ACOEL members contribute regularly to the ACOEL Blog, writing on topics of current interest in their respective fields. Recently-published blogs are featured below, or you can search the ACOEL blog archive using the search feature.
Current Blogs

Risky Business: Deciding Whether Chemicals Pose Risk Is Getting Really Confusing
January 27, 2023Posted on January 27, 2023 by Lynn L. Bergeson Chemicals are the foundational origin of just about everything we enjoy and cannot live without. The federal law that authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate industrial chemical substances is the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), an almost...

The Conundrum of Managed Retreat
January 20, 2023Posted on January 20, 2023 by Elizabeth Andrews Should I stay or should I go now?If I go, there will be troubleAnd if I stay it will be double…(The Clash) In the climate change resilience space, there is much talk of Managed Retreat – the concept that some areas...
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From Burning Rivers to Parts Per Trillion: 50 Years of CWA Regulation
June 8, 2022Posted on June 8, 2022 by Steve Miano Recently, I was asked to moderate a panel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. It gave me...
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over
May 25, 2022Posted on May 25, 2022 by L. Mark Walker Twenty years ago I tried a jury trial which turned out to be a case study regarding the uncertainty of...

UN Special Rapporteur Targets ‘Sacrifice Zones’ Caused by the Ongoing Toxification of People and the Planet
May 19, 2022Posted on May 19, 2022 by Susan Kath In his latest report, the sixth in a series of thematic reports, Professor David Boyd, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human...
The Mixed Up World of Blending
May 17, 2022Posted on May 17, 2022 by Ed Tormey Recently I read a news release that the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals had issued a mandamus order against the...
Noise Isn’t an Inconvenience; It’s a Pollutant
May 11, 2022Posted on May 11, 2022 by Seth Jaffe I used to think that noise was something that grumpy old men complained about. Then I became a grumpy old man. ...

Peat – Climate Champ or Chump?
May 11, 2022Posted on May 11, 2022 by Susan M. Cooke Recent articles in the New York Times about peatlands underscore their importance in sequestering carbon. As explained in a November...
Working to Advance Pro Bono Legal Assistance for Environmental Justice
May 9, 2022Posted on May 9, 2022 by Seema Kakade The environmental legal community is experiencing a resurgence in attention to environmental justice. Federal government attorneys are working on environmental justice...

Rewilding: On Location in Chile
April 26, 2022Posted on April 26, 2022 by Krista K. McIntyre Saving our planet requires a variety of activities. In Chacabuco Valley, Chile, rewilding is the local focus. Rewilding is eco-centric...

Environmental Response Trusts: Surrogate for Federal and State Regulators?
April 14, 2022Posted on April 14, 2022 by Elliott P. Laws A common result of corporate bankruptcies is the creation of environmental response trusts or “ERTs”. ERTs are created to address...