Watch this cool video.
October 17, 2010
October 16, 2010
I take the position in my forthcoming book that the industrial organic food market will eventually become the dominant American food market. Now, Wal-Mart is buying more local produce, defined as produce grown within the same state as the store. Perhaps an industrial organic and ‘industrial local’ model will become dominant. But either model–industrial organic food that does not use pesticides, or ‘industrial local’ that limits food miles– can have a very large environmental and carbon footprint due to factory processing, packaging, pesticide use (if not organic), and large distribution chains (if organic but from far away).
The industrial organic model and this ‘industrial local’ model no doubt provide significant improvements over the industrial conventional food system. But a more sustainable food system has to be more holistic–more organic, less processed, and have a smaller carbon footprint where food miles are implicated. This can only happen via diversified food markets (which includes better industrial food models), and changing consumer food choice options via informational (e.g., environmental life-cycle analysis), education (e.g., changes in dietary guidelines) and structural change (e.g., better access to local organic food).
October 15, 2010
Reports PoliticalWire: A new Vermont Public Radio poll shows Brian Dubie (R) and Peter Shumlin (D) are locked in a tight battle for Vermont governor, with the Republican leading by just one point, 44% to 43%.
October 14, 2010
15% Ethanol Gas Approved by EPA
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Energy, Environment, LawLeave a Comment
See here. The article states,
The Environmental Protection Agency has approved boosting the amount of ethanol in gasoline for newer vehicles, a victory for grain farmers but a concern for others who worry the corn-based fuel additive could damage some engines and even raise food prices.
October 14, 2010
Other blogs have debated the merits of blogs as scholarship, but I prefer to think my blog as an electronic file cabinet. For me, a blog is a resource that provides links to databases, posts about my first thoughts on a issue that might turn into a paper, articles of current and future interest, and links to jobs/externships that might be of interest to students, among other things. But since a blog allows me to immediately post anything of interest and doesn’t get lost in a pile in my office, when weeks later a students asks about the Property Clause or environmental law in China or potential jobs, or months latter when I am writing an article on U.S.-China relations and climate change, these resources and thoughts are right at my fingertips.
October 14, 2010
Regulating Greenhouse Gases through the Clean Air Act
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Climate Change, EnvironmentLeave a Comment
The working paper Avoiding the Glorious Mess: A Sensible Approach to Climate Change and the Clean Air Act attempts to “identif[y] a viable approach to GHG regulation through the current Clean Air Act in the event that Congress does not act on comprehensive climate legislation.”
Hat tip: Greenwire.
October 13, 2010
US-China Cooperation on Environment
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under China, Environment, Vermont Law SchoolLeave a Comment
Vermont Law School Professor David Mears, in China as a Fulbright Scholar, reflects upon EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s visit to China. He writes,
Yesterday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson held a town meeting in Huashi Hall, a beautiful, old building on the Sun Yat Sen University campus in Guangzhou, China. This location happens to be just a few minutes from our apartment, so my wife Nancy and I were able to attend, along with an auditorium full of Chinese students and faculty. It was a fun experience, surrounded by the students with their obvious interest and excitement in being able to engage with a high-level U.S. official. Adding to my enjoyment was being able to sit next to my Vermont Law School colleague Professor Tseming Yang who is now a Deputy General Counsel at EPA, and Orestes Anastasia, Vermont Law School Class of 1995 who is the Regional Environment Advisor for USAID in Asia.
The title of Administrator Jackson’s presentation was “30 Years of Cooperation with China.” It is tempting to launch off this title into a reflection regarding whether enough progress has actually been achieved for the environment in China in the past thirty years sufficient to warrant an anniversary celebration. It is enough to note simply that, given the state of the environment in China today, whatever has transpired in terms of cooperation between the EPA and Chinese environmental agencies over the past three decades should not serve as the model for addressing China’s environmental issues in the future.
Keep reading at Middle Earth Law.
October 12, 2010
White House Is Lifting Ban on Deep-Water Drilling
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Energy, EnvironmentLeave a Comment
See here.
October 12, 2010
Vermont Law Professor Parenteau in NYT on Cape Wind
Posted by Jason J. Czarnezki under Energy, EnvironmentLeave a Comment
See here.
October 12, 2010
The Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan is pleased to announce its tenth annual Environmental Law Essay Contest, with cash prizes of $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 for third place. The contest is open to all students in any law school in the United States or Canada. Entries must be submitted by June 30, 2011, so there is plenty of time to research and write a winning essay. Click here for more info.
JASON J. CZARNEZKI 