Open Controls Close Controls

The Electric Grid Confronts the Dormant Commerce Clause

ELQ Journal

April 17th 2018

by Sam Kalen & Steven Weissman Many modern energy dialogues gravitate toward a conversation about the present status of the jurisdictional divide between state and federal authority over the regulation of wholesale sales of energy. A March 3, 2017 Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) article began by observing how the ...

The Case for Cap-and-Trade: California’s Battle for Market-Based Environmentalism

ELQ Journal

November 8th 2017

Theodore McDowell* This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  The California Cap-and-Trade program has been a beacon of success for market-based environmentalism. The program masterfully incorporated the lessons learned from previous cap-and-trade initiatives by more precisely allocating emission allowances and by setting higher price floors for auctions. ...

The SB 32 Scoping Plan Update, Waivers, and ZEVs

ELQ Journal

May 14th 2017

Garrett Lenahan This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS).  I. Scoping Plan Background Two prominent pieces of Californian legislation that seek to address climate change are Assembly Bill 32 ("AB 32") and Senate Bill 32 ("SB 32"). AB 32 required California to reduce its greenhouse gas ("GHG") ...

From the Well Up: A California CALIFORNIA COUNTY CONFRONTS FRACKING AT THE POLLS

ELQ Journal

December 18th 2015

Malia McPherson Malia McPherson is a 3L at Stanford Law School. This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate. Introduction On November 4, 2014, the voters of San Benito County passed Measure J, a voter initiative banning hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) and all other high-intensity petroleum operations within county lines. ...

Celebrating the Many Contributions of Joe Sax

ELQ Journal

December 5th 2014

With the passing of Joseph L. Sax this past spring, Berkeley Law and the global environmental community lost a beloved colleague, friend, mentor, and hero. At the time, we offered some words in his honor on Legal Planet. (link: http://legal-planet.org/2014/03/10/in-memoriam-joseph-l-sax-gentleman-scholar-giant-of-environmental-law/) We are very pleased to have another occasion to celebrate ...

Damages from Pesticide Spray Drift under Trespass Law

ELQ Journal

March 21st 2014

Terence J. Centner* [ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ] Introduction In today’s world, millions of people lack access to sufficient quantities of food to meet recommended dietary needs.[1] As the world’s population grows, global demand only increases for food and fiber.[2] These shortages are occurring despite significant ...

The Berkeley Exchange: Celebrating Berkeley’s Contribution to Environmental Law Scholarship

ELQ Journal

January 27th 2014

The Berkeley Exchange: Celebrating Berkeley’s Contribution to Environmental Law Scholarship Friday, February 7, 2014Symposium 8am-5:30pmAll-Alumni Reception 6pm-8pm [Download the Berkeley Exchange event flyer] On Friday, February 7th, Berkeley Law’s Ecology Law Quarterly and Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment are proud to host their symposium, The Berkeley Exchange: Celebrating ...

California’s Precarious Path to Climate Change Mitigation

ELQ Journal

December 6th 2013

By Penni Takade* [ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ] California’s ambitious cap and trade program for greenhouse gases (GHG) began operations in 2013. The program is one of the centerpieces of the state’s climate mitigation plans. As with any major initiative, there are obstacles and weaknesses that can ...

Will the Wilderness Act Be Diluted in Drakes Estero?

ELQ Journal

August 27th 2012

Nell Green Nylen, Elisabeth Long, Mary Loum, Heather Welles, Dan Carlin, Brynn Cook, and Sage Adams* [ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ] <<< See Update 1, November 29, 2012, Below >>> <<< See Update 2, December 10, 2012, Below >>> Introduction and Background Drakes Bay Oyster Company ...

Student Review of Selected Panels at the 2012 Water Law Symposium “Water and Growth: The Imperative for Sustainable Approaches to Uncertainty”

ELQ Journal

March 22nd 2012

[ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ]   Click here for videos of all sessions or on each session for its video. All review authors attended the 2012 Water Law Symposium hosted at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law on January 21, 2012. The panel reviews ...

Seawater Desalination: Climate Change Adaptation Strategy or Contributor?

ELQ Journal

December 4th 2011

Angela Haren Kelley* [ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ] While droughts and water supply challenges have plagued California for decades, climate change will increase the strain on California’s water management system.[1] Seawater desalination—the process of removing salt and other minerals from seawater—is often hailed as the solution ...

Clean Water Act Liability for Stormwater Discharge Regardless of Who Muddied the Waters

ELQ Journal

July 19th 2011

Yana Welinder[*] [ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ] Introduction Regulating pollution from stormwater that flows over structures and paved surfaces, collecting waste and sediments and ultimately spilling into rivers and oceans, can be a true “administrative nightmare.”[1] However, on March 10, 2011, the Ninth Circuit clarified that, ...

7th Annual EJ Symposium — Hungry for Justice: Growing an Equitable Food System

ELQ Journal

February 27th 2011

[ Clck Here to Comment ]  

Whale of an Opportunity: Coast Guard Study of Los Angeles/Long Beach Port Access Routes Holds Great Potential for Reducing Ship Strikes within Santa Barbara Channel

ELQ Journal

August 17th 2010

Brian P. Segee* [ Click Here to Comment ] [ download PDF ] Introduction As global whale populations slowly recover from historic hunting that brought numerous species to the brink of extinction, the increasing number of whales killed by collisions with ships threatens to slow or even reverse this recovery ...

Implementing SB 375: Promises and Pitfalls

ELQ Journal

June 9th 2010

Heather Haney* [ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ] Introduction On September 30, 2008, California passed the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act, or SB 375. The legislation was the first in the country to link land use, transportation, and housing planning with global warming. The nation’s attention ...

A New Dawn for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta? Assessing the 2009 California Delta/Water Legislation

ELQ Journal

March 19th 2010

Richard M. Frank* [ Click Here to Comment ][ download PDF ] Introduction The California legislature’s major, substantive achievement of 2009 was the passage of a five-bill package designed to address the multiple ills that have befallen the California Delta[1] and compromised statewide water policy. The bills were signed into ...

Student Review of Selected Panels at the California State Bar’s 2009 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite

ELQ Journal

December 1st 2009

    Jessica Intrator, Lala Wu, Holly Wagenet, Sarah Barker-Ball, Camille Pannu, & Emily Jeffers* [ jump to end/comments ][ download PDF ] Weed in the Wild: Environmental Consequences of Marijuana Cultivation on Public LandsSpeaker: Chief Ranger Steve Shackelton, Yosemite National Park Yosemite Chief Ranger Steve Shackelton has a lot ...

Food Justice and Food Retail in Los Angeles

ELQ Journal

June 25th 2009

Mark Vallianatos* [ jump to end/comments ][ download PDF ][ download Errata ] Food justice is the notion that everyone deserves healthy food and that the benefits and risks associated with food should be shared fairly. The concept borrows its distributional equity framework from the environmental justice movement, its focus ...

Trains Deliver the Goods

ELQ Journal

December 8th 2008

Lawrence B. Landman * [ jump to end/comments ][ download PDF ] Trucks Pollute, Trains Don’t Trains carry goods 94 percent more efficiently than do trucks. California should therefore encourage firms to ship goods on trains, not trucks. Yet the California Air Resources Board (CARB), in its draft Scoping Plan, ignores ...

California & the Future of Environmental Law & Policy

ELQ Journal

September 15th 2008

Richard M. Frank * [ jump to end/comments ][ download PDF ] Earlier this year, the U.C. Berkeley School of Law’s California Center for Environmental Law & Policy (CCELP) sponsored and hosted a major conference, “California & the Future of Environmental Law & Policy.”[1] The purpose of this successful event, ...

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Stay up to date about upcoming events and exciting news about our current members.