Editors' Summary: The oceans are one of earth's most valuable natural resources, yet they continue to be threatened by pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, and coastal sprawl. Marine reserves, discrete areas of the ocean where no extraction of marine life is allowed, offer a powerful tool for protecting species and ecosystem health. Although most efforts at implementing marine reserves in the United States are taken at the federal level, several states, including California, have developed their own marine reserve programs. In this Article, Capt.

Editor's Summary: Surveys show that the public will choose green alternatives if given the chance, yet average consumers are not making environmentally friendly choices in their everyday lives. In this Article, Profs. Roberta Mann and Mona Hymel examine this conundrum in the context of energy use and argue that well-designed tax incentives can encourage green behavior. After examining the elements necessary to create market demand, Mann and Hymel set forth the basic principles of a successful tax incentive program.

Editors' Summary: The Information Quality Act (IQA) was created to ensure the "quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity" of information disseminated by federal agencies. Although the Act's implementation guidelines allow for an administrative appeal process, the IQA does not provide for judicial review. Thus far, the courts have rejected claims for judicial review of agency IQA decisions. Those who support a broad reading of the Act, therefore, are likely to seek legislative relief. In this Article, Margaret Clune argues against allowing judicial review of IQA requests.

Editor's Summary: No one can deny the terrible toll that a nuclear bomb has on humans and our environment. But what about the impacts of weapons containing depleted uranium (DU), a low-level radioactive waste product? A number of countries, including the United States, have used DU munitions during times of war. In this Article, Prof. Robert Thompson discusses the health and environmental impacts of DU munitions. He also examines international laws and guiding principles, including the Hague and Geneva Conventions, which may be helpful in addressing DU contamination.

Editor's Summary: A multitude of parties are involved in the enforcement of environmental laws. While attorneys, scientists, investigators, and other trained professionals working at the federal, state, and local level are all necessary to ensure compliance, the effective enforcement of environmental laws requires teamwork. In this Article, Prof. Joel Mintz explores this issue, focusing on environmental enforcement personnel within EPA.

Editors' Summary: As the economies of developing countries grow, so too do their energy needs. And in an increasingly interconnected world, these changes have repercussions for the rest of the world, both economically and environmentally. In this Article, Michael Cummings looks at the energy developments of China, a nation whose energy use doubled while its economic growth quadrupled between 1980 and 2000. He notes that while China's energy sector will continue to grow with its economy, what direction it will take and how big it will grow remain uncertain.

Editor's Summary: A growing body of research attributes China's environmental problems to weak regulatory enforcement. Few studies, however, have explored the relationship between institutional capacity and regulatory enforcement. In this Article, Wanxin Li and Eric Zusman draw upon the literature on state capacity and institutional analysis to fill this void. The Article reveals that local environmental protection bureaus with greater human capital--though not necessarily greater financial resources--enforce regulations more rigorously.

Editor's Summary: The U.S. Department of Transportation's new fuel economy rules for light trucks and sport utility vehicles are under fire, in part because the Bush Administration has taken the position that the new rules preempt the ability of California to set its own stricter rules under the CAA. Yet according to Valerie Brader, there is a weightier reason the new rules should stand: the provisions of the CAA giving California these regulatory powers are unconstitutional. She argues that the equal footing doctrine, a principle of American law that predates the U.S.

Editor's Summary: States play an important role in protecting endangered and threatened species, particularly those that are listed only under state endangered species acts (ESAs). Much like the federal Endangered Species Act, many state ESAs require agency consultation prior to the permitting of any activities that may result in the take of a listed species. But while this requirement is often clear for private activities, it may be less so for activities taken by state agencies.

Editors' Summary: Adaptive management has emerged as a response to the complexity of environmental policy implementation. Development, regulatory advances and shortcomings, and other contextual nuances all conspire to complicate policymaking. In this Article, Prof. Alfred Light explores how to adapt to changing circumstances by adopting more flexible management strategies. He explains how horizontal, intergovernmental networks may facilitate policy implementation more efficiently and effectively than traditional legal or hierarchical structures.