), a process in which microorganisms break down organic material and create biogas and digestate.

For over a year, the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about systemic racial injustice have highlighted the conflicts and opportunities currently faced by environmental law. Scientists uniformly predict that environmental degradation, notably climate change, will cause a rise in diseases, disproportionate suffering among communities already facing discrimination, and significant economic losses. In this Article, members of the Environmental Law Collaborative examine the legal system’s responses to these crises, with the goal of framing opportunities to reimagine environmental law.

Although some species fall solely within the jurisdiction of one country, it is common for species to fall outside of one state’s exclusive control. The United States protects endangered species in its territory and in international waters through the Endangered Species Act (ESA). But the extent of U.S. jurisdiction under the ESA is largely untested, and endangered species policy interacts with international law. This Article clarifies the protections of the ESA in U.S. jurisdiction and maritime regimes.

Prioritizing federal environmental regulation as the primary means of achieving dramatic, rapid reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may be a strategic mistake. Regulatory mandates, particularly if based upon existing statutory authority, will be vulnerable to legal attack, obstruction, and delay; climate legislation can reduce legal risks and accelerate policy implementation, but only on the margin. Adopting regulatory controls will be immensely resource-intensive for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies.

In China, the year 2020 witnessed further evolution of environmental protection and development of legislation. This included adoption of the Civil Code, which contains several provisions on natural resources and environmental liability; a prohibition on the consumption of wildlife; and laws on biosecurity, Yangtze River protection, and environmental crimes. This Comment summarizes some of the year’s major developments.

In September 2020, IBM convened a round table of experts and stakeholders to discuss the potential of data and digital technologies to advance environmental sustainability. More than 25 participants representing government, the private sector, academia, and not-for-profit organizations from around the world attended the event, and explored the opportunities and challenges associated with using data to further environmental objectives. This Comment is adapted from the round table report.