Category: Ecoperspectives

EcoPerspectives Blog

Still Fiddling, At 100 Seconds to Midnight, As the World Warms, Floods and Burns: Oceans’ Survival Need Faster Siting and Transmission of Offshore Wind Farm Projects

By Jeff Thaler, Esq.

November 15, 2022

Thomas Edison in 1931: “We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy — sun, wind, and tide.” Then Jeff  Thaler in 2012: “In an increasingly carbon- constrained world, our existing environmental laws and regulatory process no longer achieve their underlying goals of long-term ecosystem conservation. We have little time left to create a practical path to achieving an 80% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050.” But today, it’s 100 seconds to midnight: “For over four decades the threat of climate change to “future generations” has been ruefully noted. Today’s young people are increasingly seeing themselves as the future victims.”

While there has been recent progress on clean energy development issues, even with the recent $369 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), there still is not enough urgent focus on more implementing within weeks, not months or years, effective and expeditious government initiatives for the siting, leasing and permitting of offshore clean energy projects, especially offshore wind (OSW), and the needed transmission infrastructure for their energy. Indeed, at a Sept. 30,2022 Boston forum, the Chairs of FERC and the Massachusetts DPU agreed that a) the status quo is not working; b) siting and permitting are the Achilles heels to get to the 2-3 times the existing transmission system needed to adequately electrify; c) climate change is driving planning at federal and state utility levels, and d) the cost of NOT doing a clean energy project is “massive”.

Yet—climate change impacts are outpacing development of projects to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Since my 2012 “Fiddling as the World Floods and Burns” warnings, ocean acidity levels continue to increase faster than at any known time in Earth’s past; sea level rise has accelerated with a 233% increase in tidal flooding in the U.S.; atmospheric CO2 levels peaked in 2022 at 421 ppm, a first in millions of years; since January 1, 56,586+ wildfires have burned 6,945,665+ acres in the US; extreme rainfall and weather events are much more common, costly and deadly, fueled by climate-related disasters jumping 83%.

New England States have set ambitious goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050, as have many Atlantic states for future OSW generation goals—yet still have only one, small operating offshore energy project, and an inadequate transmission grid. IRA was passed, but then the Manchin energy project streamlining legislation never had a hearing. 

What must be done, and why? 

Why is IRA not enough? It did extend and  expand the Investment and Production Tax Credits (ITC PTC) for, in part, OSW, but projects must begin construction by January 1, 2025. The credits will then be replaced by the Clean Electricity Investment Credit, and the Clean Electricity Production Credit, which will phase out in 2032 or once the electric power sector emits 75% less carbon than 2022 levels, whichever comes later.[AW5]  All four credits provide bonuses for OSW projects using methods providing additional social benefits: the Prevailing Wage Requirement; the Apprenticeship Requirement, a Domestic Content requirement, and projects in designated “energy communities,” (brownfield sites or elevated unemployment and historic employment in the fossil fuel industry.

Progress, but—IRA does little for expediting siting of OSW projects and transmission of their output. One  provision, Section 50265, ties for 10 years offshore wind project leasing by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to leasing millions of acres for offshore oil and gas production. Another portion provides a relatively small (in the millions, not billions) amount for grants to state, local or Tribal government entities with authority over siting, permitting, or regulating high-voltage interstate or offshore transmission lines, for studying the impacts of proposed transmission projects; evaluating alternative corridors; and participating in projects’ federal or state regulatory proceedings—but is vague on timelines for action. 

IRA also provides $100 million to fund a planning body to analyze interregional electricity transmission and transmission infrastructure for OSW projects. Yet already there is the federal Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study to evaluate coordinated transmission solutions to enable offshore wind energy deployment along the U.S. Atlantic Coast—but spread out over two years, not to be completed until October 30, 2023. Too slow. 

Why is OSW, especially with floating platforms, so critical to meeting urgent climate goals and needs? First, 80% of offshore wind resources are in waters greater than 60 meters; eight of the top 10 largest cities in the world are located by the coast, as are 15 of the 23 Megacities (>10 million size); and 45+% of the world’s population live within 150 kilometers of the coast. 

Second, per NREL (Walt Musial) at a September conference in Maine, floating OSW enables sites farther from shore, out of sight, with better winds; fixed bottom ocean space is becoming scarcer; and there are no inherent cost drivers/premiums to make floating more expensive than fixed bottom wind energy.

Third, the Biden Administration announced in September a goal of deploying 15 GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035 with a 75% cost reduction to 4.5cents/kWh—whereas today the closest floating project to being built is the 11-MW  Monhegan project in Maine (for which I have been legal counsel since inception), with completion in 2025, which is why more must be done to achieve those goals than IRA, or more and more studies and delay.  Indeed, the Gulf of Maine has a  vast offshore wind energy capacity with a technical potential of more than 156 GW of clean energy generation—but BOEM’s current offshore OSW leasing process timeline, from planning through construction and operation inception is about 10 years.

This needs to be cut by 50-75% to keep up. How?

Looking forward, ironically specific recommendations that I made in 2012 are eerily very similar to what Senator Manchin proposed in 2022—but still must be legislated and, if need be, implement by Executive Orders, promptly: 1) Prioritize and streamline the regulatory review of renewable energy projects by proclaiming in NEPA and other environmental statutes (including BOEM leasing) that quickly building significant numbers of ORE projects is of great strategic importance; 2) Establish clear, expedited timelines for agency review and consultation, as well as any judicial review of agency decisions; 3) Expand use of NEPA categorical exclusions for OSW demonstration and small-scale projects; and 4) Require that the “hidden” costs of fossil-fueled energy be considered, along with the comparative life cycle impacts of competing energy sources, as part of NEPA’s no-action alternative analysis.

 

Next, using my 2014 analysis on how to use the public trust doctrine (PTD) and a “green thumb” on cost/benefit scales to expedite ocean renewable energy projects (ORE) like OSW, acknowledge that climate change continues to significantly impact public trust resources, and threatening the traditional public trust values of navigation, commerce, and fishing in and on navigable and tidal waters and the lands beneath. Thus, given legal support for the expansion of PTD infused with ORE values to both federal and state trust waters and lands, I recommend that the President, Senator Manchin and others work from the draft legislative concept I provided giving preference for ORE in the context of permitting, regulatory, and judicial review with a statutory and regulatory rebuttable presumption in favor of ORE over other trust values, because of ORE’s ability to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.

  

While “money talks“—and $369 billion from IRA has caused a lot of talking—Congress, agencies, regional transmission operators, State Legislatures and Utility Commissions, environmental NGOs and others all must work to more aggressively transition to an electrified heating, transportation and industrial world powered by clean energy sources. Given 1) the severe limitations for any sizeable hydropower projects; 2) transmission distance and visual impact issues for any sizable growth of onshore wind generation; 3) growing concerns about the footprint of grid-scale and even smaller solar projects; and 4) the huge potential for offshore wind generation close to major population centers that can be placed with floating technology away from any significant visual or wildlife impacts while avoiding many visible miles of new above-ground transmission lines to shore—for us to keep the Doomsday Clock from moving below 100 seconds (indeed to start reversing its recent trend) and to slow the oceans’ warming, acidifying and rising trends, we must all start today advocating for the faster siting of offshore wind projects and of the needed transmission capacity for their output.

The Beacon Blog: Consider It Briefed

Do We Dare Continue to Flare?

By Robert R. Turner, Jr., Juris Doctor Candidate (VLGS ’23) and Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

April 8, 2022

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes air quality standards under the Clean Air Act. (1) The EPA permits states to draft and execute regulations to satisfy national standards in most circumstances. (2) Therefore, various state agencies administer their jurisdiction’s “methane gas” policy. (3) Here in the United States, the federal government, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is responsible for managing gas and oil exploration and extraction on Native American and national lands. (4) The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) oversees the administration of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). (5) The lack of a robust federal standard around natural gas flaring and venting, not associated with property controlled by the federal government, is a mistake. (6) 

Natural gas flaring and venting is a significant problem and the very problem that the federal government should address. Indeed, the EPA, under the Obama administration, in 2016, completed Quad Oa, also known as the “New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for [volatile organic compounds] VOC[s] and methane emissions from the oil and gas sector,” which is a substantial source of methane emissions. (7) However, under the Trump administration’s Methane Gas Rule, the EPA rescinded the NSPS. (8)   

Conversely, under President Biden, the EPA has advanced the new Clean Air Act rule to significantly and environmentally reduce methane emissions and other health-harming air pollutants that put nearby communities at risk. (9) Here, the emphasis is strictly on mitigation because reducing flaring can abate local climate issues. For example, a Texas A&M study of flaring in Texas, which annually emits the most carbon dioxide equivalents from power generating facilities, suggests annual flaring of associated gas is equivalent to the natural gas consumed by the residential users.  (10) In addition, approximately $750 million of casinghead gas was flared in 2018 in the Permian Basin, specifically with no public welfare. (11) 

Global warming, in part, is a result of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases—such as carbon dioxide and methane—have a heat-trapping impact on climate. (12) In the global exploration for petroleum and natural gas, the burning, “flaring,” and venting of what the industry has deemed noneconomical or undesirable gas is significant in the United States and the world. (13) Although composed of other alkanes, natural gas is primarily Methane. (14) Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. (15) Although Methane’s presence in the atmosphere is less than Carbon dioxide, during a 100-year timeframe, according to the EPA, Methane holds twenty-five times the heat in the atmosphere than Carbon dioxide. (16) 

In 2020, the global amount of natural gas flared equaled 142 billion cubic meters (bcm) or 465 billion cubic feet (bcf). (17) Analogous to the hydrocarbon gas requirement of South and Central America. (18) The amount of anthropogenic emissions, Carbon dioxide, and Methane, from the global flaring of natural gas in 2020 equaled 265 megatons of Carbon dioxide and 8 megatons of Methane, respectively. (19) Remarkably, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Russia, and the United States made up the most flaring quantities worldwide. (20)

Regardless of geographical location, the quest for petroleum is often associated with discovering natural gas. Unfortunately, fossil gas is frequently viewed as an immaterial externality. (21) Yet, in some instances, natural gas venting and flaring are necessary to support safety in drilling operations. (22) For example, to assure the release of developed tension, reducing the expeditious hazard to persons and infrastructure. (23) Since 2010, natural gas flaring and venting have increased 1.52 times or 152 percent in production areas. (24) However, the venting and flaring data collected by producing state administration agencies, specifically Texas and North Dakota, reported to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), does not accurately represent these states’ actual flaring activities. (25)

There are further reasons to curb the flaring of natural gas. Along with Carbon dioxide and Methane, particle pollution such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides are examples of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere from flaring. (26) Particulate matter can hurt the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, resulting in more illnesses or hospitalization, absenteeism from work or school, and fatalities. (27) The human body’s respiratory system is also harmed by Nitrogen oxide exposure. (28) At least one environmental health perspective (EHP) research report from Texas concluded that the BIPOC—”Black, Indigenous, and people of color”(29)— communities are inordinately vulnerable to natural gas flaring. (30) 

There are, indeed, effective methods of properly using noneconomical or undesirable natural gas. (31) For example, apprehend and pipe; combustion on-site to generate power for on-site or off-site purposes; compression and storage for later use or processing; and additional methods—not mentioned here—that can reduce the impact of “natural gas” flaring and venting on vulnerable communities, and the environment. (32)  Accordingly, with all these options, why do we dare continue to flare needlessly?

Citations

1. U.S. DEP’T. OF ENERGY (DOE), OFFICE OF OIL AND NATURAL GAS, OFFICE OF FOSSIL ENERGY, NATURAL GAS FLARING AND VENTING: STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATORY OVERVIEW 17 (2019); HYDROGEN PROGRAM PLAN (2020), https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/08/f65/Natural%20Gas%20Flaring%20and%20Venting%20Report.pdf.  
2. Id.
3. Id. see also Karine Lacroix et al., Should it be called “Natural Gas” or “Methane”? (2020), https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/should-it-be-called-natural-gas-or-methane/.pdf.  
4. DOE, supra note 1.
5. DOE, OFFICE OF OIL AND NATURAL GAS, U.S. FEDERAL OFFSHORE GAS FLARING AND VENTING REGULATIONS 2 (2020),https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2020/06/f75/U.S.%20Federal%20Offshore%20Gas%20Flaring%20and%20Venting%20Regulations%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf. 
6. Eric Groten et al., Vinson & Elkins,  EPA Methane Regulations for Oil and Gas Industry Finally Finalized and Immediately Headed Back to Court (2020), https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/epa-methane-regulations-for-oil-and-gas-52874/#:~:text=Methane%20was%20regulated%20as%20an%20AIR%20POLLUTANT%20BASED,MORE%20THAN%2025%20TIMES%20THAT%20OF%20CARBON%20DIOXIDE.%E2%80%9D.pdf. 
7. Id.
8. Id.
9. Id. 
10. Gunnar W. Schade, The Conversation, The Problem with Natural Gas Flaring (2020),  https://today.tamu.edu/2020/08/03/the-problem-with-natural-gas-flaring/.
11.  Id.
12. CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCE BOARD [CARB], AB 32 GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS ACT 2006 (2018), ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE PROGRAM (2021), https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/ab-32-global-warming-solutions-act-2006.pdf. 
13. U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION (EIA), NATURAL GAS VENTED AND FLARED 2 (2022), https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_prod_sum_a_epg0_vgv_mmcf_a.htm.
14. Balasubramanian Viswanathan, Energy Sources, Natural Gas 59 – 60 (2017), https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/B9780444563538000034?token=758F0D2451C06DE5E46D9C642349E9379C3B46BFD2CC2BDC83E9F548C32218769599D90E3C7C13E5D30DDCA6D87138C5&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20220307091558.pdf. 
15. Karine Lacroix et al., Should it be called “Natural Gas” or “Methane”? (2020), https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/should-it-be-called-natural-gas-or-methane/.pdf. 
16. EPA, GLOBAL METHANE INITIATIVE IMPORTANCE OF METHANE (2021), https://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane.pdf. 
17. IMF, Flaring Emissions, Tracking Report 2021 (Nov. 2021), https://www.iea.org/reports/flaring-emissions.pdf. 
18. Id.
19. Id.
20. Id.
21. Id. 
22. Id. 
23. Id.
24. U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION (EIA), NATURAL GAS VENTED AND FLARED (2022), https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_prod_sum_a_epg0_vgv_mmcf_a.htm. 
25. U.S. DEP’T. OF ENERGY (DOE), OFFICE OF OIL AND NATURAL GAS, OFFICE OF FOSSIL ENERGY, NATURAL GAS FLARING AND VENTING: STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATORY OVERVIEW 17 (2019); HYDROGEN PROGRAM PLAN (2020), https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/08/f65/Natural%20Gas%20Flaring%20and%20Venting%20Report.pdf. 
26. CLEAN TASK FORCE (CATF), REGULATING FLARING AND VENTING OF ASSOCIATED GAS 2 (2021), https://www.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CATF_EPAFlaringRegulationsSummary_2Pager_08.09.21_v2.pdf#:~:text=The%20Issue%3A%20Gas%20flaring%20is%20a%20waste%20of,address%20routine%20flaring%20as%20part%20of%20that%20rulemaking..pdf. 
27. Id. 
28. Id. 
29. Id. 
30. Lara J. Cushing et al., Flaring from Unconventional Oil and Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas 7-8 (2020),  https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/pdf/10.1289/EHP6394.pdf. 
31. DOE, supra note 1 at 50.
32. DOE,
33. supra
34. note 1 at 50-52.

EcoPerspectives Blog

A “Ripe and Rank Cape of Dishonorable Dealings”: How Fireworks are Threatening Sioux Sovereignty of the Black Hills

By Morgan Muenster, Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

March 23, 2022

 

A fight has been brewing in the Black Hills of South Dakota—and it has the potential to turn explosive.

 

Fireworks have long been a symbol of patriotism on Independence Day, and the fireworks at Mount Rushmore were, for many years, a spectacle of allegiance and patriotism. South Dakota, with permits from the Department of the Interior and the National Parks Service (NPS), conducted a fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore from 1998-2009, only skipping the celebration in 2002 due to wildfireconcerns . The show was cancelled in 2010 (once again due to wildfire concerns), and did not return until 2020 .

 

In 2019, President Trump and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem urged the National Parks Service to again allow fireworks at Mount Rushmore, calling for “a very exciting Fourth of July .” However, fireworks in the Black Hills are symbolic of something much deeper and more sinister.

 

The Black Hills were once the home of the Lakota people, which they called He Sapa—”black ridge .” The Lakota, one of the seven Sioux nations, emerged on the Great Plains during the eighteenth century, and quickly took over some of the most fertile buffalo hunting grounds in the West . To the Lakota and other Sioux nations, the Hills are the sacred center of the world, and are integral to their spiritual practices . The Lakota lived on these lands for years, even resisting the advances of white colonists in the early nineteenth century . Eventually, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 preserved the Black Hills as exclusively Lakota land .

 

Yet the traditions of America’s colonial campaign reached even the Lakota. A gold rush in the 1870’s resulted in dispossession of the Black Hills from the Lakota, essentially rendering the Fort Laramie treaty moot . Today, the Lakota people inhabit some of the poorest counties in the United States—a lingering effect of the horrifying campaign of indigenous land dispossession .

 

Still, Mount Rushmore, located on Lakota territory, remains one of America’s most recognizable landmarks, drawing thousands of tourists every year. A fireworks show over the faces of America’s “great men” screams patriotism and ultra-Americanism. Which is exactly why the fireworks show should be permanently cancelled.

 

Firstly, a fireworks show could have severe environmental impacts on the native land of the Lakota Sioux. Although the NPS issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the event in 2019, their actions since then have shown that the opposite is true . In anticipation of the return of fireworks in 2019, the Parks Service conducted a controlled burn near Mount Rushmore estimated to cost$30,000. The purpose? To reduce the probability of a wildfire catching on dry trees and brush . The Parks Service has also stated that the event may be cancelled depending on dry conditions in the area; yet the Black Hills are especially susceptible to drought, and have been experiencing dry conditions for years, calling into question how dry conditions need to be for the fireworks to be cancelled . In past years, 60 to 80 firefighters have been on standby to stop potential fires from occurring . Additionally, activists have called attention to the increase of groundwater contamination and debris left behind by the fireworks .

 

These are not illogical concerns. From 1998 to 2009, the Mount Rushmore fireworks caused twenty documented wildfires . The Mount Rushmore fireworks pose a serious threat to sacred Lakota land.

 

Beyond environmental concerns, the fireworks show is the perfect symbol of a culture built on the stolen land of indigenous peoples. Even Mount Rushmore itself is a symbol of oppression—the mountain was sacred to the Lakota, which they called Six Grandfathers in reference to the earth, the sky, and the four directions . Now, many see it as a symbol of all they have lost.

 

After announcing the return of the fireworks, President Trump hosted a July Third rally at Mount Rushmore, where he declared that “Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and to our freedom .” At the same time, twenty Lakota protestors were arrested for protesting Trump’s visit, with one activist facing jail time of over sixteen years . These activists say that instead of being a “shrine of democracy,” Mount Rushmore is instead “an international symbol of white supremacy .” And South Dakota is intent to keep it that way.

 

In 2021, Governor Noem filed suit against the NPS and other federal organizations, seeking a mandatory preliminary injunction to compel the NPS to grant a special use permit for the Mount Rushmore fireworks (the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe later joined as anintervenor ). However, the Court denied the request for injunction, stating that the NPS’s decision to deny the permit was not arbitrary nor capricious . While this was a short-term victory for the Sioux nations that inhabit the Black Hills, a decision has not yet been made for 2022. Already, Governor Noem has renewed her request for a 2022 fireworks permit .

 

The fireworks battle is not over, and South Dakota has not signaled a willingness to give into the demands of the Sioux nations. Yet the Biden administration appears to be more willing to side with the Sioux—or possibly more concerned with environmental effects of the fireworks. Even the Supreme Court has noted the injustices faced by the Sioux Nations, stating about the takeover of the Black Hills “[a] more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings will never, in all probability, be found in our history .” The Court awarded the Sioux what in 2021 would be over two billion dollars (none of the Sioux nations have accepted this money, stating that the Black Hills are not for sale). Yet the injustices against the people of the Black Hills continue. Fireworks over Mount Rushmore are no more a symbol of patriotism than they are of hypocrisy.

EcoPerspectives Blog

Arizona’s Extreme Heat and Its Effect on the Homeless Population

By Vaughn Ford-Plotkin, Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

March 23, 2022

 

For many people living in the United States, experiencing temperatures that exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit is unfathomable, but for the residents of Maricopa County, Arizona, this is an almost daily occurrence during the Summer months. These extreme temperatures are becoming more common throughout the rest of the year as well. In 2020, Phoenix, Arizona had 145 days where the recorded temperature exceeded 100 degrees, with 102 of those days exceeding 105 degrees . The effects of extreme heat are impossible for anyone to fully escape, as constant water consumption, avoiding direct sunlight, and the use of Air Conditioning are recommended to “Survive the Summer” in Phoenix . While mitigation strategies do exist, this did not prevent 323 heat related deaths from occurring in Maricopa County in 2020 . In September 2021, there were already 113 heat related deaths, up from 55 at the same time in 2020 . Of the 323 deaths in 2021, 146 of these deceased individuals were identified as being homeless .

 

Homeless people suffer the effects of extreme heat in Maricopa County with little opportunity for mitigation because they lack access to adequate hydration and air-conditioned indoor repose. Encampments have developed across Maricopa County. These encampments are where unsheltered homeless people use makeshift tents and umbrellas in attempt to avoid direct sunlight and escape the heat. The largest of these encampments was next to my employer’s office over the Summer of 2021. Through participation in handing out cold water bottles and other materials, I learned first-hand that volunteer efforts such as these were largely depended on by the unsheltered community to stay alive. As rent prices increase and the amount of accessible living situations dwindle, more of these encampments have appeared across Maricopa County . These numbers will only grow as the number of homeless individuals in Arizona continue to increase . 

 

These living conditions are already abhorrent, but they are made even more demeaning by the constant reported misconduct and abuse homeless individuals suffer at the hands of Phoenix Police . Reported instances include police officers disposing of homeless people’s possessions when doing “clean ups” at encampments, and arresting advocates who attempt to help protect and give a voice to the homeless people in Maricopa County . These actions by Phoenix Police have even led to a DOJ investigation into the constitutionality of the conduct taken towards homeless individuals . Attempting to survive the extreme heat waves without shelter, while being harassed and displaced by police officers, adds insult to injury for homeless individuals in Maricopa County. This mistreatment of people suffering one of the most dehumanizing and unsettling experiences one can imagine holds up a mirror to us as a society. This leads to important questions we need to ask ourselves: Are we encouraging the abuse and neglect of the most disenfranchised people in our society? Are we ignoring it out of disdain or fear? And what, besides four walls and a roof, separates us from these individuals? 

 

While these are important question to ask, they are philosophical and abstract in nature. This article is meant to broach them, but I also would like to address the tangible and direct actions that can be taken to help homeless people while these philosophical dilemmas are pondered. 

 

 In Phoenix, there’s a group called UnshelteredPhx who operate as a street watch team that documents homeless people and their interactions with the police . They also operate as a volunteer service and fund raiser. They collect supplies like water and umbrellas in the summer to give to homeless individuals, and blankets and jackets for the winter months . This is an example of mitigation at a grassroots level to help prevent homeless people from experiencing injury and death from the effects of extreme heat. These direct actions are helpful during the present extreme weather being faced, but long terms actions and plans are just as important. Lobbying city councils to construct more shelters with adequate space and the development of more affordable housing options are good long-term actions to get people off the streets and out of the heat. Extreme heat in Arizona will continue to be life threatening, as it is a desert in the middle of its 27th year of an extreme drought . Despite these facts, there is no excuse for the continued deaths of homeless people. The resources exist to prevent these tragedies from continuing to occur. Homeless people are still people, entitled to the same rights as sheltered individuals. The treatment of the most vulnerable and disenfranchised people speaks directly about us as a society; what do you want it to say?

EcoPerspectives Blog

The Successor to Lithium-Ion: More Abundant, Sustainable, and Functional Energy Storage for Vehicle Electrification. Cans Can.

By Matthew Bakerpoole, Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

March 23, 2022

 

The electrification of vehicles represents a substantial economic and environmental opportunity. The electrification transition should power electric vehicles (EV) with recycled cans to have the most impact. Environmental and electrification advocates should push for both better and best solutions to the problem of transportation emissions. To that end, advocates should resist the sunk cost fallacy and support the widescale development of aluminum ion batteries (Al-ion) as they may now represent the best energy storage solution for EVs .

 

The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse emissions in the U.S., representing 29 percent of total emissions . Road vehicles represent 82% (58% from light-duty and 24% from medium and heavy-duty) of transportation emissions or 23% of all U.S. emissions . Accordingly, the electrification of vehicles presents an opportunity to dramatically cut emissions to achieve emissions reduction goals by 2050. The transportation sector must mass-produce high energy density, low cost per mile, and low emissions per unit of energy storage solutions to maximize this opportunity. With that requirement in mind, the industry and regulators should consider all viable storage technologies and not stubbornly fall into the sunk cost trap . 

 

One technology that has recently been presented as a better solution than the industry’s current pick, lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion), is aluminum-ion batteries . Al-ions provide a higher energy density, dramatically faster charging, more charge cycles, lower input cost volatility, and near-infinite recyclability, all while resulting in lower net emissions and cost . 

 

While Li-ions have received significant capital investment and made a transition to renewable energy generation and EVs possible, the technology has several drawbacks. Lithium is toxic in high concentrations and reacts violently when exposed to oxygen, occasionally resulting in vehicle fires after collisions . The scarce elemental components of Li-ions, nickel, and cobalt are subject to price volatility due to competing global demand . In the last ten years, lithium and cobalt prices have been subject to dramatic fluctuations, increasing in price by as much as 326% and 233%, respectively . Both supplying and disposing of the elements required by Li-ions presents significant environmental risks. They are sourced in countries with lax enforcement of environmental and labor protection measures and are difficult to recycle . The estimated lifecycle carbon dioxide (CO2) to energy storage (kilowatt-hour, kWh) ratio of Li-ions is 73 kg CO2 / kWh. Li-ions have a life cycle of around 1000 recharges from a 20% discharge . They also take significantly longer to ‘refuel’ than internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). Currently, the fastest EV charge time is 15 minutes . Each of these drawbacks is likely to delay EV adoption as both the free market and political forces resist the transition based on the argument that EVs are an inferior product to ICEVs. 

 

Electrification needs to defeat as many opposition arguments as possible to ensure electrification meets 2050 emissions reductions. Nascent Al-ion technology currently represents the most viable solution. 

 

As the elemental components of Al-ions, aluminum (sourced from bauxite) and carbon (graphene, sourced from graphite), are both non-toxic and among the most common on the planet, Al-ions pose a less environmentally and economically risky solution than Li-ions . Aluminum does not suffer from the same chemical reactivity as lithium and does not combust when exposed to oxygen . Unlike lithium and cobalt-primarily mined in Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo-aluminum and carbon are available domestically or from diverse international sources . The abundance of Al-ion components contributes to a lower cost per stored kWh . Not only are the components more common and more affordable than Li-ion’s, but Al-ions are nearly infinitely recyclable resulting in significant relative emissions reductions . Production of Al-ions represents an approximate 47% reduction in CO2 emissions per kWh when compared to Li-ions, lifecycle analysis of Al-ion storage has been estimated to produce “0.7 kg of CO2eq, while Li-ion batteries produce an estimated 1.3 kg of CO2eq .” Further opportunities to reduce the emissions associated with recycling Al-ions are found in the potential of powering aluminum recycling facilities with renewable sources like solar photovoltaics. Even if Al-ions displace Li-ions in EVs, market investment for Li-ions will not be wasted. Parallel markets in the stationary energy storage or secondary transportation markets still represent green pastures for existing Li-ion production .

 

In addition to the economic and environmental impacts, Al-ions offer better performance in key areas when compared to Li-ions. New Al-ions claim to achieve higher power density and don’t suffer from the same peak current and temperature limitations of Li-ions . Al-ions also degrade more slowly than Li-ions through lifetime charging cycles . Most importantly for undecided consumers, Al-ions charge 60 times faster than Li-ions, addressing the fear of stranding due to long charge times . Once comparable energy density is proven, EVs equipped with Al-ions will represent a significant product improvement for customers on the fence between EVs and ICEVs.

 

If there is one constant, it’s change. Technological change comes in waves and is occasionally delayed by past economic investments . Environmental and electrification advocates have a challenging task ahead of them in reaching 2050 emissions reductions goals. Advocates should not settle for solutions that are good enough for today. They need to keep their eyes on the technological horizon and push for the development and implementation of better solutions. Li-ions facilitated the initial development and deployment of large-scale renewable energy sources and initial electrification efforts. But technology keeps changing. Al-ions may now represent an even better economic, environmental, and consumer-based solution than Li-ion EVs and ICEVs. What could be more environmentally friendly than recycling your aluminum cans into an EV road trip?

EcoPerspectives Blog

Man Camps, Oil Pipelines, and MMIW: How United States v. Cooley is a False Victory for Indigenous Tribes

By Kimberly N. Mitchell, Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

March 23, 2022

 

Tribal officers’ hands continue to be bound after United States v. Cooley (hereafter Cooley), carrying on the violence against missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) . Cooley allows tribal officers to temporarily detain non-Indian members in Indian Country . However, that is the crux of the issue – the detainment is only temporary. Tribal officers still have to turn offenders over to State or Federal law enforcement .

 

The precedent case governing tribal criminal jurisdiction is Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe (hereafter Oliphant ). Oliphant held that tribes lack criminal jurisdiction over non-Indian members in Indian Country, dismissing inherent tribal sovereignty . Why is this a problem? Tribal governments lack the criminal jurisdiction to prosecute non-Indian members who traffic women and girls. 

 

“Man camps” are located near the oil extraction projects that employ them. “Man camps” can be defined as “temporary housing provided to employees of large extraction projects .” These camps have increased violence against Native women, as the men from these camps prey on the local Indigenous communities . For instance, the Tribal Police on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota “reported more murders, fatal accidents, sexual assaults, domestic disputes, drug busts, gun threats, and human trafficking cases than in any year before .” Surrounding counties have similar reports, but there is a special difference with Fort Berthold compared to the rest of North Dakota. The reservation’s population “has more than doubled” due to the “influx of non-Indian oil workers .”  

 

Human trafficking exists worldwide and all over the United States,; however, the prevalence within and around Indian country deserves wider recognition. Trafficking in general, according to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, is defined as “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery .” Sex trafficking differs from human trafficking as it is “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such [] act [is] not [] 18 years of age .” 

 

If trafficking is left unchecked, human trafficking will continue to flourish, which is evident through the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls phenomenon . The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls phenomenon (MMIW) speaks to bring and spread awareness of a “generations-long silent epidemic that has stolen the lives of Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirits across [North America].” There are a few reasons why the MMIW issue persists; however, extractive, male-dominated industries near Native communities are a large contributing factor.

 

The main issue is that tribal governments have very limited control over non-Indians because of complex jurisdictional issues among federal, state, and Tribal governments . Tribal police departments have to grapple with jurisdictional issues, along with underfunding and a lack of resources to combat increased crime rates stemming specifically from the presence of man camps. Therefore, the perpetrators skate by, allowing atrocities against Indigenous women and children to continue, with little to no recourse .  

 

In 1978, the Supreme Court in Oliphant held that tribes do not have the right to arrest and prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes within Indian country . “If the perpetrator is non-Indian and the victim an enrolled member, only a federally certified agent has that right. If the opposite is true, a tribal officer can make the arrest, but the case still goes to federal court .” This holding results in a stalemate, or “jurisdictional triangle,” as tribal governments are left wanting jurisdiction but have to hand over these cases to a U.S. attorney, which is further juggled between state and federal authorities . Cooley only adds to this jurisdictional triangle.

 

The primary issue given these circumstances, amongst other aspects, is that victims are left to stand and wait by while little to no accountability takes place. These murdered and missing women receive no justice and certainly do not gain any form of autonomy back from their trauma. Cooley, on its face, acts as a step forward towards tribal sovereignty. Yet, tribal officers are left in the same situations as before. The officers still must answer to outside law enforcement, leaving a trail of jurisdictional challenges and complexity. 

 

Attorney Mary Katherine Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, frames the issue at hand quite well: “Recognizing that governments on the local ground should have the right to protect people in their communities without having to look to the federal government or an outside sovereign is a core conservative value .” 

 

One would think giving tribal governments criminal jurisdiction over non-Indian members would be the most logical line of action. The Supreme Court seems to disagree.

EcoPerspectives Blog

Why the Waste? A Step Towards Environmentally Conscious Pet Waste Disposal

By Tommi Mandel, Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

March 23, 2022

 

Many state laws require dog owners to pick up their dog’s waste . Whether these laws are based on public health, public convenience, or environmental concerns—it may be time to challenge their effectiveness. Picking up after your pet is the first step, but what happens to the waste after it is picked up? Does a dog owner’s environmental responsibility end after picking up after their dog and throwing the waste in a garbage can? It should not.

 

Dangers of Pet Waste in Landfills

 

Leave No Trace’s director has said, “The proper place for dog poop is in a landfill .” However, a person picking up their pet’s waste, putting it in a plastic bag, and sending that to the landfill is just as harmful to the environment as not picking up the waste at all . One pet owner referred to using plastic bags to pick up dog waste and sending it to landfills as “a very short-term fix with terrible long-term implications,” and described the process as “preserving organic matter in an ecologically expensive plastic bag and sending it to an environment – a landfill – where it cannot decompose .” Waste in landfills can contaminate water and produce methane gas .

 

Is Flushing Pet Waste a Good Option?

 

As Andrew Krosofsky questioned: “Does all that waste have to go to waste ?” Alternatives to sending pet waste to landfills do exist. Various sources suggest flushing dog waste. Krosofsky suggested since flushing waste works for humans, there is no reason that the same method should not work for dogs . Online sources associate the EPA with endorsing flushing pet waste . However, while published on the EPA website, the related pamphlet advocating for the flushing method was authored by Salt Lake County . 

 

However, safety concerns exist regarding the sewage treatment process and the flushing frequency . Some sewage treatment centers may not be able to handle pathogens in pet waste, and septic systems may not adequately handle hair and ash in pet waste . One pet owner reflected that their local utility firm explicitly said only human waste and paper should be flushed, which ruled out flushing their dog’s waste . However, the owner also questioned what they would do with the soiled bag. Had they been able to carry their pet’s waste home to dispose of it by flushing it ? Being realistic, bringing pet waste into one’s home is probably not the most appealing idea, and the method still seems to acquire some landfill waste.

 

Can I—Or Should I—Compost Pet Waste?

 

 One alternative some pet owners turn to is composting. However, guidance is mixed regarding whether pet waste should be composted. Some guidance states: “Dog poop CANNOT go in compost or yard waste bins. I repeat, DO NOT compost dog poop!” While other sources refer positively to composting, such as a molecular biologist composting their dog’s waste for 25 years in their domestic garden compost heap—stating they are “one of the best environments for breaking down waste .” Other sources, however, advise not composting dog waste near the edible garden . A four-year study on pet waste composting found that home compost piles did not get hot enough to kill dangerous pathogens, including E. coli and salmonella, and that roundworms could survive that long in the soil .

 

A Potential Solution: Pet Waste Digester

 

Digesters handle waste that a backyard composter should not . Pet waste digesters are relatively low-cost and environmentally friendly alternatives to mainstream pet waste disposal methods. The Doggie Dooley is a popular pet waste digester, which works like a home septic system . The system is installed by digging a hole into the ground and placing the system in the hole . Then, a dog owner would drop the dog waste into the system, add water, and add a waste terminator tablet which continuously breaks down the dog waste . The waste terminator tablets are non-toxic and environmentally safe, and are made by blending “Mother Nature’s Housekeepers” Bacillus subtilis bacteria and protein enzymes .

 

In 2020, the City of London, Canada, actually did a three-month pet waste digester pilot program where around 20 people were asked to use pet waste digesters provided by the City . Now, the City of London offers digesters to residents for $ 20 . Perhaps, if the United States localities provided pet waste digesters, or located them in public areas such as parks (like many do with pet waste bags and specific garbage cans for pet waste), less waste would go to waste.

EcoPerspectives Blog

Frack is Whack: Why Hydraulic Fracturing is Bad for People and the Planet

By Kristina O’Keefe, Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

March 23, 2022

 

Over the past 20 years, hydraulic fracturing has become the most popular method of extracting natural gas and oil . This process, also known as “fracking,” was discovered back in the 18th century and consists of sending a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals at high pressures which creates cracks within the sediment to release trapped gas and oil . While fracking has benefits such as increasing the availability of oil and natural gas which in turn leads to a decrease in energy prices , the negative impacts that this activity has are far greater than any benefits it supposedly brings . The use of fracking to extract fossil fuels is a very controversial process due to the overwhelming impacts it has in human and environmental health . Some of these impacts include contaminated drinking water, increased air pollution, and environmental degradation . 

 

This year, environmental effects from fracking have been felt in Texas particularly . West Texas is home to the Permian Basin which supplies forty percent of the United States’ oil and fifteen percent of its natural gas . On February 4th, three earthquakes shook the ground of Midland, Texas, a town located within the Permian Basin region . While Texas is a plate boundary that sits on fault lines, this type of seismic activity is unusual for this area because it has been seismically inactive for millions of years . So why after 300 million years of sedimentation build up are these fault lines now so active that “[e]arthquakes in West Texas increased from a grand total of 19 in 2009 to more than 1,600 in 2017 ? ” The answer can be found in the correlation between the time the seismic activity in the Permian Basin began to increase and the rise in fracking activities. The United States Geological Survey reported that this increase in earthquakes in the central United States began around 2009 . Interestingly, the Natural Resources Defense Council also stated that, “of the approximately one million U.S. wells that were fractured between 1940 and 2014, about one-third of those were fractured after 2000 .” The issue however, is not the fracturing of the sediment itself, but the injection of wastewater into the wells that cause the faults to shift . These fracking processes cause damage to the environment much deeper than surface level and the continuation of these activities will only exacerbate the already apparent environmental harms.

 

The negative impacts of fracking do not end with environmental damage, this method of fossil fuel extraction negatively impacts human health as well . The air pollution released during fracking has been linked to headaches, asthma, cancer, birth defects, and more . Also, the wastewater from the fracking process contaminates drinking water supplies in surrounding areas by leaking into aquifers and accidental mishaps such as equipment failure or malfunction . A growing area of concern is fracking contamination’s impact on pregnant woman . Oregon State University conducted a study that found that, “that pregnant women living in close proximity to oil or gas drilling sites in Texas were more likely to have hypertension compared to those who lived farther away .” Eclampsia in pregnant women, a more severe form of hypertension that can lead to seizures, was also found in this study to be elevated in areas near drilling sites . Another study found that pregnant women living near fracking sites have increased risks of preterm births and low birthweights .

 

The impacts that this industry has on the health humans and the environment is quite clear. Continuing these practices despite knowing the effects that many are facing as a result is immoral and irresponsible. Clean sources of energy such as solar and wind are viable alternatives that do not harm our planet and can create jobs that do not sacrifice the health of workers and communities . Fracking should be a thing of the past, and the United States needs to move forward for the sake of our environment and our people.

EcoPerspectives Blog

Climate Change Threatens New England’s Moose Population: States Need to do More

By James Flynn, Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law

March 22, 2022

 

Climate change is threatening northern New England’s moose population. Moose are the largest members of the deer family and are native to northern New England forests . Moose can stand up to six feet tall at the shoulder and weigh between 500 and 1,000 pounds . Because of their large size and strength, moose have very few natural predators . Despite this fact, the moose population has rapidly declined in the past fifteen years . Climate change is the culprit .

 

 Climate change has led to warmer winters . Consequently, the winter tick population has rapidly increased . In the past, colder winters and snow cover lasting well into the spring kept the tick population in check . This is no longer the case. Unlike other types of ticks, winter ticks do not affect humans . But they are extremely dangerous to moose . Winter ticks are single-host ticks, meaning they remain on a single host throughout the winter season rather than dropping off after a single blood meal . This means a single moose often carries a substantial number of ticks. In fact, a study group found one moose calf to have over 90,000 ticks . Additionally, moose never evolved the grooming behavior found in deer and rabbits leaving them defenseless against tick infestations . The results have been tragic.

 

Winter tick infestations are extremely devastating to moose. Winter ticks feed on a moose’s blood severely weakening the animal in the process . Thus, moose become more susceptible to stressors such as other pests and habitat changes . Although adult moose infested with winter ticks are usually underweight and in general ill health, many survive the infestation . This is not the case for moose calves. Moose calves born in the spring often have a large number of ticks on their body by the time winter arrives . The ticks take so much blood that a calf may need to eat enough to replace their entire blood volume within weeks . If food is scarce, this becomes an impossible task and the calf dies . A three year study found that winter ticks were responsible for seventy-four percent of moose mortality in the studied group, including ninety-one percent of calves . In one recent winter, around sixty-three percent of moose calves in Vermont died, the highest figure on record . Winter ticks were responsible for most of those deaths .

 

State wildlife officials in northern New England are divided on how to solve the moose problem. Some states first responded to the crisis by reducing the number of moose hunting permits distributed each season . But some states are now moving toward a seemingly contradictory approach, allowing more moose hunting . The argument is that reducing the moose population will also reduce the winter tick population . The moose population will be smaller but also much healthier and more sustainable going forward . Another argument in favor of hunting is the fact that a certain number of moose will die from winter tick infestation each spring, regardless of the level of hunting . It is better to harvest these animals in the fall and utilize the meat rather than let them die a lingering death in the spring . This approach may help stabilize the moose population. But states could do much more.

 

Northern New England states should work collaboratively rather than individually in combatting the decline in the moose population. Currently, each state separately manages the moose population in their state despite winter ticks being a region-wide problem . A collaborative approach could include the following actions: an education campaign and new legislation. Together, these two actions could make a big difference in protecting moose from climate change’s impacts. 

 

A collaborative education campaign would bring needed awareness to the moose population decline. The impact that climate change has on certain animal species, such as polar bears, is well documented and likely well known by the average individual . This is not the case with moose. New England states should launch a jointly run education campaign to inform the public about the impact’s climate change has on moose. A successful education campaign could also make the public more likely to donate or volunteer with wildlife preservation organizations and other NGO’s. 

 

New legislation is needed to protect the moose population. Initial legislation could include funding for additional scientific studies on the impact winter ticks have on the moose population. States could use this data to create a regionwide plan. This plan could set goals for states to follow. Finally, the plan could include requirements that should the moose population drop below a set level, they would be declared an endangered species and given additional legal protections. 

 

Together, a collaborative education campaign legislation could improve the lives of moose impacted by winter ticks and a changing climate.

EcoPerspectives Blog

The Infamous Failure of the Eco-Patent Commons and the Quiet Success of the WIPO Green Project: What We Can Learn About Disseminating Green Tech to Developing Countries

By Christopher J. Clugston, Professor, Keimyung University, Daegu, South Korea*

May 20, 2021

Summary: This article reviews the Eco-Patent Commons and the WIPO Green Project, two programs developed to disseminate green tech to developing countries. The failure of the former and the success of the latter are instructive on the best practices in this area.

As the global climate crisis worsens, the need to encourage sustainable growth in the developing world has never been greater. Much of the technology for this sustainable development already exists, but is covered by exclusive patent rights. Because of this, there have been many attempts to develop programs that can facilitate the dissemination and use of existing patented technology for developing and less developed countries. Two significant programs that have attempted to address this are the Eco-Patent Commons (“Commons”) and the WIPO Green Project (“Green Project”). An analysis of these programs is instructive on the best practices in this area.

The Commons was a 2008 initiative spearheaded by IBM, and ultimately joined by twelve additional firms . The Commons was created as a type of patent pool of green technology related patents. In an attempt to create a cohesive and synergistic pool, the patents were limited to a few specific areas of technology: energy conservation, pollution control, environmentally friendly materials, water or materials use, and reduction and recyclability. The firms jointly contributed two-hundred and forty-eight patents, covering ninety-four distinct inventions .  

Most pooling arrangements only cover those that are a party to the agreement. However, the Commons benefited all users of the patented technology. A pledge of a patent to the Commons included an irrevocable covenant to not assert the patent against any third parties for methods or products utilizing the patented technology, as long as they provided environmental benefits. Contributors, however, did retain the right to assert the patents defensively against any company bringing suit.

Although started amid much fanfare, the Commons never lived up to its initial hype . At the time, it was believed that many firms were likely to own green technology that was not being utilized. Thus, this technology had little value to them, but it might hold great potential value to underdeveloped regions. In return for donating this to the Commons, the firm would receive good PR, and also possibly benefit from the further development of its technology. 

The project never caught any traction and began to wind down in 2011, finally ceasing operation in the 2016. A detailed post-mortem on the program found a number of problems with the implementation . First, the Commons was set up by the suppliers (the patent owners) without any input from the potential users of the technology. Second, there was little or no tracking of patent utilization within the program. The problems with this were two-fold. There were no success stories that could be used to promote the program to potential users and there was no valuable PR for the contributors. Finally, and most significantly, the program was entirely run by the private sector on a voluntary basis. There were no fees for participation that could help fund recruitment, provide additional assistance for participants, or go to managing the overall program.

As the Commons was winding down, WIPO started its own Green Project in 2013. This project has been able to avoid most of these issues. Unlike the Commons, the Green Project is not a pooling arrangement. Instead, this project is an online marketplace developed to facilitate transactions between patent owners and green technology purchasers. WIPO is not a participant in the market, or in the transactions facilitated by the market.

The Green Project is distinct from the Commons in a few important ways. First, it includes both the patented green technologies and the reciprocal technology “needs” listings in its database. To further enhance the effectiveness of the program, it also provides matchmaking events and technology exhibitions to bring these groups together . Second, it comprehensively tracks the success of the program, and is able to make adjustments in response to its failures. According to WIPO’s website , the Green Project has developed far beyond the scope of the Commons – with 3,800+ listed technologies, 100+ partners, and 700+ connections made. Further, the Green project continues to grow and be a success; WIPO recently released its WIPO GREEN Strategic Plan 2019-2023 laying out its aggressive growth blueprint over the current four year period. Finally, it is more comprehensive in that it provides access to additional important resources, such as know-how and funding sources. It also helps with patent filings and WIPO Arbitration and Mediation services at a reduced rate.

From the comparison of these programs, we can draw some important conclusions. One, we need to advocate solutions that take input from all interested parties, and that are focused on maximizing the value of the intellectual property assets for both the contributors and the users. The failed Commons attempted to have a royalty-free pool, almost ensuring limited participation of members and modest offering of patent assets. Two, we cannot expect to rely on the private sector, alone, to solve a collective action problem such as this. Public and non-profit entities are necessary to help encourage participation, facilitate the process, track its use, and promote its success stories. These entities should be, as with WIPO, neutral and independent administrators that do not invest, acquire, or exploit the technology. However, considering the enormity of the climate issues we are facing, WIPO Green, and programs modeled after it, can be improved. These programs need to be expanded, and to do so, they will need sufficient funding. Currently, WIPO does not require any fees to register or participate . A fee structure that relied primarily or entirely on more developed countries would help this expansion as well as allowing for subsidies for the less developed countries that need this technology. This would go far toward a sustainable and scalable programs that are necessary to combating climate change.

*Author Bio: Christopher J. Clugston is a professor of law at Keimyung University in Daegu, South Korea. His teaching and research focus on law and technology topics, including those areas where the intellectual property laws overlap with environmental issues.