Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies Towards Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation
Date Released
September 2009
Maryland Farmland Conservation: Supporting Sustainable Use of Land through Tax Policy
Date Released
December 2008
Maryland’s population is increasing rapidly while the state continues to lose its agricultural lands. This study explores Maryland’s primary tax measures affecting agriculture, the agricultural use assessment (AUA) and the agricultural land transfer tax (ATT), in order to determine whether these related tax programs could be improved in ways that would encourage farmland protection while continuing to benefit farmers’ bottom lines.
Virginia Offshore Energy Development Law and Policy Review and Recommendations
Date Released
December 2008
Virginia is facing various forms of energy development activities offshore and in the territorial waters of the Commonwealth. These include possible proposals for wind and wave energy, liquefied natural gas transport, and natural gas drilling on the outer continental shelf, among others. State laws and policies must deal with these activities and their anticipated impacts. Virginia’s Coastal Zone Management Program has provided support for this project by the Environmental Law Institute to examine the law and policy framework in place to deal with potential activities.
Where Does the Nano Go? End-of Life Regulation of Nanotechnology
Date Released
July 2007
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must make key decisions about how to apply the two major end-of-life statutes to nanotechnology waste in order to ensure adequate oversight for these technologies, concludes a new report from the Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. However, the report notes that the Agency lacks much of the data on human health and eco-toxicity that form the basis for such determinations, creating some tough challenges ahead in EPA?s decision-making process.
Considering NEPA: Comments to the National Environmental Policy Act Task Force
Date Released
February 2006
ELI submitted these comments to the House Resources Committee Task Force on Improving/Updating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that warn the Task Force’s draft recommendations could have the unintended consequences of increasing NEPA litigation and cutting the public out of important federal decision-making.
Indigenous Landscapes: A Study in Ethnocartography
Date Released
December 2001
In 2001, Native Lands published this detailed case study/manual of the participatory mapping it jointly organized in Honduras, Panama, and Bolivia.
This is a detailed account and analysis of the road Native Lands followed to devise and fine-tune the methodology it has been using since 1992. The narrative takes the reader from imperfect, sometimes confused beginnings to a much surer sense of what works and what does not, how community participation can be maximized, what to eliminate, and what to add, strengthen, and bring into focus.
Plumbing the Future: Sewage Infrastructure Sustainability in Western Pennsylvania
Date Released
December 1999
This report discusses the relationship between sewage infrastructure decisions in southwestern Pennsylvania and effects on the urban, suburban, and rural landscape of the region. The study examines ways in which laws and policies relating to sewage infrastructure investment affect four objectives.
Building on the Blueprint: How Virginia's Communities Are Implementing Sustainable Development
Date Released
December 1995
This report now provides a follow-up to the Blueprint and reviews the status of various community efforts throughout the Commonwealth to protect natural resources and enhance both economic health and quality of life. Unfortunately, the Virginia Task Force on Sustainable Development concluded its deliberations without making any recommendations about how the Commonwealth can implement sustainable development. Nevertheless, a number of sustainability projects are already under way in Virginia.
Greening the Budget 2005: 6 Ways to Save Taxpayer Dollars and Protect the Environment in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Date Released
November 2004
Greening the Budget 2005 is a Green Scissors report sponsored by a consortium of Virginia NGOs led by the Virginia League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. The report examines fiscal and environmental policies of the Commonwealth of Virginia and identifies six practices that both cost taxpayers money and harm the environment. Based on these practices, the report makes six recommendations designed to help frame public policy debates in Virginia and push state budget cuts that simultaneously save taxpayer dollars and protect the environment.
Smart Growth in Small Towns and Rural Communities: Maryland's Eastern Shore
Date Released
February 2001
Smart growth tools can be useful for small towns and rural communities as well as for major metropolitan areas and rapidly growing localities. States and localities across the country are crafting growth management tools to meet their needs. In most cases, rapidly growing localities and metropolitan areas have felt the strongest need to guide their growth by taking advantage of smart growth tools. Yet, as states put frameworks for smart growth in place, all communities can benefit from regulations and incentives that help them take charge of their future development.