Environmental Integrity Project v. McCarthy

In addition to stocking grocery stores and restaurants with beef, chicken and milk, CAFOs generate another product—manure. The EPA’s decision to withdraw a proposed rule compelling CAFOs to provide information to aid the agency in regulating their discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States was upheld by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The court concluded that the EPA’s decision was “adequately explained” and “coherent,” supported by the administrative record, and did not conflict with existing law

Electricity deregulation and the valuation of visibility loss in wilderness areas: A research note.

Visibility in most wilderness areas in the northeastern United States has declined substantially since the 1970s. As noted by Hill et al. (2000), despite the 1977 Clean Air Act and subsequent amendments, human induced smog conditions are becoming increasingly worse. Average visibility in class I airsheds, such as the Great Gulf Wilderness in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, is now about one-third of natural conditions. A particular concern is that deregulation of electricity production could result in further degradation because consumers may switch to lower cost fossil fuel generation (Harper 2000). To the extent that this system reduces electricity costs, it may also affect firm location decisions (Halstead and Deller 1997). Yet, little is known about the extent to which consumers are likely to make tradeoffs between electric bills and reduced visibility in nearby wilderness areas. This applied research uses a contingent valuation approach in an empirical case study of consumers’ tradeoffs between cheaper electric bills and reduced visibility in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. We also examine some of the problems associated with uncertainty with this type of analysis; that is, how confident respondents are in their answers to the valuation questions. Finally, policy implications of decreased visibility due to electricity deregulation are discussed

Don't Drink the Water: Water in 65 Texas Communities Contains Toxic Levels of Arsenic, but State Fails to Advise Citizens to Use Alternative Water Supplies

The water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, threw a national spotlight on problems with drinking water systems that extend far beyond one state and that are more profound than just pipes. A central failure in Flint was that the state government had information about contamination of drinking water, but did not warn the public. In Texas, the pollutant of greatest concern in the 65 communites discussed in this report is different – arsenic, instead of lead -- and the source of the problem is different. In Texas, the arsenic is naturally occurring; while in Michigan, the catastrophe was man-made, with the state and city trying to save money by switching to a source of water, the Flint River, that corroded the plumbing, releasing high levels of lead from pipes and solder.But in both Michigan and Texas, the state governments compounded the water contamination problems – and allowed people's exposure to damaging toxins to continue -- by not communicating clearly with consumers.Deciding how best to explain health risks to the public is admittedly a challenging task. But there is enough evidence to reach the following conclusions:Texas should update the language in its public notices so consumers clearly know when to safeguard their health by avoiding contaminated drinking water. Citizens should be told to find alternative drinking water sources, especially when children may be exposed and when arsenic contamination has persisted for a long period of time.EPA is currently conducting a new review of arsenic toxicity, and it should conclude that work and revise its mandatory language for public notice of arsenic violations. This mandatory language should include a statement about the potential health risks of childhood exposure.Public notices should inform consumers of options for treating contaminated water at home, e.g., through filter systems that have proven to be effective. Conversely, the public should be told what doesn't work. For example, while Texas advisories warn that boiling water won't reduce nitrate concentrations, it includes no such warning for arsenic, which also cannot be boiled away.Both EPA and Texas should provide more financial and technical assistance to local governments and utilities to help them fix long-standing drinking water violations in rural and disadvantaged communities.The short-term costs of building municipal water treatment systems can be significant, but they are dwarfed by the long-term costs of higher cancer risks and brain damage. More broadly, our whole system pays a high price when silence or double-talk corrodes the basic faith of citizens in their government

The Water Isn’t Safe: The Dismal State of Texas Drinking Water Regulation

This project won first place in the 2018 Signature Course Information Literacy Award. The award recognizes exemplary student work that achieves the learning outcomes of the Signature Course information literacy requirement, that students will be able to create and execute a research strategy, critically evaluate information, and navigate the scholarly conversation. The paper was nominated by Jane Cohen from the School of Law after it was submitted in her Fall 2018 Signature Course “Water, Ethics, Law, and Policy.” The project was chosen for its exceptional use of sources from government documents to journalism to build a compelling argument. Dr. Cohen supported this project by saying "Grace began this project innocent of all knowledge about this situation, other than her rural Texan grandmother's sadness over the brief longevity of her pets. She built a remarkably sophisticated understanding of the regulatory environment literally hand-over-hand, with a superb research effort all her own.Cohen, JaneUT Librarie

Anything Industry Wants: Environmental Policy Under Bush II

Neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar är idag lättare att diagnostisera och det är vanligare att barn och ungdomar i skolan vet om att de lever med en diagnos som till exempel Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (mer känt som ADHD), eller Aspergers syndrom. Trots att dessa diagnoser blir allt vanligare, finns det ett ökat behov för kunskapen om dem. Syftet med denna uppsats var att studera barn och ungdomar med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar, och framförallt studera deras liv i skolmiljö. Att få mer förståelse för hur barn och ungdomar har upplevt skolan och relationen till sina lärare, men även hur de upplevt de hinder och möjligheter deras neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättning medfört var i fokus. Metoden i denna studie var semistrukturerade intervjuer med 6 ungdomar, deras föräldrar och lärare. Frågorna har handlat om hur ungdomarna sett på diagnosen, livet med den och även hur de klarat av skolgången med sin funktionsnedsättning. Resultatet visar att lärare behöver mer utbildning när det kommer till neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar Studien visar att barn och ungdomar med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar har lättare att lära sig om de får göra praktiska saker. Att ta in mer praktiska moment i undervisningen skulle kunna förenkla för många av dessa barn och ungdomar. Informanterna har varit eniga om att kunskapen om neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar överlag är för låg. Familjen är en viktig del i ett barns säkerhet, men det betyder att föräldrar och syskon måste få veta hur de ska bemöta ett barn som lever med en neuropsykiatrisk funktionsnedsättning. Det är inte enbart i skolan kunskapen bör vara hög