Resource laws and processes have tried to keep politics out of decision making. But this technocratic approach carries its own problems. The challenge is getting the balance right.
Roads divide what once was a larger wetland into four smaller pools in east-central North Dakota.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
The Supreme Court drastically reduced federal protection for wetlands in 2023. Two environmental lawyers explain how private businesses and nongovernment organizations can help fill the gap.
Inconsistent laws and penalties for water theft in the Murray-Darling Basin make compliance and enforcement especially challenging. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Tim Curran, Lincoln University, New Zealand and Jo Monks, University of Otago
New Zealand’s plants and animals are globally unique and underpin primary production and tourism. The government’s fast-tracking proposal threatens to erode the natural capital the economy relies on.
The number of lawsuits related to climate justice is increasing.
chayanuphol/Shutterstock
As new climate-related cases are brought to court, our expert outlines key aspects that could change the legal landscape.
Aerial view of the Pinto Valley copper mine, located on private and U.S. national forest lands in Gila County, Ariz.
Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Hard rock minerals like gold, silver, copper and lithium on public lands belong to the American public, but under a 150-year-old law, the US gives them away for free.
Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation contribute to climate change.
Nipah Dennis/AFP via Getty Images
An important but controversial legal doctrine, known as Chevron deference, is at issue in two fishing cases. The outcome could affect many sectors across the nation.
Australia has a once-in-a-decade opportunity to fix environmental law. A new Wentworth Group report says the cumulative impacts from multiple projects must be considered.
A legal researcher studied court cases in 30 countries to see what works.
NEPA requires federal agencies to analyze environmental impacts of projects like interstate highway construction.
John Bohn/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
J.B. Ruhl, Vanderbilt University and James Salzman, University of California, Los Angeles
Do environmental reviews improve projects or delay them and drive up costs? Two legal scholars explain how the law works and how it could influence the ongoing transition to renewable energy.
An irrigation canal moves Colorado River water through farm fields in California’s Imperial Valley.
Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP via Getty Images
Southwest states have bought time with an agreement between California, Arizona and Nevada to cut Colorado River water use by about 14%. Now comes the hard part.
Many ecologically important wetlands, like these in Kulm, N.D., lack surface connections to navigable waterways.
USFWS Mountain-Prairie/Flickr
In Sackett v. EPA, a suit filed by two homeowners who filled in wetlands on their property, the Supreme Court has drastically narrowed the definition of which wetlands qualify for federal protection.
Sows in gestation crates at a breeding facility in Waverly, Va.
Humane Society of the U.S./Wikimedia Commons
The Supreme Court has upheld a controversial California law requiring pork sold in-state to be humanely raised, no matter where it’s produced. Pork producers say it could drive up food prices.
The James H. Miller coal power plant in Alabama emitted as much carbon dioxide in 2021 as 4.6 million cars.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
After the Supreme Court overturned the Obama administration’s strategy for reducing power plant carbon emissions in 2022, the Biden administration is taking a narrower but still ambitious approach.
Fires are often set to clear land near roads in the Amazon.
Johannes Myburgh / AFP via Getty Images
Nearly 95% of deforestation in the Amazon occurs within 3.5 miles of a road or near a river. Brazil’s plans to ramp up exports may be on a collision course with the forest.
The Clean Water Act was meant to keep pollution out of U.S. waters.
David McNew/Getty Images
A new study reveals wide disparities among state-issued Clean Water Act fines, and even among federal fines from regions to region. A law professor explains why it may be illegal.