Renewed Energy Politics: An Analysis of Renewable Portfolio Standards in Swing States Matthew Magill During the 2024 United States presidential election, energy policy took on renewed importance as a key issue for voters. The September 10, 2024 presidential debate included an extended exchange over the candidates’ respective positions on energy development in the battleground state… The post Magill-Fall 2024 first appeared on MJEAL ..read more

The People Over Parking Act: A Double-Edged Sword David Weaver Minimum Parking Regulations (MPRs) are provisions within municipal zoning codes that require developers to build a minimum number of parking spaces to receive permission to build, expand, or change a building’s primary use.[1] While MPRs are designed to reduce traffic congestion, they actually create worse traffic conditions.[2] MPRs worsen traffic congestion through the phenomenon of induced traffic. Induced traffic occurs when infrastructure designed to reduce congestion worsens traffic — it has been shown to be caused by modal ..read more

Zoning Impacts on Vehicle Miles Traveled: The Cases of Fayetteville and Birmingham Aidan Raffaele As the discourse and research around climate change and its effects develops,[1] city governments have emerged as an increasingly useful agent of change.[2] The federal government and state governments are seen more and more as slow-moving in regards to the climate problem and also have been proven relatively unable to create solutions that properly address specific needs, instead needing to implement “one-size-fits-all” solutions.[3] The city, however, has the potential to tailor solutions to the ..read more

Carbon Credits: A History and Potential Future Evan Spinner In the last several years, as carbon capture technology has developed, various nations and global companies have come to see it as a solution to the climate crisis. Carbon credits have existed as a tool to address climate change for much longer than their recent spotlight in the environmental zeitgeist might suggest. There are two main ways of administering carbon credits: through carbon credit markets, and through domestic tax systems. Each carries its own benefits and risks. These will be examined, and this blog post will recommend ..read more

Going Green in the Deep Blue: How Bermuda Uses Economic and Community Engagement to Support Sustainability Madilynn O’Hara Nestled between the world’s northernmost coral reefs in the vast Sargasso Sea, Bermuda is home to just sixty-five thousand residents and thousands of unique marine species. Both Bermudians’ way of life and the ecological stability of the Atlantic are dependent upon the way in which the small island population can contend with environmental challenges such as climate change, overfishing, and rising sea levels.[1] In particular, Bermuda needs to balance its small island’s co ..read more

Lone Star Misstep:How Texas’s “Free Speech” Gambit Threatens First Amendment Principals and Tees up the Gutting of the Administrative State Logan Moore Introduction Conservative commentators have long decried what they describe as “liberal bias” in the news media,[1] higher education,[2] and elsewhere. Now, too, they argue that social media companies are biased and discriminating against conservative viewpoints.[3] Lawmakers in several states have reacted by introducing legislation that threatens to undermine the scope of First Amendment protections and upset the carefully struck balance betwe ..read more

The Power Is Down (Again) in Tree Town: Examining Electric Utility Municipalization in Ann Arbor Nathaniel Magrath Over the last several years, Ann Arbor residents have organized a push to municipalize the city’s power grid.[1] While similar efforts to municipalize electric utilities have also gained momentum across the country, motivations for these efforts vary.[2] Efforts to municipalize in Ann Arbor were initially fueled by community members’ desire to achieve 100% renewable energy, but the unreliability of power delivery in the City has recently become an additional driving force in the p ..read more

Biden’s Reinvigoration of Environmental Justice in the Administrative State Nate Lyon The nation first turned its eyes to environmental justice when an African-American community in North Carolina protested the siting of a hazardous waste landfill in its neighborhood.[1] When the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People staged a massive protest, the concept of environmental justice, which is the guarantee that all people have the right to the same environmental protections and benefits regardless of race, color, or income, came to the front of the national conscious.[2] After ..read more

From Trees’ Rights to Treaty Rights: A Brief Analysis of Rights of Nature Enforcement Elise Longley In 1972, legal scholar Christopher Stone published his essay “Should Trees Have Standing?” introducing the concept of rights of nature to the Western legal system.[1] Shortly after Stone’s essay was published, the Supreme Court in Sierra Club v. Morton answered his question with a definitive “no.” However, the Sierra Club dissents of Justices Douglas and Blackmun made it clear that the discussion on rights of nature was far from over.[2] Justice Douglas pointed out that Stone’s rights of nature ..read more

Sierra Club, the EPA, and the Fight over Detroit’s Air Gio Lavoile In May of 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a clean data determination for the metro Detroit area[1] and determined that the area had achieved attainment status in accordance with the 2015 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. This means that the air quality in the area meets the requirements laid out in the Clean Air Act (CAA).[2] The area in question, which consists of Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties, was, in 2015, determined to be ..read more