Laws & Regulations

Some time this century the Republic of the Marshall Islands is likely to be completely submerged. They asked Columbia Law School to look at the legal issues this raises. If a country is under water, is it still a state? Does it still have a seat at the UN? What happens to its fishing rights and mineral rights? What is the citizenship of its displaced people? Does it have legal recourse? The result is this international conference of legal scholars on legal issues faced by island nations threatened by sea level rise.

This seminar, hosted by Environmental Law Institute in Washington, DC, follows Nuts and Bolts of Marcellus Shale Drilling and Fracking, on April 14, the first of a two-part series addressing fast-moving developments in the natural gas drilling arena, focusing on Marcellus Shale. The panel will discuss current legislative and policy developments occurring at federal and state levels, potential changes to the regulatory framework, and the overall implications for balancing energy needs with environmental protection in the future.

The 17th annual conference of the International Sustainable Development Research Society will be hosted by the Earth Institute, Columbia University, in partnership with the United Nations Division of Sustainable Development and the Asian Development Bank Institute. The conference will explore the fundamental question of how global society's aspiration to continued growth can be harmonized with the existing limits imposed by Earth’s resources.

Building and sustaining the local wind and solar industries of Ontario.

Join an expert panel, hosted by Environmental Law Institute,  in a discussion of developments in Marcellus Shale, where the issues mirror those of other gas fields across the country, and stay tuned for the second installment on May 19, 2011, Policy Implications of Marcellus Shale Drilling and Fracking.

The Environmental Law Institute invites you to join a panel discussion of the practical consequences of the regulatory EO; the process that will be used; environmental regulations and agencies expected to receive greater scrutiny; the role of Congress; and legal questions about the EO’s authority.