Volume 21 Editorial Board
Summer 2020 to Spring 2021
Alexis Bauman, 3L
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Lexi grew up in South Florida and developed a love and respect for the environment by playing outdoors and growing up on the water. After receiving a B.A. in History and a M.S. in Business from the University of Florida, Lexi left the swamp to pursue environmental law in DC. Prior to law school, she had two internships that were focused in teaching Florida’s environmental history to elementary and high school students that solidified her passion in helping to teach the public about the necessity to preserve the natural environment.
At WCL, Lexi’s passion for working in environmental regulation and policy have continued. Throughout her time at WCL she is involved in SDLP and the Environmental Law Society. Her areas of interest include water law and environmental justice advocacy.
Keanu Bader, 3L
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Keanu began law school after graduating from the University of Central Florida. During his senior year, he discovered his interest in environmental law while writing his thesis on the legal aspects of the Zika virus during the widespread outbreak. After taking a year to work in a law firm in Orlando, Florida, he came to WCL to pursue his interest in environmental law.
Last summer he interned at the National Association of Clean Water Agencies where he collaborated with the EPA on compiling national data on combined sewer overflows, and was an active member of the government affairs team that tracked the policies concerning the Waters of the United States. This past summer he was a judicial intern at D.C. superior court. When he isn't making new animal friends, you can find him playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Devon Berman 3L
Managing Editor
Devon is in her final year in the Canadian-American J.D. program offered jointly by her home law school, the University of Ottawa, and American University Washington College of Law. While Devon’s most memorable experience at uOttawa was in the quasi-criminal sphere, providing free legal services to indigent clients, throughout her studies she became increasingly interested in environmental law and policy.
Devon pursued this interest at WCL, joining SDLP as a junior staff member last Fall. She wrote a short feature for the Brief’s 20th Volume, Issue 1, about whether a framework granting legal personhood to elements of the natural world could gain traction in the U.S. (spoiler alert, it’s unlikely). When she’s not studying, Devon can be found hiking with her dog, Sherman, or planning her next road trip.
Casey Crandell, 3L
Executive Editor
Casey grew up in Arizona, where he graduated from the University of Arizona. He then moved to Indiana where he earned Master Public Affairs and Master of Science in Environmental Science degrees from Indiana University's O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Since then he's worked on sustainability issues in the federal government. In this position Casey realized a law degree would allow him to be even more impactful in and outside of government, so he made the decision to go back to school part-time.
Casey continues his sustainability work during the day while focusing on environmental and energy law in the evenings. In addition to his work with SDLP, he serves on the executive board of the Environmental Law Society, and this past summer completed a legal research internship with the Center for Biological Diversity. He plans to work in the policy and advocacy realm after graduation.
Lydia Hanson, 3L
Symposium Editor
Growing up right outside of Grand Teton National Park, Lydia has always been in love with the great outdoors. She was lucky enough to be able to travel the globe doing various development projects, from Indonesia to Cuba to Ghana and Togo. Through this work, she learned the integral connection between a healthy earth and healthy societies.
Lydia graduated from the University of Idaho with a double major in International Studies and French. After law school, she worked for a non-profit in Togo and practiced ski bumming while running a daycare in her hometown. At Washington College of Law, she is the Executive Chair of the Animal Law Society and a student leader for the new WCL Community Garden, and has worked with the War Crimes Office as an interpreter and translator. Additionally, Lydia is also seeking her master's degree in Global Environmental Policy.
Bailey Nickoloff, 2L
Articles Editor
Bailey grew up in Montana where the outdoors are a part of life. She credits spending countless hours fishing with her dad to her love of the outdoors.
She attended the University of Jamestown in Jamestown, North Dakota where she received her degrees in Political Science and Accounting. After working as a tax accountant, and then for REI, she decided attending law school would be the best way for her to effect change.
Bailey interned with the Office of the Montana Public Defender during her 1L summer, and will be interning with del-Cuadro-Zimmerman & Mount in the fall. She is a junior staffer for the American University Business Law Review, is a member of the Environmental Law Society, and a member of the Lambda Law Society.”
Jackson Garrity, 3L
Senior Features Editor
Jackson grew up in Columbus, Ohio and attended The Ohio State University, where he studied International Relations and Global Public Health. He is interested in issues of environmental protection and ecosystem preservation, as well as the intersection between environmental causes and public health.
While at WCL he has interned for the Department of the Interior in the Office of the Solicitor. He has also worked as a research assistant for the Conservation Litigation Project, where he supported senior staff in writing an article discussing the Trump Administration’s proposed revisions to NEPA, which was published by the Environmental Law institute. After school, he wants to work on environmental litigation, particularly on behalf of communities threatened by fossil fuel extraction and animal agriculture. His favorite activities include mountain biking, hiking, and cooking (vegan ONLY).
Kubra Babaturk, 2L
Associate Features Editor
Kubra graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in International Relations and Global Studies, with minors in Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic and tracks in Science, Technology, and the Environment and Culture, Media, and the Arts. As a law student, she is currently on the Administrative Law Review and is a Podcast Editor for the Human Rights Brief. She is spending her 1L summer as a Public Law Fellow at the Legal Aid Society and conducting research on environmental justice as a part of Professor Snape's EJ team, and is particularly looking at the intersection of sustainability and urban planning. She spends her free time with foster cats and planning trips to the outdoors all while trying not to think of her allergies to most plants and to the sun.
Saideh Herrera, 2L
Senior Editor
Saideh was raised in San Francisco, California, whose local schools educated its students about climate change at a young age, which invoked a life-long interest for Saideh in environmental justice. Always an avid hiker, volunteer, and traveler, Saideh has sought both hands-on and academic opportunities to learn more about environmental issues. After high school, Saideh went on to study international relations at University of California, Davis and later political science at San Francisco State University. Not feeling like she had the full picture, Saideh applied to law school. Believing in the power of collaboration, Saideh hopes to improve access to opportunities for all of society, specifically by working in immigration law upon graduation.
Sydney Helsel, 2L
Senior Editor
Originally from Mid-Michigan, Sydney attended the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a B.A. in Political Science, focusing heavily on international relations and human rights. During her time at University she became interested in environmental justice and wants to pursue a career advocating for communities and individuals who are impacted by pollution, climate change, and other environmental harms.
In particular, she is interested in how environmental law, human rights, and labor law intersect. At WCL she is a member of the Journal for Gender, Social Policy, and the Law, Moot Court, and the Human Rights Brief. In her free time, Sydney enjoys hiking, photography, picnics, and perfecting her latte making skills.
Rachel Keylon, 2L
Senior Editor
Rachel is from Seattle, WA and grew up with a love of the ocean. She graduated from Occidental College with a B.A. in Biology with a marine biology concentration then went on to get a M.S. in Zoology with a marine biology focus and a Graduate Certificate in Ocean Policy from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Rachel is an evening student and currently works full time as the Federal Affairs Director for Coastal States Organization. In addition to her work on SDLP, Rachel is a junior editor on the Administrative Law Review. In her free time she enjoys hiking, SUP, baking delicious treats, and hanging out with her two cats.
Logan McPherson, 2L
Senior Editor
Logan has spent most of her life in the SF Bay Area and spent the last few years living in Honolulu, where she graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a B.A. in Women's Studies. She loves music, dancing, animals, natural history/science, and political advocacy. At WCL, Logan currently serves as the Communications Chair for the Environmental Law Society and is also involved in the Animal Law Society, LAMBDA Law Society, and APALSA. This past summer she had the honor of working as a Research Assistant for Professor Snape's Environmental Justice Project and also interned for the Federal Affairs Department of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. Logan is a passionate advocate for the alleviation of needless suffering everywhere and plans on using her law degree to advance animal rights, human rights, and environmental protection in an intersectional way.
Volume XX
This issue is a celebration of Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief’s (SDLP’s) twentieth anniversary. It has been a privilege to oversee SDLP during this tumultuous time. Now more than ever, we need to focus on global ramifications of the human environment. Over the past twenty years, SDLP has discussed developing theories in international environmental law. While we are living in strange times, SDLP continues to be a place to discuss how humans interact with the environment.
For this issue, we are celebrating twenty years by publishing articles and features that look at where the law of sustainable development is and where it is going. Professor David Hunter, who has been with SDLP since its inception, writes a look-back at the past twenty years of developments in international environmental law. By reviewing how the law has changed over the course of two decades, we can predict where the law needs to go to meet the challenges of decades to come.
Our other articles provide insights into how modern environmental challenges will stretch North American federalism. The view from Canada shows how Arctic governance is changing with the melting of the northern polar ice cap and how indigenous populations are playing a key role in the new Arctic policies. The view from the United States explores the intersection between federalism, copyright law, and enforcement of the Clean Air Act. Both views illustrate how the federalist models of Canada and the United States are being confronted by new realities and technologies.
We would like to thank all the article and feature authors for their insights and thoughtful analysis of legal issues. We would also like to thank the professors, e-board, staff, and publisher of SDLP for making this publication possible. Finally, we would like to thank our readers, whose involvement and investment in SDLP is the reason that we have been able to create this
publication for twenty years.
Cheers to twenty more great years!
Past Issues
Volume XVII
2 | Editors' Note
by Brianna DelDuca and Hannah Gardenswartz
4 | The Use of the Regular Militaries for Natural Disaster Assistance: Climate Change and the Increasing Need for Changes to the Laws in the United States, China, Japan, the Philippines, and Other Countries
by Donald D.A. Schaefer
19 | The Right to Legally Sourced Lumber? How the Effective Enforcement of the Lacey Act is a U.S. Human Rights Obligation and Critical to Preventing Abuse in the Illegal Logging Industry
by Melanie Hess
The Role of Governance in Environmental Protection
2 | Editors' Note
by Nicole Waxman and Elizabeth Platt
4 | No Take Backs: Presidential Authority and Public Land Withdrawals
by Christian Termyn
19 | Does Importing Endangered Species' Body Parts Help Conservation? Discretion to Import Trophies Under the Trump Administration
by Brianna Marie
Infrastructure in the Context of Human Development
2 | Editors' Note
by Ingrid Lesemann & Luke Trompeter
4 | A Nuclear Threat: The Tenth Circuit's Shocking Misinterpretation of Preemption Demanding an Amendment to the Price-Anderson Act
by Stephanie Fishman
18 | Wind Power and the Legal Challeges with NEPA and the ESA
by Florianne Silvestri
Animal Welfare in the Context of Human Development
2 | Editors' Note
by Luke Trompeter and Ingrid Lesemann
4 | CAFOs: Plaguing North Carolina Communities of Color
by Christine Ball-Blakely
17 | The "Fowl" Practice of Human Labeling: Proposed Amendments to Federal Standards Governing Chicken Welfare and Poultry Labeling Practices
by LaTravia Smith
30 | Cruelty to Human and Nonhuman Animals in the Wild-Caught Fishing Industry
by Kathy Hessler, Becky Jenkins & Kelly Levenda
40 | Serving Pets in Poverty: A New Frontier for the Animal Welfare Movement
by Amanda Arrington & Michael Markarian
2 | Editors' Note
by Ryan Schmidt and Kimberly Reynolds
4 | Green is Good: How Green Bonds Cultivated into Wall Street’s Environmental Paradox
by Luke Trompeter
12 | Appraising the Role of the IFC and its Independent Accountability Mechanism: Community Experiences in Haiti’s Mining Sector
by Kate Nancy Taylor
29 | Batteries Included: Incentivizing Energy Storage
by Lindsay Breslau, Michael Croweak & Alan Witt
The American University Office of Sustainability was founded in 2009 to help meet the university's goal of "acting on our values of social responsibility, service [and] an active pursuit of sustainability."
The office develops and supports campus initiatives that promote sustainability within the campus community.
Tenley Campus
The Tenley Campus is LEED Gold certified.
LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is a green building certification program that is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. To achieve certification, building projects must meet prerequisites and earn points to achieve varying levels of certification ranging from certified to platinum.
The design of the Tenley Campus places a high priority on environmentally sustainable development principles. Key components include water and energy efficient systems, sustainable material selection, and interior environments that promote occupant health.
The Tenley Campus construction adheres to the University’s Green Building Policy, which supports the University’s goal of having a positive impact on the environment, as it relates to all university owned and operated facilities.
“Ideally, the LEED certification process is most effective when sustainable approaches are incorporated very early on in the design process as was the case at Tenley,” said Jamie Lee, AIA LEED BD+C, Principal at Smith Group JJR, the D.C.-based architecture and engineering firm responsible for the design. “Both the law school and the university were committed to creating a sustainable LEED certified building and had aspirations and goals that were incorporated into the project.”
Some of the green features in the Tenley Campus:- Buildings are located to maximize public transportation options & access
- Bicycle use is promoted through amenities like locker rooms and showers, as well as over 200 bike rack spaces
- Infrastructure is provided for Electric Vehicle charging stations
- Open space on the site is maintained and maximized
- Storm water is managed for quantity and quality using on-site features such as rain gardens
- Light colored roof material is specified to minimize urban heat-island effect
- Buildings will utilize nearly 50% less water than typical buildings of similar size through the use of high efficiency fixtures
- A unique hydronic heating and cooling system will reduce energy consumption by more than 20%
- Construction procedures will divert more than 90% of construction debris from landfills
- Regionally-sourced material will make up at least 20% of the building
- Certified sustainably-harvested wood will be used on more than 50% of all wood on the project
Receptacles for items that you may need to recycle infrequently such as clothes, batteries, ink cartridges, cell phones, plastic bags, and computers, monitors, and other e-waste can be found in several locations on AU's campus. Do your part to keep these easily recycled and often toxic items out of the landfill.
- In 2010, AU adopted a Zero Waste Policy mandating the creation of a team to develop a plan for reducing and diverting 100% of the university's waste stream.
- AU collects paper towel waste from all restrooms around campus separately. Student sustainability educators audited the campus waste stream and discovered that paper towels represent 13 percent of AU's waste.
- The university is reducing solid waste by replacing bottled water with inline water filters.
- In fall 2009, AU eliminated trays in the Terrace Dining Hall, reducing food waste by an estimated 32 percent.
- The university reuses and recycles surplus furniture by partnering with several area surplus and reuse centers.
- In 2009, the university recycled 43 percent of the solid waste generated on campus by presorting cans, glass, paper, cardboard, plastic bags, batteries, cell phone batteries, cell phones, and fluorescent lights.
- We collect and recycle vehicle waste including lubricants, antifreeze, oil filters, tires, and batteries.
- University-owned electronics equipment can be recycled by simply submitting a form to AU Surplus.
- Personal electronics waste can be recycled at our quarterly e-waste recycling drives.
- We collect kitchen grease from TDR for recycling.
Campus Affiliations
Here are some of the Law Societies that we collaborate with! Many of their members are also SDLP staff!
We welcome all those who are interested in environmental law or those who love the outdoors and want to preserve the natural environment!
The Environmental Law Society is a student organization dedicated to creating an awareness of current environmental matters and the legal issues surrounding them. Our mission is to encourage students and community members to support environmental initiatives. We accomplish this mission by keeping students and the community informed of important issues in environmental law and policy, promoting environmental scholarship, advocating for environmentally sound decision-making, and by providing opportunities to protect the natural environment and its irreplaceable creatures.
Providing a forum for education, advocacy & scholarship aimed at protecting the lives & advancing the interests of animals through the legal system.
Because issues relating to Animal Law also relate to a broad spectrum of issues surrounding other legal fields, we are a group of Law Students who seek to show how Animal Law intersects with nearly every other law field.
The WCL Energy Law Society seeks to provide a forum for students, alumni, and professors to come together and promote discussion about developments in energy law and the global impact these developments have. The WCL Energy Law Society is both a professional and social network for friends and colleagues sharing an interest in energy.
Gallery
Events
Spring 2020 Symposium
Brought to you byAmerican University’s Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief and the Program on Environmental and Energy Law, and in association with the Washington College of Law’s Environmental Law SocietyKeynote address by Charles Lee
Principal Author of the landmark report "Toxic Waste and Race in the United States"
Friday, February 7, 2020
9:00 AM to 2:30 PM in Claudio Grossman Hall
American University Washington College of Law
4300 Nebraska Avenue, Washington, D.C., 20016
9:00am: Registration Opens and Breakfast
9:40am: Introductory Remarks
10am-11:20am: Panel on Climate Justice and Clean Energy
11:40am-1pm: Environmental Justice, Air Pollution, and Public Health
1:00pm-2:30pm: Lunch and Keynote Address
2:30pm-4:00pm: Dessert Reception
