Where Oil Is King

Donald Trump has won the 2016 presidential election, and, based on his campaign rhetoric, it seems reasonable to anticipate that the next four years will see a rollback of federal rules and regulations originally intended to combat climate change and environmental pollution in favor of increased production of fossil fuels, including coal. This raises the question of where we can look for protection of environmental goals, if not to federal law or agencies. Unconventional solutions to energy and environmental issues may be the only way to move forward on environmental challenges in the near term. This Article suggests one such unconventional solution to the problems presented by the use of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). In response to the perceived environmental threats of fracking, many cities and towns have sought to limit it through local bans, moratoria, and regulation. However, in 2015, a number of states passed laws that forbid any city, town, or other municipal body from banning fracking or passing certain regulations on the practice. Further, the highest courts of several other states have ruled that state law preempts local restrictions on fracking. In many cases, this means that local governments must allow fracking, so the question arises as to how these governments can address environmental concerns. This Article is the first to propose that cities and towns where fracking is taking place could incorporate and enforce existing state environmental laws. By doing so, those municipalities may be able to minimize some of the environmental harms associated with fracking. Further, this Article explains why incorporation and enforcement of state-level environmental laws by cities and towns should not be expressly or impliedly preempted

A Sea Change in Creditor Priorities

This Article argues that the operation of maritime law undermines a primary justification for creditor priorities under U.S. law. Under current law, when a debtor becomes insolvent, its secured creditors will be paid the full amount of their debt to the extent of their security interest, even if that leaves nothing to pay unsecured creditors. This is controversial with respect to involuntary unsecured creditors, particularly those with tort claims against the debtor. Defenders of this scheme of priorities have argued that allowing greater priority to involuntary creditors would hinder the availability or increase the cost of credit. However, involuntary creditors have long enjoyed priority over secured creditors under maritime law, and it does not appear that firms subject to maritime law have experienced these effects. Experience with this priority scheme under maritime law may provide support for efforts to reform current U.S. law to give greater priority to involuntary creditors more generally

A Sea Change in Creditor Priorities

This Article argues that the operation of maritime law undermines a primary justification for creditor priorities under U.S. law. Under current law, when a debtor becomes insolvent, its secured creditors will be paid the full amount of their debt to the extent of their security interest, even if that leaves nothing to pay unsecured creditors. This is controversial with respect to involuntary unsecured creditors, particularly those with tort claims against the debtor. Defenders of this scheme of priorities have argued that allowing greater priority to involuntary creditors would hinder the availability or increase the cost of credit. However, involuntary creditors have long enjoyed priority over secured creditors under maritime law, and it does not appear that firms subject to maritime law have experienced these effects. Experience with this priority scheme under maritime law may provide support for efforts to reform current U.S. law to give greater priority to involuntary creditors more generally

Lost in Transmission: A Constitutional Approach to Achieving a Nationwide Net Zero Electricity System

Canada has announced plans to meet its Paris Agreement commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving net-zero by 2035; but standing in the way of these ambitions is an electricity crisis. The crisis is provincially balkanized electricity systems with a dearth of interprovincial transmission lines, and the impacts are three-fold. First, the country is divided into renewable have- and have-not provinces, with some jurisdictions generating more hydropower than they need while others struggle to wean themselves off coal and natural gas. Second, the lack of interprovincial transmission is a deterrent to private investment in renewable energy projects, which is holding Canada back from meeting its climate commitments in a way that could provide major economic gains. Third, much of the country is off-grid, relying on expensive, unreliable, and dangerous diesel fuel for power. An initial step towards addressing these issues would be to create a new market for interprovincial zero-emission power sales by exercising federal jurisdiction over the permitting of interprovincial transmission lines in order to encourage private companies to enter the market and remove some of the financial burden from provinces. Given the national and provincial goals of reducing power from coal-fired power plants and the urgency of energy access issues in many parts of the country, it is time for the federal government to assume at least some of its infrastructure transmission jurisdiction to ensure just transition to safe, renewable power sources, and to promote investment in renewable projects across the country. To that end, this article will lay out the constitutional basis for federal jurisdiction over interprovincial power lines, as well as the constitutional limits on that jurisdiction that will keep provincial grids under provincial control

Operative treatment of anterior thoracic spinal cord herniation:three new cases and an individual patient data meta-analysis of 126 case reports

OBJECTIVE: Anterior thoracic spinal cord herniation is a rare cause of progressive myelopathy. Much has been speculated about the best operative treatment. However, no evidence in favor of any of the promoted techniques is available to date. Therefore, we decided to analyze treatment procedures and treatment outcomes of anterior thoracic spinal cord herniation to identify those factors that determine postoperative outcome. METHODS: An individual patient data meta-analysis was conducted, focusing on age, gender, vertebral segment of herniation, preoperative neurological status, operative interval, operative findings, operative techniques, intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, postoperative imaging, neurological outcome and follow-up. Three cases from our own institution were added to the material collected. Bivariate analysis tests and multivariate logistic regression tests were used so as to define which variables were associated with outcome after surgical treatment of anterior thoracic spinal cord herniation. RESULTS: Brown-Séquard syndrome and release of the herniated spinal cord appeared to be strong independent factors, associated with favorable postoperative outcome. Widening of the dura defect is associated with the highest prevalence of postoperative motor function improvement when compared with the application of an anterior dura patch (P < 0.036). CONCLUSION: Most patients with anterior thoracic spinal cord herniation require operative treatment because of progressive myelopathy. Patients with Brown-Séquard syndrome have a better prognosis with respect to postoperative motor function improvement. In this review, spinal cord release and subsequent widening of the dura defect were associated with the highest prevalence of motor function improvement. D-wave recording can be a very useful tool for the surgeon during operative treatment of this disorder