JASON J. CZARNEZKI

See here.

Shiretown Books

Friday, May 13,  7:30 p.m.

9 Central St., Woodstock, Vermont 05091

Jason Czarnezki, environmental law professor at Vermont Law School, will discuss his new book Everyday Environmentalism, a guide to the small personal choices that have a positive effect on the natural world.

Details here.

Over the past fews days I lectured at the University of Vermont about food and agriculture policy, and lectured at Williams College about my book “Everyday Environmentalism.”  The drive down Route 100 in Vermont to Williamstown, MA was beautiful and the Williams’ campus is equally gorgeous, as were the Green Mountains, Taconic Mtns, Berkshires, and my view of the Catskills from my friend’s house in NY.

See here.

See here.  There are too many scary quotes in this Times article to list, but here’s a sample:

In recent weeks, China’s news media have reported sales of pork adulterated with the drug clenbuterol, which can cause heart palpitations; pork sold as beef after it was soaked in borax, a detergent additive; rice contaminated with cadmium, a heavy metal discharged by smelters; arsenic-laced soy sauce; popcorn and mushrooms treated with fluorescent bleach; bean sprouts tainted with an animal antibiotic; and wine diluted with sugared water and chemicals.

An interesting blog post on the issue here about how federal law can bring about the death penalty in a non-death penalty state.

I watched the Republican Presidential Debate last night on Fox News.  It was an odd night with so many candidates and potential candidate sitting out (no Romney, no Gingrich, no Palin, no Trump, no Huckabee, etc.), and I doubt any of the participants will win the nomination.  And it even odder that relative unknown Herman Cain clearly won the debate.  (His website is here, and he certainly performed very well last evening.)  This will be an interesting GOP nomination…people are announcing very late (remember Obama announced the February before the year before the election), and there’s room for some real entertaining additions to the field (e.g., Palin, Bachmann) and already interesting ones in (e.g, Paul).  I remain skeptical that Huntsman will join the field (I believe he’s positioning himself for 2016 regardless of what he ultimately decides this year), and I’m still predicting that Palin wins the GOP nomination until I see evidence to the contrary.

See here.  Given that most GHG emissions from individuals come from driving, for carbon tax proponents a gas tax or driving tax would make the most sense (though potentially politically toxic).  If you’re interested in learning more on this type of idea, the book “Heat” is a good read.

PRESS RELEASE:

VT Law School’s U.S.-China Partnership Names New Faculty Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — May 4, 2011

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT –– Vermont Law School Professor Jason Czarnezki, an internationally recognized scholar in environmental and natural resources law and policy, has been appointed faculty director of VLS’s U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to continue the Partnership’s work in building  China’s capacity for individual and institutional action to solve environmental and energy problems,” Czarnezki said.

Established in 2006, the U.S.-China Partnership works to improve China’s environmental governance and rule of law, including criminal and civil enforcement of environmental laws and regulations that have been widely ignored during China’s economic boom. “We’re excited to have such an accomplished scholar join our team,” said Assistant Professor Siu Tip Lam, program director of the Partnership.

Under the leadership of Czarnezki and Lam, the Partnership will enter a new era of increased scholarship and academic exchange with Chinese institutions that solidifies VLS’s role as the leading U.S. law school working on Chinese environmental and energy law and policy issues.

Czarnezki will work with Lam to:

• Expand research and policy development projects on Chinese environmental and energy law;
• Coordinate research and scholarship between U.S.and Chinese scholars and students;
• Help develop and implement capacity building programs for Chinese government officials, scholars and lawyers.
• Strengthen the VLS curriculum on Chinese environmental law and policy;
• Develop internship programs for VLS students in China;
• Create academic and student exchanges between VLS and Chinese institutions;
• Promote scholarly publication and lectures by VLS faculty and students on China’s environmental issues.

Czarnezki, who received a law degree from The University of Chicago, has held academic appointments at Marquette UniversityLawSchool, DePaul University College of Law, and Sun Yat‑sen (Zhongshan) University in Guangzhou, China, where he spent the 2009-2010 academic year as a J. William Fulbright Scholar. He has presented his work on environmentalism, natural resources law, food policy, global climate policy and U.S.-China relations at universities, public interest organizations, government institutions, and conferences throughout the United State sand Asia. He is working on a series of articles about U.S.government involvement in Chinese environmental policy and an edited volume on the future of Chinese environmental policy.

Lam, who has been the U.S.-China Partnership’s program director since May 2010, will continue to direct its capacity building programs in China. Lam came to VLS from the Massachusetts Attorney General Office, where was an assistant attorney general in the Environmental Protection Division. She received her law degree from Northeastern University Law School. A native of Hong Kong, she speaks Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese.

“Professor Czarnezki will deepen our ability to serve students and faculty from China and the U.S. as we further integrate our work in China with our academic program here in Vermont,” said Dean Jeff Shields.

The U.S.-China Partnership has trained more than 1,000 Chinese lawyers, judges, government officials and others, conducted numerous workshops and undertaken other initiatives. The Partnership recently helped to establish China’s first public interest environmental law firm and a new university legal advocacy center devoted to environmental health and safety issues.

Much of the Partnership’s work has been done through grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development. VLS’s partners include Sun Yat-sen University Law School, the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims at the China University of Political Science and Law, the Vermont-based Regulatory Assistance Project, and the China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

More information about the U.S.-China Partnership is available at http://www.vermontlaw.edu/x1463.xml

Full Press Release available here.

“Climate Activists Target States With Lawsuits.”  Apparently, like using the common law in AEP v. Conn., the idea is to use the public trust doctrine to protect the atmosphere.  I’m skeptical that courts will allow such an expansio of the doctrine.  My colleage Gus Speth seems more optimistic.