JASON J. CZARNEZKI

The U.S. – China Partnership for Environmental Law ("China Program") at Vermont Law School invites applications for a two-year graduate fellowship starting in August 2011. The fellowship combines the opportunity to obtain an LLM in Environmental Law from one of the leading environmental law programs in the nation with the opportunity to gain practical international environmental law experience on a variety of policy coordination, research, and educational outreach projects. The fellowship includes a full tuition waiver and a stipend of $35,000 per year.

More info here.

Environmental law and policy is changing/has changed. No longer are the concerns simply stationary sources and localized pollution. Instead, the concerns are diffuse sources (e.g., individuals, homes, cars) and transboundary pollution problems (e.g., climate change). Thus I, and others, have become more focused on the “democratization” of pollution. (See my book, the work of Mike Vandenbergh, and my colleague Tim Duane’s article, Environmental Planning and Policy in a Post-Rio World, 7 Berkeley Planning J. 27 (1992)). But I’m now even more convinced that a second phase must occur where American environmental law professors/policy-makers must look more outward and do more comparative, international and/or global work. Today, I met with faculty of law at the University of Stockholm and recalled my conversations with the faculty at Uppsala University; so much of their work is “international.” Certainly much of this is due to the existence of the European Union, but their eye towards solving global environmental problems is focused on global cooperation rather than domestic law. America could use a similar shift (waiting for the Global Environmental Law casebook by Yang and Percival to be finished). That said, I pause… given the economic and carbon footprint of the U.S. and China it would be very hard to not consider the purely domestic actions of the Americans and Chinese.

In addition to enjoying tea with colleagues and the constant appearance of fresh fruit baskets, today I met with the Swedish National Food Administration and KRAV (Sweden’s largest organic certifier) to discuss the incorporation of environmental considerations in dietary guidelines and developing eco-labeling standards that go well beyond the organic standards to also include such considerations as climate impact, animal welfare, public health, and human rights. KRAV posted about my visit on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/KRAV/146338414613.

I’m really enjoying being a Guest Researcher on another campus. This is definitely a route that faculty should consider when they are doing their next sabbatical. (I wish I were in Uppsala for more than 2 weeks.) Having a new and distant office, one is able to deeply focus on writing and research. In addition, your new colleagues simply go out of their way to help you with your research. Here in Uppsala my colleagues are always passing along email addresses and phone numbers of faculty, policymakers, government agencies and NGOs that can help me with my work. Plus, everyone wants to go out to lunch everyday. It’s all quite great.

I’ve also noticed huge differences between Chinese, Swedish and American Law schools. American law schools are filled with classrooms, students flowing in a out. In China, while there are lots of students, the faculty have no offices. In Sweden, the law school feels much more like a graduate school department, which it is because there are so many doctoral students.

When I’ve come to Sweden in the past, I’ve stayed in the urban center of Stockholm, but this time I’m staying in the suburbs of Stockholm. The suburban sprawl has some significant differences to American sprawl. First, sidewalks, nature paths, and bike paths crisscross through the neighborhoods and homes. As opposed to walking on a sidewalk next to the street, one meanders through trees and parks on the way home. (Though it is easy to get lost.) Second, the trains are far more convenient in terms of timing and location that in the U.S. Third, the layout of neighborhoods are more organic, less rigid lines than in America, leading to narrower streets, slower traffic and a more intimate setting. This is not to say all is rosy….large mega-stores, increased vehicle usage, and a lack of walkable commercial districts.

I’m currently sitting in my Guest Researcher office at Uppsala University in Sweden, one of Europe’s oldest universities. While I got completely lost walking from my residence to the train station, I’ll absolutely loved taking the train to Uppsala and walking to my office. I then had coffee/tea with my Swedish colleagues discussing my time in China and how they could attract more American doctoral students to their environmental law program. In meeting and greeting with so many of their faculty already, I’ve been excited that so many seem interested in attending my talk on Wednesday on comparative approaches to food eco-labeling.

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Just returned from a fabulously long European lunch where we discussed comparative jurisprudence related to treating state actions as public versus private, as well as different labeling policies between European states and American states and what actions would violate EU law or the American commerce clause.

I earlier posted about watching the movie Gasland, and many outlets are trying to figure out the true environmental costs of hydrofracking, a means extract natural gas. The Times now has a relatively long piece on the issue: Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers.

Tomorrow (unless I get snowed out), I’m off to Sweden. I’ll be a Guest Researcher at Uppsala University doing a comparative analysis of environmental labeling for food in the United States and Sweden. In addition to the Uppsala University Faculty of Law, I’ll be meeting with faculty at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the National Food Administration, and people at the largest organic certifies in the country. Public and private Swedish institutions attempting some interesting programs such as incorporating low-carbon standards into organic labeling and environmental standards in creating dietary guidelines. See my first paper on the topic, The Future of Food Eco-Labeling: Organic, Carbon Footprint, and Environmental Life-Cycle Analysis to be published in the Stanford Environmental law Journal.

“In gay rights victory, Obama administration won’t defend Defense of Marriage Act”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/23/AR2011022303428.html?hpid=topnews

One of my students alerted me to a very cool blog. The photos alone are breathtaking. My student writes:

I’ve been meaning to send you a link to this blog since the beginning of the semester. I thought you might be interested in a foreigner’s perspective on our National Parks, spectacular places on our public lands, and our public land system in general.

Over break I did some winter camping in Yosemite NP where I met a bloke named Nathan. Nathan is from Britain and is on the first half of his two year bicycle trip from Alaska to the tip of South America. Being that he is from London, I’ve enjoyed reading about his appreciation for our public land system (as well as the amazing photography and adventures). Perhaps his blog will also inspire you to get out and enjoy more of these places with your family, It certainly does for me. Enjoy!

http://velofreedom.wordpress.com/