James R. May

Can Shale Gas Help Accelerate the Transition to Sustainability

The sudden and unexpected development of shale gas has the potential to accelerate or hinder the transition to sustainability, depending on how it is handled. Sustainable development is a useful evaluative framework for shale gas development. It would have us analyze its environmental, social, economic, and security dimensions at the same time, and look for ways to make all four dimensions mutually reinforcing. Analyzing a broad range of issues, this article asks, and suggests answers to, the question of whether, or how, shale gas production can help accelerate the transition to sustainability.

TEN GOOD PRACTICES IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTITUTIONALISM: STRUCTURE, TEXT AND JUSTICIABILITY

Environmental constitutionalism is a relatively recent phenomenon at the confluence of constitutional law, international law, human rights, and environmental law. It embodies the recognition that the environment is a proper subject for protection in constitutional texts and for vindication by constitutional courts worldwide. This White Paper posits ten “good practices” – those attributes that make effective outcomes more likely, but not assured – in environmental constitutionalism for advancing positive environmental outcomes considering energy, and governance and sustainability.Good practices in environmental constitutionalism can serve as a useful construct for considering the relationship between sustainability, energy and governance. Accordingly, Section A examines the ten practices that are consequential for effectuating environmental constitutionalism and positive environmental outcomes. Section B then explains how the Robinson Township decision out of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States provides a recent example just how good practices can have a positive impact on environmental outcomes in practice.

Ten Good Practices in Environmental Constitutionalism that Can Contribute to Sustainable Shale Gas Development

Unconventional shale gas development is occurring at a breakneck pace, principally in North America, with vast reserves elsewhere. This development has placed new and unorthodox stresses on traditional environmental governance paradigms. Environmental constitutionalism offers an additional tool for engaging in sustainable practices in the development of shale gas. We identify ten ‘good practices’ in environmental constitutionalism including: situating it in systems amenable to social, economic and cultural rights, and those with civil law traditions; clearly articulating a positive individual or collective right; making provisions self-executing; aligning substantive, policy-based and procedural provisions; recognizing sustainability, public trust, climate and biocentrism; scaffolding additional statutory and regulatory means to implement constitutional prerogatives; liberalizing access to judicial vindication; combining national and sub-national environmental constitutionalism; adopting constitutional rights to information, participation and access to justice in environmental matters; and developing quality jurisprudence in environmental constitutionalism. Spotlighting the recently-decided Robinson Township decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the United States as an exemplar, we conclude that environmental constitutionalism can play a key role in promoting sustainable development of unconventional shale gas reserves, if at all.

Global environmental constitutionalism: a rights-based primer for effective strategies

The constitutions of about three-quarters of nations worldwide address environmental matters in some fashion. The content of these constitutional provisions vary widely; some include a commitment to environmental stewardship, while others recognize a basic right to a quality environment or ensure a right to information, participation, and justice in environmental matters. This chapter provides an introduction to and overview of the field of global environmental constitutionalism. It surveys the variety of environmental provisions in national and subnational constitutions and examines several key challenges in implementation and adjudication. Ultimately, constitutional law fosters a comprehensive and holistic approach to the challenge of environmental protection because it facilitates a wide range of legal tools and because constitutionalism is closely tied with the basic principles of a society and the legitimacy of the sovereign in decisionmaking.

The Role of Science and Engineering in Water Regulation over the Past 100 Years

This article explores how scientific and engineering principles are inexorably linked to the regulation of water. Scientists and engineers first discovered the link between disease and water sources in the mid-19th century. Over the years, scientists and engineers have led the way to identifying water quality problems and their causes. These discoveries have directly contributed to the scope of water regulation in the United States and elsewhere. In addition, changes in water quality regulation have dictated the need for increasingly sophisticated water treatment technologies and engineers have been at the forefront of the development of these water control technologies. This session will discuss the historical roots, and the development over the century, of scientific principles and engineering technology in identifying and combating water pollution. It will also provide a solid foundation for understanding current efforts underway to solve current and future water quality issues.