Vibrant Environment
All | Biodiversity | Climate Change and Sustainability | Environmental Justice | Governance and Rule of Law | Land Use and Natural Resources | Oceans and Coasts | Pollution Control
By Samuel Ngoga
2025 Jim Rubin International Fellow
Just half a century ago, the survival of mountain gorillas hung in the balance. In the 1960s and 1970s, relentless poaching and habitat destruction reduced their numbers to fewer than 300. These magnificent great apes, tucked away in the misty slopes of the Virunga Mountains, stood on the verge of extinction.
Every year, about 45 million gallons of milk go to waste in U.S. schools. At the same time, one-third of the U.S. population is lactose intolerant—meaning one in three children cannot comfortably or safely drink standard cow’s milk.
By Mara Pusic, By Linda Breggin
The Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review (ELPAR) is published annually in an August issue of the Environmental Law Institute’s Environmental Law Reporter (ELR) in collaboration with Vanderbilt University Law School (VULS).
By Mike Rolband
Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, 2025 National Wetlands Awardee
By Simone Maloz
Campaign Director, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, and 2025 National Wetlands Awardee
By Bob Sussman
Bob Sussman was Deputy Administrator of EPA during 1993-1994 and Senior Policy Counsel to the Administrator during 2009-2013.
Attacking the Climate Change “Hoax”
By John M. Doherty, By Cecilia Diedrich
Recognizing that plastic pollution poses challenges to our environment and human health, the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee begins its final scheduled round of negotiations tomorrow to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. A recent report co-authored by ELI indicates that plastics also have an impact on the climate.
By Cymie Payne
Professor, Rutgers University, Dept Human Ecology and Law School; ELI Fellow; Chair, Ocean Law Specialist Group, World Commission on Environmental Law, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
By Jarryd Page
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) policy and practice has been in flux in recent months. Between executive orders, the recission of longstanding Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing regulations, a much-anticipated U.S. Supreme Court decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, and announcements by several federal agencies rescinding or modifying their own NEPA regulations, it’s worth a brief recap.
What is “gold-standard science?” According to an Executive Order published on May 23 meant to guide federal scientific endeavors, it has several characteristics such as being “collaborative and interdisciplinary,” “communicative of error and uncertainty,” and conducted in a manner that is “without conflicts of interest.” Few could argue against these qualities.