ELI In the News
Nigeria’s central Middle Belt region is home to a diverse cultural population of semi-nomadic cattle herders and farming communities. For decades, the region has experienced increasingly violent attacks that have been partially attributed to direct competition over access and use of natural resources. According to a report released by the International Crisis Group in July, the violence between Nigerian farmers and herders killed at least 1,300 people in the first half of 2018, claiming “about six times more civilian lives than the Boko Haram insurgency”. . . .
More than 1,100 scientists and economists are opposing Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s proposed USDA reorganization that relocates the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture outside the nation’s capital.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the scientists and economists wrote the proposed changes threaten scientific integrity at the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and could further marginalize their critical research from policymaking. . . .
From the South China Sea to the English Channel, Lake Victoria to the Pacific Ocean, the last few decades have seen increased competition for fish stocks. Unlike many other agricultural products which are stationary, many species of fish are highly migratory across various maritime boundaries.
How environmentally friendly is the coffee you drank this morning? The clothes you’re wearing? What are the social impacts of the chair you’re sitting on? Perhaps you’ve tried to find the answers to questions like these from retailers, but got no response, or just a vague “commitment to sustainability” statement? A desire for products to be clean and green rather than drive climate change, wildlife destruction or modern slavery is a growing trend, particularly among younger consumers. But shopping ethically is often more easily said than done.
India’s highest court forced Delhi, the world’s most polluted megacity, to start selling Euro VI-grade fuel. With the rest of the country to follow within two years, will the move help India curb its deadly air pollution? . . .
Aerosol cans account for nearly half of the materials in the US retail sector covered by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. ‘Re-harvesting them can be undertaken in an environmentally protective manner,’ says Scott Fulton, president of the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) which has published a report ‘Considering the Fate of Consumer Aerosol Cans’. . . .
One of Scott Pruitt's most enduring legacies may be the way he curtailed EPA's use of science. He didn't do it alone. Richard Yamada is a quiet force behind Pruitt's effort to add industry voices to agency advisory boards, sideline some research used to craft regulations, and debate climate science. . . .
The Environmental Law Institute has chosen an article by Kristin McCarthy, a rising third-year student at William & Mary Law School, as the winner of its 2017-2018 Henry L. Diamond Constitutional Environmental Law Writing Competition, the Institute announced May 15. . . .
The Trump administration has sought a slate of quick regulatory reforms over the past year, tweaking environmental permitting requirements everywhere from EPA to the Federal Communications Commission. But potentially the most consequential change will be a slower burn. The White House Council on Environmental Quality is seeking to update its National Environmental Policy Act regulations, a process experts expect could take over a year. . . .
For more than 18 years, Kerstin Wasson has plowed through mud, eelgrass, and brackish water in a quest to understand and preserve the salt marshes of the West Coast. In recognition of her many contributions to science and conservation, the Environmental Law Institute honored Wasson on May 9 at the National Wetlands Awards in Washington, DC. . . .