The authors of the current piece argue that "the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement illustrates that the notion of an exclusive, national authority to deal with issues deemed `foreign' cannot succeed." The argument is that while "rulemakers try to classify a set of problems as categorically national or local, the world in which they are operating belies the boundaries imposed." They see groups such as the U.S.

Since 2005, numerous plaintiffs have attempted to hold both the energy industry and vehicle manufacturers liable for the damages they have experienced and will experience as a result of climate change. Proceeding under common-law theories, particularly nuisance, these plaintiffs generally allege that the defendants they sue are major contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which ultimately lead to climate change and a myriad of associated harms ranging from increased coastal erosion in Alaska and Massachusetts to decreased snowpack in California. While the U.S.

Editors' Summary:

I was told that part of the reason I was invited to speak here was that I had given a warm welcome to participants at a recent "takings" program held at the Vermont Law School. The other reason was my involvement in the recent case from my circuit that my chambers has been in the habit of referring to as the "global warming" case, and which I think the legal community now knows as American Electric Power, or AEP, as I see it referred to in cases from time to time.

This report is intended for use by federal, state, and administrative judges who are confronted with a legal dispute involving a water resource that is alleged to be impacted by climate change. It may be useful as well for attorneys litigating or experts working on water adjudications. The purpose of this document is to summarize the manner in which climate change may impact rights and frameworks established under state and federal law concerning water resources and to anticipate the issues that water-related climate claims will pose to legal decisionmakers.

Virtually anyone with an interest in environmental policy is familiar with the allegations that traditional methods of statistical inference are biased against preventative environmental standards. They surely also know of the Precautionary Principle as the broad theory often cited by environmentalists to support this critique and to argue that regulated industries should bear the burden of proving that their products and activities are safe. This collision between scientific method and environmental principle has had great salience in environmental law and policy for many years.

I. Introduction

International trade is one of the most important pathways for both the intentional and the unintentional introduction of alien species. The intentional introduction of alien species takes place through the importation of exotic plants and animals as commercial products. But alien species may also enter unintentionally, as byproducts of trade, e.g., through cross-breeding of exotics with local populations, as parasites of products, e.g., as an infestation or infection on agricultural products, or as "stowaways" during trade, e.g., in the ships, planes, or vehicles that deliver products.

The disposal of consumer batteries constitutes a significant flow of toxic materials into municipal solid waste (MSW). While there have been efforts to recycle consumer batteries in the United States for the last 15 years, the vast majority of batteries still end up in landfills and incinerators. Efforts to recycle nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries increased dramatically when they were classified as a "universal waste" and the complicated requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) were removed.

I. Introduction

The fundamental questions in environmental law and policy are: what role should the government play in environmental control; what is the target level of environmental quality and how is it determined; and, if the government is to act as regulator, what policy instrument should be used. Answers to these questions are extremely varied.