Congress is moving to cut back the Endangered Species Act and give more power to states. But a recent study shows that state laws are weaker and states have few resources to protect species at risk.
Supporters of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments during a rally Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 in Salt Lake City.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Nicholas Bryner, University of California, Los Angeles; Eric Biber, University of California, Berkeley; Mark Squillace, University of Colorado Boulder, and Sean B. Hecht, University of California, Los Angeles
President Trump signed an order on Dec. 4 to drastically reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Four legal experts explain why this action is likely to be reversed.
The proposed loan of Commonwealth money to Adani is on shaky constitutional ground, potentially paving the way for High Court challenge which could change the dynamics of federal-state funding.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has proposed shrinking Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and allowing more public access and road maintenance.
Bob Wich/BLM
Environmental law and natural resource experts respond to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s proposals to shrink four national monuments and allow logging, fishing and other activities in six more.
The Yarra River has been legally recognised as an indivisible living entity which deserves protection.
REUTERS/Toby Melville
New legislation has recognised the Yarra River as a single, living entity. But what does that mean in practice?
Amid a sea of troubles – including the premature loss of their CEO and a money-laundering scandal – the CBA is facing a shareholder lawsuit.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
A new lawsuit against the CBA puts climate change in a new legal light: a financial hazard. The case opens up fresh lines of attack on institutions that contribute to climate change.
Demonstrators at a rally in Frankfort, Kentucky, Feb. 13, 2013, protest against mountaintop removal coal mining.
AP Photo/James Crisp
Are all people entitled to live in a clean and healthy environment? A legal scholar says yes, and argues for using this principle to address damage from polluting industries in Appalachia.
Environmentalists are not fans of EPA chief Scott Pruitt.
Reuters/Mike Theiler
Green groups fighting Trump’s anti-environmental agenda should heed precedents from the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations. They can also learn from the Australian experience.
Snow geese settle on a wetland in North Dakota. If the Trump administration successfully rescinds the Clean Water Rule, many wetlands might lose federal protection.
Krista Lundgren USFWS/Flickr
The Clean Water Rule spells out which streams, wetlands and other water bodies receive federal protection. The Trump administration wants to repeal it, but will face high hurdles in court.
The Whanganui River, seen here, is now a person under New Zealand law.
AlexIndigo/Flickr
New Zealand just conferred personhood upon the Whanganui River, giving it standing to legally defend its rights. Can this novel strategy save the environment?
In Montana and Idaho, endangered gray wolves are no longer safe outside national parks.
Ronnie Howard/Shutterstock.com
Legislation designed to protect wildlife is being rolled back or ignored in all sorts of ways in all sorts of places, according to a new global database of attacks on green tape.
Hog feeding operation near Tribune, Kansas.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Large livestock farms, known as CAFOs, have polluted air and water in many communities. A recent court decision will force CAFOs to report their air emissions from manure and other sources.
The Great Barrier Reef is currently experiencing a second wave of bleaching.
AAP Image/WWF AUSTRALIA, BIOPIXEL
The Great Barrier Reef is in crisis, as a second wave of coral bleaching hits. But the system of bodies and laws that protect it are getting more complicated – and less productive.
After decades of sustainability initiatives, key environmental indicators keep getting worse.
The Capital Wind Farm, REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo
Why, after decades of international agreements, are we still damaging the environment? New research, looking at dozens of unsuccessful policies, has uncovered the basic elements of failure.
Dartford warbler in Chobham Common, a protected area in Surrey Heath.
Phil Fiddes
New Zealand’s Whanganui River and the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers in India have been given the right to ‘sue’ over issues like pollution. The challenge now is to ensure these legal rights are enforced.
President Trump has ordered federal agencies to cut two regulations for every new one they enact – ignoring the fact that many regulations produce large social benefits.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt gestures as he answers a question during a news conference in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June 13, 2013.
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has sued the federal government repeatedly. If he becomes head of EPA and tries to weaken environmental laws, opponents are likely to do the same to him.