Vibrant Environment

As the world grapples with the dual challenges of climate change and food security, innovative solutions are emerging at the intersection of agriculture and renewable energy. 2023 was the hottest year on record, over 2 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average.

Each summer, ELI's interns complete an independent research project (IRP) where they choose a topic to explore deeper. This blog offers an insight into the chosen focus and the research outcome.

Each summer, ELI's interns complete an independent research project (IRP) where they choose a topic to explore deeper. This blog offers an insight into the chosen focus and the research outcome.

This blog was written before the Farm Bill expired.

On June 20, 2024, four days before the case was set to go to trial, Hawaiʻi’s First Circuit Court approved a landmark settlement that resolved claims brought by thirteen Hawaiʻian youth plaintiffs against Hawaiʻi’s Department of Transportation (HDOT) and other defendants, including the department director and Governor. That case, Navahine F. v.

The Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review (ELPAR) is published annually in the August issue of The Environmental Law Reporter (ELR) in collaboration with Vanderbilt University Law School (VULS) and ELI. Each year, Vanderbilt Law students work with an expert advisory committee, senior staff from ELI, and Vanderbilt law professors to identify some of the year’s best academic articles that include creative and feasible law and policy proposals. 

Obtaining information about potential violations of environmental law has long been a key challenge for effective enforcement of environmental law. Facility inspections are, of course, a central element to collecting this information, but the number of inspectors compared to the number of regulated facilities severely limits how much data can be gathered about potential violations. Citizen complaints are another important source of information, but this can be very sporadic.

In the bustling streets of Lagos, where markets and stalls buzz with energy, an unspoken threat lurks in the shadows. Plastic waste has become an inseparable part of the landscape, imprinted on crowded neighborhoods and riverbanks. As an environmental justice lawyer, this is not just an issue of concern; it is a daily reality that permeates my work and personal life.  

When a court decides on an issue in a case, their written opinion contains the reasoning and resolution for that issue. As a law student, I read dozens of such decisions. Sometimes, court opinions are clear. But more frequently, as many law students across the country will tell you, they can be difficult and arcane. The most challenging sort, however, are the decisions where the law is clear, but the outcome is unfair or illogical.

Andrea had never been on a kayak before. In fact, she was terrified of the water. But after one short kayaking trip in Newton, she wanted nothing more than to share the exhilarating experience with her family. The river had sparked something in her – a new connection with the natural world.

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.