Research Reports

ELI publishes Research Reports available for free download that present the analysis and conclusions of the policy studies ELI undertakes to improve environmental law and policy. These reports contribute to education of the profession and disseminate diverse points of view and opinions to stimulate a robust and creative exchange of ideas. Those publications, which express opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Institute, its Board of Directors, or funding organizations, exemplify ELI’s commitment to dialogue with all sectors.
The Macbeth Report: Cooperative Federalism in the Modern Era
David Clarke, Scott Fulton, Adam Schempp, Sam Koenig, Christopher Ibrahim, and John Pendergrass
October 2018

Policy professionals and the public who care deeply about the success of the United States’ environmental protection enterprise recognize that current challenges to the system demand both careful reflection and concerted action. Many changes over recent years have brought the United States to a point where our environmen­tal system may be ready for some fundamental realignments, including changes in states’ capacity, technological capabilities, and business behavior and expectations.

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Nina Pusic and Dave Rejeski
September 2018

In cellular agriculture research, development and commercialization since 2013 have transformed the prospects for the future of food production, particularly regarding animal-based agriculture. With the first cultured burger taste-tested in London in August 2013, advances in cultivating meat through cellular agriculture have grown and expanded capturing the attention of the press, the public, and investors.

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Blockchain Salvation
David Rejeski and Lovinia Reynolds
June 2018

The hype around blockchains—the programming protocol originally created for the Bitcoin—is bidirectional, ranging from apocalyptic predictions of bitcoin energy use that will “destroy our clean energy future” to rosy scenarios that “blockchain technology can usher in a halcyon age of prosperity for all.” The question for policymakers, therefore, is how to ensure that the environment profits in the end.

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Amy Streitwieser, Teresa Chan, and Jay Austin
June 2018

Our report, Coordination in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process: Project Planning and Selection, describes some tools that are available to the Deepwater Horizon NRDA trustees during project planning and selection that could help coordinate their activities internally within the NRDA program and with external entities. In particular, it focuses on (1) project screening criteria; (2) strategic frameworks; and (3) joint restoration planning.

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Cloudy sky above marsh environment
Amy Streitwieser, Teresa Chan, Jay Austin
June 2018

In March 2018, we released a paper on “Coordination in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process: General Tools and Mechanisms,” which surveyed some of the general tools and mechanisms available to the Deepwater Horizon natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) trustees to help coordinate their activities. This paper builds on that work: it describes some additional tools that are available during project planning and selection that could help coordinate the trustees’ activities internally within the NRDA program and with external entities.

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