ELI Has Always Been a Thought Leader
ELI logo
John Pendergrass
Thursday, July 6, 2023

The conference at Airlie House in September 1969 produced the Environmental Law Institute and Law and the Environment, a book of the papers presented at the meeting. Though published by one of ELI’s fiscal sponsors, it demonstrates that from its very beginning, ELI was at the forefront of environmental law. ELI and the American Law Institute began their collaboration educating attorneys about environmental law in 1970.

What Comes Next for Clean Water? Six Consequences of Sackett v. EPA
A map of the United States depicting which states are reliant on WOTUS, and which are not.
James M. McElfish, Jr.
Friday, May 26, 2023

On May 25 the Supreme Court, ruling in Sackett v. EPA, sharply limited the scope of the federal Clean Water Act’s protection for the nation’s waters. The Court redefined the Act’s coverage of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), which has been hotly contested since the Court’s previous 2006 decision in Rapanos v. United States.

Water, Water, Everywhere?
sea level rise
C. Scott Fulton
Wednesday, April 5, 2023

One of my roles as ELI’s International Envoy is serving on the Steering Committee of the new Climate Crisis Commission established by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For those of you unfamiliar with the IUCN, it is a fairly unique international NGO with an extensive interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral membership base that includes governments, other NGOs, practitioners, academics, and the like.

Empowered Women
strong women
Kirk Talbott
Thursday, March 23, 2023

The soft voice of the public radio host replaced the fading Ella Fitzgerald song as I drove up to the Silver Spring metro station. She announced that it was International Women’s Day. I smiled at the coincidence, as I was about to meet two Ugandan women, civil society leaders, on a recent, cold, overcast spring day. Who knew what a bright morning laid ahead.

The Argument for Environmental Assessments (Part 1)
Forest floor
Frank Friedman
Monday, January 16, 2023

It’s a fact recognized by every well-behaved child: the attention always goes to the misbehaving sibling or classmate. Similarly, companies with strong environmental audit/assessment programs rarely receive much acclaim, despite publicizing their efforts in great detail. And why should they? These gold-star companies have minimal interaction with the enforcement arms of federal and state agencies.

Subscribe to Governance and Rule of Law