Plastics Toolbox: Business, Human Rights, and the Environment (August/November 2021)

The Plastics Toolbox: Business, Human Rights, and the Environment, compiles good practices and cross-cutting guidance on a human rights-based approach to plastic pollution prevention and management with a focus on capacity building of governments and businesses in the East Asian Seas region. This compilation of resources, guidance, tools and trainings was prepared by a team of researchers at Dalhousie University\u27s Marine and Environmental Law Institute under the direction of project lead Dr Sara L Seck, with funding from the United Nations Environment Programme. The materials in the toolbox were gathered from May to August 2021 and updated in November 2021. The toolbox will be updated in 2022

Legal Risk Analysis for Sea Level Rise Adaption Strategies in San Diego

This Executive Summary, put together by the Environmental Law Institute for the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, breaks down the findings of a full report, which concisely summarizes the legal risks and administrative hurdles associated with different adaptation strategies in order to facilitate informed decision-making. The information provided in this document is not legal advice, but designed to be a primer on multiple types of legal risk and administrative hurdles associated with sea level rise adaptation for Southern California municipalities.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-sdclimate/1005/thumbnail.jp

AGENDA: A Cartography of Governance: Exploring the Province of Environmental NGOs

Presented by: the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy on April 7 & 8, 2001. Symposium director: Lakshman D. Guruswamy. Co-sponsored by: University of Colorado School of Law, University of Colorado Environmental Program, University of Tulsa National Energy-Environment Law and Policy Institute, University of Colorado United Government of Graduate Students. The papers and edited proceedings of the conference will be published in a special symposium issue of the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law & Policy (CJIELP). The first objective of the Symposium was to understand and explore the growing importance of nongovernmental actors, and delineate the manner in which they have changed the cartography of national and international governance. The importance of this objective was demonstrated by the carnage of September 11, 2001. The recent terrorist attacks also demonstrated the extent to which we are inhabitants of a global village. This Symposium attempted to understand the manner in which two nonterrorist, nongovernmental entities have become increasingly important actors in this global village. It reviewed the manner in which corporations and NGOs are changing the geo-political and socio-economic boundaries of national and international governance. The second objective brings special focus to bear on environmental NGOs. The second objective seeks answers to the questions: Have not-for-profits or NGOs, gone too far in diminishing the role of the public sector and the nation-state? Is the prevailing faith in the increasingly important role played by NGOs misplaced? After establishing the importance of nongovernmental actors in national and international governance, the Symposium sought to ascertain whether not-for-profits or NGOs have gone too far in diminishing the role of the public sector and the nation-state. It also addressed the corollary issue of whether the prevailing faith in the increasingly important roles played by NGOs is misplaced. The Symposium identified four case studies in an attempt to shed light on these questions and to acknowledge the functions that each sector is best suited to perform. Specifically, the Symposium employed the prism of environmental policy, science, and law to examine the roles played by NGOs in addressing: (1) GMOs; (2) dams; (3) wildlife and species; and (4) indigenous peoples. -- Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Cartography of Governance: An Introduction, 13 Colo. J. Int\u27l Envtl. L. & Pol\u27y 1-3 (2002)

AGENDA: Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management

The swollen creeks of Boulder, Colorado provided a fitting backdrop for the “Water, Climate and Uncertainty” conference at the Natural Resources Law Center of the University of Colorado in June 2003. Recognizing the importance of providing a forum for discussions between water managers, lawyers, policy makers, and scientists, Doug Kenney, the conference\u27s organizer, assumed the responsibility of master of ceremonies, providing thoughtful transitions between speakers and sessions while throwing some humor into the mix. Under his direction, luminaries in the fields of science, law and policy engaged a wide range of issues related to the future of water management. The twenty-fourth annual conference was divided into five sessions. Session One was given the thought-provoking title “The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be,” echoing the words of the inimitable Yogi Berra; the wisdom of the baseball legend with a penchant for paradox was repeatedly invoked during the conference. This first session was further divided into two parts: Western Climate History and Western Climate Future. Session Two, entitled “Science, Policy, Law and Extra-Strength Tylenol,” considered current and future applications of science in policy and law, as well as the headaches attending these applications. The simple title of Session Three, “Basins and Borders,” belied the complexity of issues facing communities from the municipal level up to the international level. The Keynote Lecture that served as an intermission was delivered by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science, Bennett Raley. Session Four, “Additional Perspectives,” aimed at identifying oft’ overlooked voices and issues with respect to water management decisions. Finally, the ambitiously named Fifth Session, “Tying It All Together,” promised as much as it delivered. -- Steve Bailey, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) See also Mark Shea, Conference Reports: Water Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water, Law, Policy, and Management, 7 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 226 (2003)

A global evaluation of the regional spatial variability of column integrated CO 2 distributions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95294/1/jgrd14612.pd

Microplastics in personal care products: Exploring perceptions of environmentalists, beauticians and students

Microplastics enter the environment as a result of larger plastic items breaking down (‘secondary’) and from particles originally manufactured at that size (‘primary’). Personal care productsare an important contributor of secondary microplastics (typically referred to as ‘microbeads’), for example in toothpaste, facial scrubs and soaps. Consumers play an important role in influencing the demand for these products and therefore any associated environmental consequences. Hence we need to understand public perceptions in order to help reduce emissions of microplastics. This study explored awareness of plastic microbeads in personal care products in three groups: environmental activists, trainee beauticians and university students in South West England. Focus groups were run, where participants were shown the quantity of microbeads found in individual high-street personal care products. Qualitative analysis showed that while the environmentalists were originally aware of the issue, it lacked visibility and immediacy for the beauticians and students. Yet when shown the amount of plastic in a range of familiar everyday personal care products, all participants expressed considerable surprise and concern at the quantities and potential impact. Regardless of any perceived level of harm in the environment, the consensus was that their use was unnatural and unnecessary. This research could inform future communications with the public and industry as well as policy initiatives to phase out the use of microbeads

Nanotechnology, governance, and public deliberation: What role for the Social Sciences?

In this article we argue that nanotechnology represents an extraordinary opportunity to build in a robust role for the social sciences in a technology that remains at an early, and hence undetermined, stage of development. We examine policy dynamics in both the United States and United Kingdom aimed at both opening up, and closing down, the role of the social sciences in nanotechnologies. We then set out a prospective agenda for the social sciences and its potential in the future shaping of nanotechnology research and innovation processes. The emergent, undetermined nature of nanotechnologies calls for an open, experimental, and interdisciplinary model of social science research

Qualitative Impact Assessment of Land Management Interventions on Ecosystem Services (“QEIA”). Report-1: Executive Summary: QEIA Evidence Review & Integrated Assessment

The focus of this project was to provide an expert-led, rapid qualitative assessment of land management interventions on Ecosystem Services (ES) proposed for inclusion in Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. This involved a review of the current evidence base for 741 land management actions on 33 Ecosystem Services and 53 Ecosystem Service indicators by ten teams involving 45 experts drawn from the independent research community in a consistent series of Evidence Reviews covering the broad topics of: • Air quality • Greenhouse gas emissions • Soils • Water management • Biodiversity: croplands • Biodiversity: improved grassland • Biodiversity: semi-natural habitats • Biodiversity: integrated systems-based actions • Carbon sequestration • Cultural services (including recreation, geodiversity and regulatory services). It should be noted that this piece of work is just one element of the wider underpinning work Defra has commissioned to support the development of the ELM schemes