Sparking Climate Optimism Through Our Conversations
Climate Action
Friday, July 12, 2024

As a college student who has been studying the environment for the past three years, I have simultaneously become more pessimistic and optimistic about solving climate change. On the one hand we have a lot of tools at our disposal to deal with climate change, yet on the other, those with the most power to do anything about it seem to lack the willpower and bravery to put climate over profit.

New Toolkit Helps Cities Leverage Plant-Based Proteins for Climate Action
Plant-based proteins
Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Cities have an outsized carbon footprint and are on the frontlines of adapting to climate change impacts. Rising to the challenge, many cities have developed climate action plans (CAP) that include measures that can be taken to achieve targeted greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions.

Learning from Kivalina: The Future of Climate Justice Litigation
Kivalina
Thursday, April 4, 2024

The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, resulting in devastating climate and environmental disruption. According to the Third National Climate Assessment, the Artic is experiencing earlier spring snowmelt, reduced sea ice, widespread glacier retreat, warmer permafrost, drier landscapes, and more intense wildfires, rendering parts of the region uninhabitable. 

Confronting the Biodiversity Crisis in the Face of Climate Change: What’s Ahead for the ESA?
brown bear
Thursday, February 29, 2024

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted on December 23, 1973, with the goal of protecting species vulnerable to extinction and conserving the ecosystems and habitats necessary for their survival. The ESA mandates that the federal government maintain a list of all “endangered” and “threatened” species and develop and implement recovery plans, with the objective of removing species from the list.

Harvesting Climate Benefits from the 2024 Farm Bill
Apples in harvest
Monday, February 5, 2024

What we grow and produce in America affects our air, water, climate, wildlife, public health, and more. The Farm Bill is likely the most significant environmental law Congress will address this year. It is also directly influenced by federal policy, and most importantly the Farm Bill, a collection of government programs that requires renewal every five years. The sprawling legislation governs initiatives from farm subsidies to low-income nutrition support.

Cool Roofs: A Potential Win-Win Solution for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
Cool Roofs
Thursday, December 21, 2023

The Environmental Law Institute researches local government best practices on climate mitigation and adaptation. In conjunction with this work, ELI develops model policies and ordinances as well as participates in convenings that produce recommendations such as Mayor Cooper's Sustainability Advisory Committee 2021 Report on the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County's Climate Change Mitigation Action Plan.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment Gives a Unique Spotlight to Climate Justice
NCA5
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

The impacts of climate change are being felt throughout all regions of the United States and are expected to worsen with every fraction of a degree of additional warming. Those were some of the headline takeaways from the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), published November 14, 2023.  

Using Data to Boost Household Recycling
glass bottles and jars
Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Household recycling can reduce demand for virgin materials, limit waste sent to landfills, and lessen the cost of producing metal-, glass-, and paper-containing products. Understanding the policies most conducive to promoting recycling is key to success. The November 2023 issue of ELR—The Environmental Law Reporter looks at the efficacy of state and local recycling policies and identifies contexts where the greatest improvements are possible. Using the most comprehensive data set on U.S. household recycling behavior, authors Joel Huber, W.

Federal Forest Wildfires, Climate, and Liability
Smokey the Bear
Thursday, November 9, 2023
This past summer, devastating fires ravaged Hawai’i and smoke from Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season blanketed communities across the American East. The fires offered a vivid reminder of the destructive capabilities of wildfires such as those that burned on American shores during the record- breaking 2020 wildfire season that choked western cities.