Vibrant Environment

California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986—also known as Proposition 65—is widely considered to be a driver of chemical regulation through litigation. And because anyone who provides an alleged violator the requisite notice can bring suit to enforce the Act, including Proposition 65 “bounty hunters,” it also is viewed as a source of significant windfalls for private plaintiffs and their counsel.

On April 6, 2023, the Biden Administration launched a substantial effort to revise procedures that govern how federal rules are reviewed, revised, and approved within the federal administrative process. A new Executive Order entitled Modernizing Regulatory Review (E.O. No. 14094) makes revisions to longstanding E.O. No.

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.

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.

Every two years, a bill known as the Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) influences how and where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) carries out its broad water management responsibilities throughout the United States.

Note: This article discusses sexual violence.

The end of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2021-22 session concluded with devastating, but not unexpected, blows to human rights. The end of January 2023 would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, but it was not. In light of this missed anniversary, we’d like to revisit two cases with far-reaching implications that undermine the safety and freedom of individuals under American law, as well as the reputation of the Court.

The Supreme Court heard two related cases this term that are not about pollution or natural resources but that nonetheless could undermine one of President Biden’s biggest environmental efforts, dubbed Justice40.

In 2015, the United Nations Member States, including the United States, unanimously approved 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. Among them is SDG 15 – Life on Land. In the February issue of ELR — The Environmental Law Reporter, William J.

One of the first civilizations to arise after humankind left Africa was in a nearby region that is in present-day Iraq and parts of neighboring countries stretching to the Mediterranean Sea. It has been dubbed by chroniclers Mesopotamia, Greek for “the land between two rivers.” The Tigris and Euphrates valley was the setting for the biblical Garden of Eden and is aptly named the Fertile Crescent in history books today.

Candidly, I gave up making New Year’s resolutions long ago. We all know about the January spike in gym memberships that falls off a cliff come March. On the other hand, I always look forward to spending time in December looking back and pondering priorities for the year to come. Here are a few of the things starting to circle in my mind.