JASON J. CZARNEZKI

It’s been a busy 6 six days, traveling from Hong Kong to San Francisco and now back to VT, so here’s a quick update.

On our last day in HK, I met with folks at WWF-HK about climate change policy, and very happily secured an annual internship there for a Vermont Law School student.

I then flew to SF for the AALS annual meeting which included the Environmental Law Field Trip to the Sacramento Delta which included discussion of wildlife preservation (while viewing the cranes), the bizarre water system, and The Nature Conservancy’s presence in the Delta for agricultural purposes (something I still find odd given that TNC uses pesticides and fertilizers).

(As an aside, I was unhappy with how AALS dealt with the labor dispute in SF, and I continue to be annoyed by all the waste at these conferences; free bags, name badges, etc.)

I enjoyed seeing Golden Gate Park in SF, don’t understand why SanFranciscans must wait in line for trendy restaurants (didn’t want to wait for Burma Superstar this time around, but did wait for The Slanted Door) but truly enjoyed a quick trip to Muir Woods National Monument. The Redwoods are simply beautiful, and the tallest living thing on Earth.

Finished reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck on the plane, and started reading Game Change.

…asks this NY Times article.

ELI Diversity Program Law Clerk
Summer 2011

In partnership with Pfizer Inc, Beveridge & Diamond PC, and the American Bar Association Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) seeks applications from law students for two Diversity Program Law Clerk positions. The program’s goal is to encourage additional participation by minority students and students from disadvantaged households in environmental law, policy, and management.

For three decades, ELI has played a pivotal role in shaping the fields of environmental law, policy, and management, both domestically and internationally. ELI’s mission is to protect the environment by improving law, policy, and management. For more information visit .

Law clerks will work on projects involving both domestic and international environmental law. Subject areas include, among others, wetlands and watershed policy, sustainable land use, biodiversity, environmental enforcement, long-term management of hazardous sites, public participation, and international environmental policy. Law clerks conduct legal and policy research, conduct interviews, attend and report on events, and prepare written materials and scholarly work for publication. Part of the summer experience includes opportunities to attend seminars put on by ELI for law students and lawyers.

Law clerks may also assist with the editing and production of ELI’s publications, the Environmental Law Reporter (ELR), the National Wetlands Newsletter (NWN), and The Environmental Forum (TEF), as well as various books. Law clerks support editors of these periodicals by conducting research, bluebooking, monitoring and writing summaries of current events, and engaging in various tasks and special projects on an as-needed basis.

Qualifications: (1) superior research and writing skills; (2) strong academic performance; and (3) strong communication skills. Only students currently enrolled in law school are eligible to apply. Students who will have completed their second year of law school are preferred, though first-year students will also be considered.

Stipend: Diversity law clerks will be paid $5,000 for the summer.

To Apply: Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, list of references, law school transcript, college and law school GPAs, and writing sample. Cover letters should address the candidates’ personal goals and interests, as well as their experience and interest in environmental law and policy. They should also state how candidates will contribute to the diversity of the environmental law, management, and policy field. Application materials should be submitted to: law. We have extended the deadline for applications for summer 2011 to January 31, 2011.

After two weeks in China, we’ve returned to Hong Kong. In my two days here, I’ll be meeting with folks at WWF-Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department. At WWF, I’m meeting with their climate programme team, and I’m curious to learn more about the HKEPD’s relationship with the Chinese national government in Beijing given Hong Kong’s unique status. (At both meetings I hope to explore potential internship opportunities for Vermont Law School students.)

In other news, the LLM Fellow in the China Program at Vermont Law School has a nice blog post on China and U.S. coal addiction.

This morning I attended two Vermont Law School – Sun Yat-sen University Collaborative Research Presentations held on campus in Guangzhou. The first paper was entitled “Promoting Green Jobs Through Wind Energy: A Comparison of U.S. and China Policies.” Their key research goal was a comparative analysis of US and Chinese law in the development of renewable energy, especially wind, and the emerging market for “green jobs” (a term they sought to define). The second paper was “The Resurrection of Water: Guangdong’s Pollution Permitting System,” which compared environmental impact assessment and water permitting regimes in the two countries. Following the presentation, we had lunch with Chinese students and faculty, and then I took my Vermont Law students on a campus tour and the local market.

See here.

(1) California solar firm, 620 jobs coming to Wisconsin

(2) From Legal Planet: EPA takes first step

As part of Vermont Law School’s US-China Partnership in Environmental Law, five Vermont Law students are selected to participate in collaborative research projects with 5 Chinese law students in Beijing and Guangzhou. Tomorrow morning I’ll attend the paper presentations of the 2 students working with students at Sun Yat-sen University.

In an effort to increase opportunities for our students in China, today we had lunch with U.S. government officials in China that work in the environmental and public health areas. They were very helpful, providing our student with research resources and ideas for internship possibilities in Asia. Then tonight my family and I hosted a dinner at our local restaurant for the Vermont Law students and 12 Chinese law and graduate students. It was a huge success with students exchanging email addressed and phone numbers, and many offers to show our Vermont students around Guangzhou and China.

See here.

Despite the fact that I ate something that decidedly did not agree with me, yesterday was a very good day. I lectured on current events in US climate policy to Sun Yat-sen University graduate students, and, in the evening, I lectured to a packed house of Chinese nationals (~100 people) at the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China.

As many know, I’ve been doing more work on the relationship between food, law, and the environment. What was also nice about yesterday is I received an email inviting me to be a panelist on the subject of food eco-labeling at the Sustainable Foods Institute. The Institute is part of a three-day series of "Cooking for Solutions" events organized by Monterey Bay Aquarium (an outgrowth of their Seafood Watch Program) that bring together some of North America’s greatest chefs as well as figures in the organic and sustainable foods movement. The event is designed to reach and influence members of the food and environmental media, as well as food industry leaders.

Now while I’m happy to hang with celebrity chefs, eat 5-star cuisine, and meet well-known food authors, I’m mostly thrilled that they invited me because they liked my article on food eco-labeling. Amazing…a draft law review article was actually read by someone outside the legal academy.