Current and former Environmental Clinic students take a look at new and developing topics in Environmental Law.
Please note: The content published here reflects the views of the individual authors only. They do not represent the views of the Environmental Clinic, The University of Texas School of Law, or The University of Texas at Austin.
- “Forever Chemicals” and the Litigation Surrounding Them
By Salahudeen Robinson, S26 Environmental Clinic Student In environmental law practice, litigation can often start with a test result and finish with two questions: what does this mean for environmental or human health, and who (if anyone) can be held responsible? PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are thousands of synthetic… read more - Environmentalism for Whom? How Racial and Economic Inequality Has Shaped U.S. Environmental Law and Policy
Source: How everyday people started a movement that’s shaping climate action to this day | NPR By Shruti Machiraju, Environmental Clinic Student S26 From its earliest days, the U.S. environmental movement has largely been shaped by leaders from relatively privileged backgrounds. Consequently, environmental law and policy became heavily influenced by… read more - In-Stream Flow Rights in Colorado
A picture I took hiking this past 1L summer when I was working in Colorado. This is the Dillon Reservoir near Dillon, Frisco, and Silverthorne ,CO. It is a freshwater reservoir for the city of Denver under the control of Denver Water. By Helen McLachlan, S26 Environmental Clinic Student An… read more - Can a Small Texas Town Say No to AI?
by Will Lavallo, S26 Environmental Clinic Student Tylor Skenandore, a horse trainer in Abilene, Texas, and his horse Bubbles are used to looking out across the flat West Texas horizon and seeing “nothing but bare nothing.” From his twelve-stall horse barn, that view has changed. Now he sees thousands of… read more - The Rapid Evolution and Contested Future of ESG
by Jordan (JP) Sammis, F25 Environmental Clinic student “ESG” (Environmental, Social, and Governance) evaluates how a company’s operations affect the environment, society, and its internal management practices. The environmental pillar measures a company’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage, sustainability, and waste; the social pillar assesses how the company affects its… read more - Another Reason for Integrating Energy & Climate Policy with Foreign Policy
by Alex Rivera, F25 Environmental Clinic student When the European Union (EU) announced plans to accelerate its ban on Russian natural gas imports, it stood as a reminder that energy isn’t just “fuel,” but one of the most consequential geopolitical tools of our modern history. Handled well, it can be… read more - The Pope, Mythos, and Integral Ecology
by Peyton Barrett, F25 Environmental Clinic student Daniel P. Sulmasy, Director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, wrote in a 2013 essay that “Every ethos implies a mythos.” He asserted that the actions we take are necessarily informed by the stories we tell ourselves “about some very… read more - Air Pollution Across Borders: a Case Study of El Paso and the Borderplex
by Emily Zenner, F25 Environmental Clinic student In far West Texas, the city of El Paso sits right on the border with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. As a large and historic town (for reasons beyond Marty Robbins’ classic song), El Paso is the perfect example of “a border city,” where its… read more