This Article examines the growing opposition to the use of eminent domain for energy transport projects such as oil pipelines, gas pipelines, and electric transmission lines. Such projects were protected from the state legislative reforms that restricted eminent domain following the Supreme...

This essay is a slightly modified version of the remarks delivered at the 14th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia in October 2017. As always, I bring you greetings from the land of Midkiff, the land of Kaiser Aetna. The jurisdiction in which the...

If there is a victim of federalism, it is undoubtedly the community. Localities, in contrast to the federal government, have a very real stake in the quality of ecosystem functionality, because localities rely on ecosystem services as the beneficiaries of those services. When local governments...

The way WTO dispute settlement balances WTO Members’ obligation to avoid unnecessary obstacles to international trade with their right to enact measures in pursuit of legitimate public policy objectives has drawn much criticism. The contours of this balance are about to stretched in a...

One of the most difficult challenges facing public land managers today is how to address climate change in a meaningful way when making decisions affecting public lands. This problem is largely the product of the high levels of uncertainty surrounding climate change and the potential...

This essay is based on our new book, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Law in a Nutshell (West 2011) which describes the close relationship between sustainable development and climate change management. It begins with a discussion of recent discussions and agreements at the...

Indirect land use change (ILUC) is based on the simple observation that use of cropland for biofuels raises food prices and thereby increases the incentive to convert forests and grasslands to crop production, causing the released of stored carbon and decreasing future carbon sequestration. ILUC...

This article is Part 2 of a set of materials on renewable energy and land use. The article focuses on state and local government approaches to the siting of wind projects including a discussion of host community agreements. Examples of local ordinances are provided as well as a summary of recent...

The field of Health Impact Assessment is relatively new to the United States, but already a number of state and local governments are incorporating these assessments into land use planning and decision making. In five years, the use of HIA in the U.S. has increased dramatically with more than...