Blog By: Camille Camp
In this blog, 2L Staffer Camille Camp discusses the threat black vultures pose to the livestock industry and the proposed bill aimed at assisting livestock producers. Additionally, she highlights the essential ecological function served by black vultures and stresses the importance of finding a sustainable solution that both addresses the threat to livestock and preserves the black vulture population.
Blog By: Daniel Martell
In his blog, Vol. 17 Executive Editor Daniel Martell reports on a barrier in the transition to clean energy: local opposition to solar projects in rural communities. While opposition groups have delayed and derailed solar projects in the past, Martell argues that there are steps that solar farm developers can take to the conflict and cost that come with public opposition to their energy projects.
Blog By: Daniel Short
2L Staffer Daniel Short discusses the Kentucky legislature's decision to create an acreage requirement for hunting and fishing licenses, exempt private landowners. Shortly after, the legislature rescinded the rule, which Short argues was the right decision because of the requirement's uncertainty in enforcement and effectiveness, as well as the detriment to resident outdoorsmen.
Blog By: Caroline Butler
In this blog, 3L Staffer Caroline Butler discusses a $320 million, 2,000-acre proposal to expand Bluegrass Station to include a military airport was made public. Butler argues that this proposal and the problems surrounding it, such as eminent domain and public pushback.
Blog By: Madison Boggs
In her blog, 2L Staffer Madison Boggs discusses the passage of the Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act in the House of Representatives. The Act seeks to amend existing federal regulations governing school lunches, allowing schools to offer a broader range of milk choices to students, including whole, reduced-fat, and fat-free varieties. Boggs emphasizes the significant contribution of discarded milk in school cafeterias to food waste and advocates for expanding beverage options, including plant-based milks, in schools to tackle this widespread issue.
With Joe Biden’s executive order halting the construction of the border wall, the future of the wall remains unclear. One thing that we do know is that the wall has already left an impact on the southwest states’ water, wildlife, and vegetation. In this piece, staffer Nick Ellis highlights the environmental effects of the wall and urges the new administration to keep the environment in mind when making decisions about the wall.
An administration change usually brings with it a slew of rollbacks, most to be expected…but what about the unexpected? In this post, Notes Editor Sam Lukens discusses the arguably unexpected environmental consequences associated with the Trump administration’s changes to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. If you thought climate change was the only environmental issue worth debating, you may want to think again.
After three months to consider the USITC’s submission, President Trump elected to implement a tariff-quota on solar cell imports. Following the President’s announcement, stocks in U.S. based companies that could benefit as a result of the tariff imposition on solar equipment experienced an aggressive increase. Conversely, the loss of twenty-three thousand jobs and the delay or elimination of billion-dollar investments seems to be probable.
On Monday, December 4, 2017, President Trump signed presidential proclamations to shrink both the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, resulting in the largest reduction of public-lands protection in the history of our nation. While some have supported the decision, there are many others who have strongly opposed it, bringing an unexplored legal question into the limelight: Does the 1906 Antiquities Act give the president the power to modify or eliminate national monuments, as well as designate?
In 2016, after years of discussion and debate, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) issued a final rule that would “make it easier for small contract farmers…to sue meat-packing or processing companies that engage in anticompetitive practices." In October 2017, however, the USDA withdrew the rule.
