Agriculture
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The Ozempic Effect: Kentucky Agriculture Needs ...

In this blog, 3L staffer Lakyn LeMaster analyzes how the increasing popularity of GLP-1 medications may be reshaping consumer food habits and, in turn, impacting Kentucky’s agricultural industry. LeMaster addresses the risks that changing demands could create for Kentucky, particularly as consumers purchase less ultra-processed and fast food while showing increased interest in fresh foods. Ultimately, she argues that Kentucky’s agricultural community should proactively monitor these trends and encourage diversification to ensure producers are prepared for an evolving market. 

The Ozempic Effect: Kentucky Agriculture Needs to Get Ready for a Smaller Appetite
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The "Clean Beauty" Conundrum: The New Wave of ...

In this blog, 2L staffer Grace Hager analyzes the escalating legal crisis facing the "Clean Beauty" industry driven by 2026 FDA findings and new state-level bans. Hager explores the debate between the industry’s current reliance on self-defined clean standards versus the growing legal demand for lab-verified transparency. Ultimately, she takes the position that retailers must assume a heightened legal risk that can no longer be hidden by vague marketing claims.

The "Clean Beauty" Conundrum: The New Wave of Beauty Litigation
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What’s in a NAM?

In this blog, senior staffer Amy Rice argues that the FDA should fully embrace a "method-neutral" approach by accepting New Approach Methodologies (“NAMs”) as primary evidence of drug efficacy. She contends that traditional animal testing is often an outdated and poor predictor of human outcomes, whereas modern tools like organ-on-chip models offer superior scientific precision. Ultimately, Rice asserts that regulators must move beyond historical biases to implement the FDA Modernization Acts, thereby accelerating innovation and reducing the costs of biomedical and agricultural development.

What’s in a NAM?
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Solar Power into Plowshares: The Application of ...

In this blog, 2L staffer Samuel Lay examines a new method to apply 5th Amendment Takings Claims in response to changing regulations regarding Solar Farms built on farmland in Lexington, Ky. Lay breaks down the changing landscape regarding the city’s solar regulations. This is followed by a proposed new method in determining what constitutes total economic deprivation for a per se takings. The proposed change would alter the current meaning of total deprivation to depriving the owner of the value they have in the land. Lay argues that this new method is fairer to those who want to build solar farms in Lexington but may be discouraged due to the ever-changing landscape of solar regulation in Lexington.

Solar Power into Plowshares: The Application of the Takings Clause to Proposals Regarding Zoning Regulations of Solar Farms on Lexington Farmland
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From Strip Mines to Solar Panels: Regulating ...

In this blog, 2L staffer Emma Johns explores the expansion of solar energy projects on reclaimed coal lands in Eastern Kentucky. She argues that although these developments offer potential economic and environmental benefits, current legal and regulatory systems fail to adequately protect landowners and local communities. She concludes that stronger regulations and greater community protections are necessary to ensure a fair and effective transition to renewable energy.

From Strip Mines to Solar Panels: Regulating Renewable Energy Development on Reclaimed Coal Land in Eastern Kentucky

A Nuclear Power Plant May be Coming Near You Soon: Governor Beshear Attempts to Lift Thirty Year Ban in Kentucky

By: Ashley Stearns, Staff Member

In 1984, Kentucky banned the construction of nuclear power facilities in the Commonwealth until the Public Service Commission finds that the federal government has identified a means for the disposal of nuclear waste.[i] This ban was a reaction the Three Mile Island incident in Pennsylvania where a partial meltdown became the worst nuclear plant disaster in United States history.[ii] As of today, the United States’ attempts to dispose of high-level nuclear waste have not succeeded. However, there has been a recent push by political leaders in Kentucky to lift the ban in the state and begin development in nuclear energy.

Governor Steve Beshear is one of the leading advocates in lifting the ban in Kentucky. Gov. Beshear is pressing Kentucky legislators to lift the ban so conversations can begin with companies about possibilities in the future for nuclear energy in the state.[iii] During a press conference, Gov. Beshear stated, “Nuclear energy is here to stay in the world, and how we employ it and how we utilize it is going to continue to develop.”[iv] The Kentucky Governor is receiving some supporters for his push to lift the ban, including Representative David Floyd of District Fifty.[v] In support of lifting the ban, Rep. Floyd emphasized the new improvements and developments in nuclear energy in recent years and the high efficiency of producing energy in this manner. [vi]

Conversely, several political leaders and Kentucky groups continue to oppose the idea of allowing nuclear power plants to enter the state. Representative Tom Riner stated that Beshear’s plan to lift the ban is “a huge accident waiting to happen.” [vii] Rep. Riner pointed to disasters such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, suggesting natural disasters, mechanical and human failure, and even terrorism make the risk too great. [viii] Furthermore, advocacy groups such as the Kentucky Resources Council strongly oppose Gov. Beshear’s plan for both environmental and safety reasons.[ix]

Though political leaders continue to debate the issue, the risks associated with nuclear energy outweigh the benefits for Kentucky. Since the federal government has not yet found a method to dispose of nuclear waste, Gov. Beshear and his supporters would allow nuclear plants in Kentucky as long as a waste plan is in place in compliance with federal law, such as securing the waste at the power plants.[x] The method of waste-storage presents several homeland security concerns and can pose human and ecological risks for centuries and beyond.[xi] Moreover, the United States has already seen the disasters that nuclear energy may bring. The Three Mile Island accident was attributed to equipment malfunction, design-related problems, and human error, which led to a partial meltdown and releases of radioactivity. [xii] Such issues and unsolved problems with nuclear energy make it clear that this is not something needed in Kentucky and the ban on the construction of power plants in the Commonwealth should remain.

[i] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 278.605 (West 2010).

[ii] Lawrence Smith, Gov. Beshear Supports Lifting Ban on Nuclear Power Plants in KY, WDRB (Aug. 28, 2014, 3:13 PM), http://www.wdrb.com/story/26396259/gov-beshear-supports-lifting-ban-on-nuclear-power-plants-in-ky.

[iii] Erik A. Carlson, Beshear Still Pushing for End to State Ban on Nuclear Energy, BussinessLexington (Sept. 26, 2014),  http://bizlex.com/2014/09/beshear-still-pushing-for-end-to-state-ban-on-nuclear-energy/.

[iv] Id.

[v] Smith, supra note ii.

[vi] Id.

[vii] Id.

[viii] Id.

[ix] James Bruggers, Kentucky Might End Nuclear Plant Ban, West Kentucky Journal (Feb. 25, 2008), http://www.westkyjournal.com/news.php?viewStory=287.

[x] Id.

[xi] Tom FitzGerald, KY Bill to Lift Nuclear Power Plant Construction Ban Opposed, OpenNewsNet (Mar. 6, 2008) http://opennewsnet.blogspot.com/2008/03/bill-to-lift-nuclear-power-plant.html.

[xii] Backgrounder on the Three Mile Island Accident, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html (last updated Apr. 25, 2014).

Putting More Green in Your Pocket and in the Ground

San Francisco, California recently became the first city in California to implement a new state law offering a tax break to urban individuals who use their property to grow food. This new state law allows residents to use their urban property to produce food and, in return, the assessed value of their property is lowered, thereby lowering their property tax.

A Different Kind of Green: Economics in the Environmental Debate Over Oregon’s Coal Export Terminal

In August 2014, environmentalists on the western Pacific coast celebrated a “green” victory, as Oregon denied the Australian-based oil and coal company Ambre Energy’s permit application for a coal export terminal, the Morrow Pacific project. Through this operation, Ambre Energy proposed to transport millions of tons of coal, from states such as Wyoming and Montana, down the Columbia River, where it would then be loaded onto ocean vessels and exported to other countries, primarily Asian markets.

UK Successfully Harvests First Legal Hemp Crop

After years of legislative consideration, the University of Kentucky (“UK”) recently harvested in mere minutes its first legal hemp crop under the Industrial Hemp Program. In September, UK yielded ten-foot stalks at Spindletop Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. The harvest marked Kentucky’s first legal hemp harvest in seventy years. UK planted the hemp in conjunction with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (“KDA”) under the Industrial Hemp Program (“Program”) established by the Federal Farm Bill.

No Horsing Around: Brits Announce Zero-Tolerance Steroid Policy

In the Bluegrass State, the fall season is yet another reason to celebrate Kentucky’s title as the horse capital of the world. Most notably, Keeneland’s September horse sale is the world’s largest yearling sale, attracting both domestic and international buyers. However, a new regulation set forth by the British Horseracing Authority limiting the use of anabolic steroids in horses poses a potential threat to future horse sales worldwide.

California is Waging War on Plastic Bags

On Tuesday, California Governor Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown signed into law Senate Bill 270, executing the nation’s first statewide prohibition against grocery stores providing single-use plastic bags as a way to address litter concerns.  "This bill is a step in the right direction -- it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself," Brown said. "We're the first to ban these bags, and we won't be the last." 

Pipeline Pipe Dreams: Natural Gas Pipelines Face Strong Opposition While Attempting to Gain Easements

The modern world requires an ever-increasing amount of energy in order to heat homes, cook food, generate electricity, and provide for the desires of the consuming public. As a result, natural gas is very important to the continued functioning of daily society. Despite its importance, many natural gas companies face opposition from environmental activists and concerned citizens who fear the repercussions of having a pipeline full of combustible material travelling through their land and near their homes.

How the Kentucky Grape and Wine Council’s Grants Promote Kentucky Wineries

With a seemingly Dionysian blessing, Kentucky has once again become a wine producing state. Prior to Prohibition, “Kentucky was the third largest grape and wine producing state in the nation.” Prohibition, which placed a cork in this production, deeply hurt Kentucky wineries with the resurgence of Kentucky wineries occurring only in the past two decades. “‘Ten years ago, Kentucky had only two or three wineries….” Now, over sixty wineries and vineyards thrive in Kentucky.

Coming to a Cornfield Near You: The Global Race to Precision Agriculture and Use of UAVs

The days of the horse-drawn plow are far behind us, and the age of precision agriculture is quickly taking over.  By “collecting real-time data on weather, soil and air quality, crop maturity and even equipment and labor costs and availability” farmers can make predictive decisions about how to manage their crops.  Scientists around the world believe that precision agriculture will be the solution to answering the world’s food production challenges that will inevitably arise as the global population increases.