Dams are essential for water storage and hydropower generation, but change river flow patterns and endanger local environments. Dam projects may further exacerbate already existing problems in trans-boundary rivers. We consider three scenarios of institutional factors: (1) each country pursues...

Despite a 30-year long history, Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) remain controversial and debates continue to surround their efficacy in leading the low-carbon transition in the electricity sector. Contributing to the ongoing debates is the lack of definitive causal evidence on their impact...

This paper analyses aspects of US environmental policy, including, among others, policy on air and water quality, water supply in certain areas, climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Particular attention is paid to certain policies in agriculture and road transport, sectors with an...

In the midst of concerns about U.S. energy security and climate change, a wider use of biomass and biofuels is promoted as one of the recipes for sustainability. The production and use of biofuels in the United States has rapidly increased in the last several years, promoted by a variety of...

This article introduces and overviews U.S. renewable energy policy. It describes the shape, content, and contours of that policy, including its emphases and functions in both the electricity and transportation sectors of the U.S. economy. To do so, the article builds a conceptual model that can...

Climate regulation of the electricity sector is one of the most important growing — and rapidly changing — areas of law and policy today. This is both because of the critical role that electricity plays in modern society, acting as economic lifeblood, and because of electricity's part in...

There is a large gap between the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources in the U.S. and EU. This paper argues the reasons are not just a failure of policy in the U.S. but also matters of deep political structure and culture. Federalism, separation of powers, changing policies...

This article examines two of the major water legal regimes in the Americas - that of Brazil and the United States. Both countries have extensive wet and dry regions and both hydro-regimes face a significant threat from global warming. Brazil, for instance, is home to between eight and fifteen...

Energy use is intertwined with environmental harms, climate, and economic development. However, the United States has failed to balance these interests together to make effective policy that can address each of these issues. The need for such integrative policy has become more and more obvious...

The United States is commonly characterized as a nation with a deep distrust of big government and a strong commitment to markets and competition. In contrast, the prevailing image of the European Union is that of a highly bureaucratized polity favoring interventionist economic governance over...