The Oil and Gas Evolution: Learning from the Hydraulic Fracturing Experiences in North Dakota and West Virginia

This Article will thus consider major differences and similarities in United States oil and gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing through a comparison of the experiences in North Dakota and West Virginia. Although there are other parts of the country experiencing growth in oil and gas extraction, Pennsylvania and Texas are two good examples, North Dakota and West Virginia are particularly apt for comparison. Both states have relatively small populations, meaning that the impact of large-scale energy extraction in each state is likely to have a large impact on the state, economically, environmentally, and socially. There are three main areas worth considering in this comparison. In Part II, this Article will discuss the impact of the oil industry in North Dakota and the gas industry in West Virginia. Part II will also consider some of the financial, environmental, and social impacts of the hydraulic fracturing boom. Part III will then consider the legislative and regulatory landscape of both states and how each state\u27s approach to enforcement and planning can and is likely to impact development in the state. Finally, this Article concludes that the North Dakota and West Virginia experiences can and should inform state and federal policy with regard to hydraulic fracturing and energy policy generally and provides some suggestions about how best to maximize the value of the lessons already learned

Decarbonizing Light-Duty Vehicles

Reducing the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050 will require multiple legal pathways for changing its transportation fuel sources. The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) authors characterize transforming the transportation system as part of a third pillar of fundamental changes required in the U.S. energy system: “fuel switching of end uses to electricity and other low-carbon supplies.” The goal is to shift 80%-95% of the miles driven from gasoline to energy sources like electricity and hydrogen. Relying upon the DDPP analysis, this Article, excerpted from Michael B. Gerrard & John C. Dernbach, eds., Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States (forthcoming in 2018 from ELI Press), addresses that challenge as applied to light-duty vehicles such as cars and SUVs

The Energy-Water Nexus

Speakers for the 2013 Symposium included Professor Joshua P. Fershee of West Virginia University; Professor Gabriel E. Eckstein of Texas A&M University School of Law; Professor Keith B. Hall, Louisiana State University; Professor Donald T. Hornstein from the University of North Carolina; Professor Shi-Ling Hsu, Florida State University; Professor Rhett Larson, of the University of Oklahoma; Professor Amanda Leiter, American University; Professor Uma Outka, University of Kansas; Professor Justin Pidot, of the University of Denver; Professor Melissa Powers from Lewis & Clark College; Mr. Jefferson D. Reynolds, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; Dr. Benjamin K. Sovacool & Mr. Alex Gilbert from Vermont Law School; and Ms. Andrea Wortzel, of Troutman Sanders LLP