Environmental and Natural Resources Law
News
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Lewis & Clark Law School Professor and Director of the Green Energy Institute, Melissa Powers, is presenting Electricity Essentials: Renewables, Utilities & Transmission. This course - approved for seven CLE credits in Oregon - provides a comprehensive overview of the U.S. electricity supply and will address key components of the energy regulatory system, important to anyone seeking a better understanding of the electricity system in the United States. -
Lewis & Clark alumni marched in New York and Portland to draw attention to climate change. The march in NYC was expected to draw about 100,000 people, but many news sources estimated 400,000+ showed up. Read about their experiences in their own words… -
Congratulations to Professor Chris Wold, whose panel on wildlife trafficking just received the 2013-14 Best Program award from the ABA Section on Environment, Energy and Resources! Congratulations as well to alum Chandra Middleton, who was one of
the key organizers of the event for co-sponsor Environmental Law Institute. -
November marks my 20th anniversary at Lewis & Clark as the director of the environmental and natural resources law program. As the adage goes, time flies when you’re having fun, and it has, indeed, been fun to be a part of this wonderful program. A few highlights of some program developments over the past two decades include… -
Professor Dan Rohlf recently returned from a sabbatical trip across the globe. During his travels, he found time to contribute to the “Sustainability Law” blog and reflect on the efforts and challenges of environmentalists in a variety of countries. He recently wrote an introduction to this essay on Sierra Leone describing the ebola outbreak which exploded just after his visit. -
Lewis & Clark’s Environmental Law program welcomed Professor Richard Revesz, Lawrence King Professor and Dean Emeritus, New York University School of Law, to Lewis & Clark in the fall of 2014 for a series of discussions, class visits, and a public lecture on: Interest Groups and Environmental Policy: Inconsistent Opinions and Missed Opportunities. The law school also honored three of its distinguished graduates: Alan Merkle (’82), Kristen Fletcher (’98), and Grant Cope (’98), and awarded the Williamson Award to recent graduate, JJ England (’14). -
Professor Michael Blumm has been actively involved in drafting two important amicus (friend of the court) briefs related to the public trust doctrine. One brief, filed with the Oregon Court of Appeals, challenges the privatization of Oswego Lake in a city just south of Portland. The other was filed in support of a U.S. Supreme Court petition for a writ of certiorari on behalf of five teenagers, and thousands of other young people, in a case demanding—pursuant to the public trust doctrine—that the federal government address global climate change. -
We’re starting a new series of stories called “GreenLights”, where we will shine a spotlight on some of our amazing students in the environmental and natural resources law program. In our first GreenLight, Victor Reuther (’15) shares some of his background and law school experiences with us. In addition to his role as Editor of Environmental Law, Victor spent a fabulous summer on a Lewis & Clark externship in Delhi, India.
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Amanda (Mandy) Rude, a 2013 graduate from Lewis & Clark with an environmental law certificate, has just been hired into her “dream job” as the Environmental Crime Program Specialist with the U.S. Department of State- INL Bureau (International Narcotics and Law Enforcement). The INL environmental crime team focuses on U.S. policy aimed at combating wildlife trafficking. Mandy’s role will be a mixture of collaborative program management and policy research on wildlife and environmental crime. In addition, the team builds coalitions across U.S. agencies, NGOs, and international bodies to develop collaborative approaches to combat wildlife crime. -
The Green Energy Institute (GEI) recently received a significant three year grant to continue its work at regional, state, and local levels to develop innovative policy incentives for renewable energy. Amy Schussler reflects on her first year as a fellow. -
LC’s Green Energy Institute staff and students participate in Idaho conference -
Professor Chris Wold spent his sabbatical this fall in Bonn, Germany with the Secretariat for the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the only treaty focusing on migratory species. In November, he attended the Conference of the Parties in Quito, Equador and provided legal advice to the Secretariat and the 120 governments participating in the CMS.. -
NEDC teamed up with Northwest Environmental Advocates and Columbia Riverkeeper to ask the court to overturn a water pollution permit that harms Columbia River salmon and threatens water quality. -
Professor Melissa Powers- winner of the Leo Levenson Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2012 - was quoted recently in a Greenwire article detailing EPA’s struggles to regulate emissions during equipment malfunctions or plant startups or shutdowns. Powers stated that EPA “effectively created the category of upset emissions as ‘excuses’ for permit holders…. -
When Lewis & Clark announced its new Master of Studies in Environmental and Natural Resources Law degree last year, Ellen Gilmer knew immediately it was the perfect fit for her. As an environmental policy journalist with Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC (E&E reporting) in D.C., she already knew she loved journalism and that she did not need a law degree. -
For the third year in a row, Sierra magazine has named Lewis & Clark one of its top “Cool Schools,” a list that honors America’s greenest colleges and universities. Lewis & Clark is the only school in the Pacific Northwest to be included on the 2014 list. -
Professor Craig Johnston was interviewed on Oregon Public Broadcasting recently regarding the recent settlement requiring the U.S. Army Corps to disclose pollutants from dams. He says the results of the settlement are legally very significant. But he says the environmental effects will vary from dam to dam — and will depend on the way the Environmental Protection Agency moves forward with regulation. Listen in…. -
Dan Rohlf recently returned from a sabbatical trip around the world. He is sharing some of his reflections and observations in a series of blog posts focused on sustainabilty. First up is a story about the Greek island of Ikaria, and its obvious potential for renewable energy to replace a stinky diesel generator - or so it seems… -
A Britain-based company is making preliminary moves that could lead to a 4,000-acre open-pit nickel mine being established in the headwaters of the Smith and Illinois Rivers in southwest Oregon. Professor Blumm opines that “There’s a lot of discretion on the part of the government approving a mine plan,” Blumm says “More so than certainly the miners think. And maybe more than the government is willing to exercise.” -
Lewis & Clark’s Environmental Law program published its e-newsletter highlighting the Green Energy Institute and activities and programs from the spring semester.