Tag:environmental
Clearing the Air: The Need for Federal Limits on Private Jet Usage
As the planet grapples with the alarming effects of climate change, a glaring disparity emerges: while everyday Americans are held accountable for their environmental impact, the ultra-wealthy continue to fly under the radar in their private jets. This contradiction highlights the urgent need for change in the approach to private air travel and its contribution to global warming. If society truly cares about the planet’s future, regulatory bodies need to stop turning a blind eye and hold those who are contributing to the same standard.
Got (Plant) Milk? The Rise and Regulation of the Alternative Meat and Dairy Markets
The plant-based food market has been exploding in recent years, with the plant-based meat market expected to reach a value of $7.4 billion by the end of 2022 and the alternative dairy market reaching a value of $23.2 billion in 2021.
The meat and dairy alternative markets require regulation, but despite their widespread and growing popularity, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been slow to issue regulations that encompass these markets. In January 2022, the FDA released a list of draft and final guidance topics that it intends to complete before the end of 2022. These topics include draft guidance for plant-based dairy alternatives, plant-based meat alternatives, and for cultured meat. The FDA is soliciting public comments on the proposed guidance, although as of now none of the draft guidance topics have been released to the public
Chicago’s Lead Contamination Crisis
William Baker Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2022 Illinoisans have good reason to be concerned about where their water comes from, as a report published by Chicago Tribune recently revealed that Illinois has more lead pipe infrastructure than any other state. The six-year study determined that eight of out ten …
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The NEPA: Environmental Impact Statements, Compliance, and an Impending Threat to Environmental Regulation
On March 25, 2020, a judge for the United States District Court in the District of Columbia held that the Army Corp of Engineers (hereinafter the Corp) failed to comply with the standards of the National Environmental Policy Act (hereinafter “the Act”) by failing to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before deciding to approve federal permits for construction of a portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline which ran under the Mississippi River. The ruling came four years after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe brought the original action in 2016. The Act is meant to ensure the public that agencies have considered the environmental consequences of a potential project before going forward with it, and so requires agencies to consider any and every significant environmental impact that could result from the project through completion of an Environmental Assessment, and, in some cases, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Advances Blocks of Offshore Drilling
Congress has granted the President the authority to withdraw the Secretary of the Interior’s grants of mineral rights on public lands. However, President Trump has used that same grant of power to remove withdraws of some of the protections President Obama placed. On May 3, 2017, a group of environmental non-profits filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration in the Federal District Court of Alaska, alleging that his actions were an unauthorized use his Presidential power. On March 20, 2018, the Court denied the Defendant’s motion to dismiss.
Threat of the Border Wall: Impact on the Enforcement of Environmental Regulation
In early January of this year, the House Committee on Armed Services granted an extension to a bill that would increase border security. An unlikely opponent of this bill is the environmental lobby, since the bill would allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to waive the requirements of some of the most important environmental protection statutes. These statutes have been the basis for almost all the citizen enforcement in the environmental arena; they work to maintain protections for 73 different areas along the border, along with numerous endangered species.
Clean Water Act vs. America’s Family Farms: Should the Two Be Foes?
As summer turns to fall, leaves begin to change, and farmers in the Midwest start the process of harvesting their crops. Farmers are hard-working, environmentally conscious, planners, who consider how their planting, fertilizer, and equipment effect the environment that their livelihood depends on. They do all of this while still attempting to remain compliant with all applicable state and federal laws. Currently, farmers are worried about changes being made to the Clean Water Act and if they are going to incur large economic damages because of it.