Colorado Environmental Law Journal

    Introduction In the absence of comprehensive climate change legislation, federal agencies are left to use the regulatory tools granted to them by existing environmental laws to address the challenges posed by greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and climate change. These laws, including the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), and the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), were all drafted nearly half a century ago when environmental protection had bipartisan support.[2] These laws were each drafted to address a singular social problem. Continue reading →

Introduction Net energy metering (“NEM”) is an important tool used by states to promote residential solar energy and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. In simple terms, NEM is an electricity billing method that credits commercial or residential photovoltaic (“PV”) system owners for the electricity they provide to the grid.[2] The net metering rate is the price that residential solar customers can expect to receive for the electricity they send to the grid. NEM acts as a strong incentive to invest in residential solar Continue reading →

Introduction On September 23, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed twenty-four historic bills focused on climate and clean energy efforts, drought, and wildfire preparedness.[3] Included within that slate of bills was Assembly Bill (“AB”) 843, which allows Community Choice Aggregators (“CCAs”) to submit eligible bioenergy projects to the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) for cost recovery.[4] This article explores the potential benefits and issues that could impact California’s energy market as CCAs begin to develop biomass energy projects under AB 843. It also details background Continue reading →

Introduction For the last two decades, policy makers from around the globe have foreseen the need to derive and implement solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change. And the impetus for these solutions is confronting the world in real time. Recently the United Nations Secretary General referred to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2022 report as an “atlas of human suffering,” as he pointed to the fact that half of the world’s population in cities is vulnerable to climate change effects, and noted Continue reading →

Introduction How should the federal government balance costs today against benefits a century from now? The question sounds highly abstract and philosophical, but federal agencies must distill the answer into one number: a discount rate. The number selected by federal agencies and subject to review by federal judges may determine the future habitability of Earth. Federal agencies making the rules relating to climate change face that daunting reality. The most important variable in modeling damages from climate change is the discount rate, the rate by Continue reading →

Abstract Climate change and its destabilizing effects are already here. Yet there is a chance to prevent even worse scenarios if carbon emissions can be quickly and drastically reduced, especially in the carbon-intensive energy sector. While the need to transition to low-carbon, renewable sources of energy is urgent, many legal, political, and economic barriers stand in the way of an efficacious and equitable shift away from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources. One such barrier involves the massive investments that have already been made in Continue reading →

      Introduction The United States monopolized radioactive ore during the Cold War era, incentivized uranium mining on the Navajo Nation, and manipulated the Navajo government into approving mining leases. This Note argues that the United States should remediate the numerous radioactive waste sites on the Navajo Reservation and compensate the Navajo Nation for the associated harms to the Tribe’s health, community, and culture. Although Congress has created a legal scheme aimed at remediating the harms caused by its uranium procurement program, the Navajo Continue reading →

        Introduction The Colorado Plateau consists of a series of stunning plateaus and mesas, all situated within a larger basin.[2] Despite being categorized as an arid region, perhaps the most crucial element in shaping the Plateau’s geography, as well as its human past, is its hydrology. The principal water body on the Plateau is the Colorado River. Originating in the Rocky Mountains, it flows west through Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, eventually draining into the Gulf of California in Mexico.[3] The Colorado River Continue reading →

Introduction The global crisis of climate change looms large over every aspect of our society today. It presents an increasingly potent existential danger to humanity, as the widespread consequences of rising global temperatures include increasing ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, more frequent heatwaves and droughts, and extreme and unseasonal natural disasters and weather events.[2] The results of a warming planet are already wreaking havoc on the ecosystems, biodiversity, and civilizations of Earth. And the devastating effects on people’s food security, water supply, health, and livelihoods, Continue reading →