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VOLUME 30, NUMBER 3

King Coal, R.I.P.

HEADNOTE: The Obama administration is ratcheting down on criteria and hazardous air pollutants, at the same time that natural gas and renewables are becoming more abundant and less expensive. These factors could mean the eventual demise of the dirtiest but cheapest fossil fuel.

By Arnold W. Reitze Jr.
S.J. Quinney College of Law, The University of Utah

With Another View by Scott Segal of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

The Sustainable Relationship

HEADNOTE: What the United States and the United Kingdom can teach each other about climate change and sustainable development at the national level, in six easy lessons.

By John C. Dernbach (U.S.) and Andrea Ross (U.K.)
Widener University and University of Dundee

With Another View by Paul Martin (Australia) of University of New England

Broken Circuit

HEADNOTE: A new breed of activism on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit — for environmental cases second in importance only to the Supreme Court and the central venue for high-profile lawsuits — threatens decades of progress.

By Doug Kendall and Simon Lazarus
Constitutional Accountability Center

With Another View by Jonathan H. Adler of Case Western Reserve School of Law

Testimony | The Rest of the Story

HEADNOTE: Dennis Treacy is chief sustainability officer of Smithfield Foods — which has often found itself as a symbol of Big Food and the negatives that come with that labeling, including environmental problems. He has seen firsthand the progress that can be made using better governance to resolve these issues. Here is his statement at a special ELI briefing.

The Forum | Responses to the White House’s Report on the Emerging National Bioeconomy

HEADNOTE: In April 2012, the Obama administration released the “National Bioeconomy Blueprint,” promising, “A more robust bioeconomy can enable Americans to live longer and healthier lives, develop new sources of bioenergy, address key environmental challenges, transform manufacturing processes, and increase the productivity and scope of the agricultural sector while generating new industries and occupational opportunities.” What does this mean for a regulatory system that was the result of the machine age? Can it keep up with a new stream of synthetically engineered processes and products? And how much will our risk assessment and regulatory approaches to early biotechnology help address a new generation of bio-based innovations?