431 - 440 of 873 results for: LAW

(Formerly Law 746) This course will advance students' understanding of economic, legal, and political approaches to avoiding or managing the problem of global climate change. Beyond focusing on economic issues and legal constraints, it will address the political economy of various emissions-reduction strategies. The course will consider policy efforts at the local, national, and international levels. Theoretical contributions as well as empirical analyses will be considered. Specific topics include: interactions among overlapping climate policies and between new policies and pre-existing legal or regulatory frameworks; the role that jurisdictional or geographic scale can play in influencing the performance of climate policy approaches; and numerical modeling and statistical analyses of climate change policies. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Written Assignments, Final Exam. Cross-listed with Economics ( ECON 159).

The regulation of the energy industry in the United States is complex, broad and enforced by a variety of federal and state governmental entities. Further, it is continually evolving in response to global and national events, market shifts, political dynamics and priorities, and technological advances, including economic liberalization and open access policies, tightening environmental regulation and the need to transition the electric power industry and other parts of the energy industry consistent with decarbonization goals. Multiple federal and state agencies, departments and other governmental entities regulate energy development, and the ownership, control and operation of electric energy, natural gas and oil production, transmission/transportation and distribution of energy resources, including with respect to the rates, terms and conditions of wholesale and retail services, as well as energy market rules. This course will provide an introduction to energy law, regulation and policy in the United States with a focus on the electric power and natural gas industries. With respect to the electric power industry, the course will cover federal and state laws, regulations and policies regarding the generation, transmission and distribution, and wholesale and retail sales of electric energy, capacity and ancillary services. With respect to the natural gas industry, the course will cover federal and state laws, regulations, and policies as relates to the transportation, storage and distribution, and wholesale and retail sales of natural gas, with a focus on open access policies in the natural gas industry that served as the foundation for open access policies in the electric power industry. The course will also provide an overview of recent developments of importance in these industries, with a focus on the ongoing clean energy transition, especially as related to the electric power industry. The first part of the course will focus on the theory and practice of utility regulation and its evolution from common law to administrative regulation. The second part of the course will briefly cover the natural gas industry with a focus on the development of open access transportation and competitive supply beginning in the 1990s and more recent developments relating to the shale gas revolution. The third part of the course will cover the electricity industry with a focus on the development of open access transmission and competitive wholesale markets and related developments in retail markets. The fourth part of the course will cover the clean energy transition with a focus on clean energy and clean energy enabling technologies, including distributed energy technologies, products, and services, as well as efforts related to the clean energy transition and decarbonization efforts. Elements used in grading: attendance, class participation, periodic quizzes on assigned readings, and a final class writing assignment.

Environmental law is critically important, endlessly fascinating, and highly intertwined with many of today's top legal and policy challenges, including addressing legacy pollution, climate change, siting and permitting energy and other large infrastructure projects, and the sustainable management of our natural resources. This course, open to law school students and graduate students from other schools, will provide a survey of major federal and state environmental laws and policies, including how they are structured, implemented, and enforced; how they intersect with adjacent administrative, constitutional and other statutory frameworks; how effectively (or not) they address today's top environment challenges; and how different governmental branches, regulated industry, non-profit advocacy groups, and private citizens have shaped--and continue to shape--U.S. environmental law and policy. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Exam.

This course focuses on the practical aspects of contemporary land use law and policy, including: the tools and historical/legal foundation of modern land use law; zoning and General Plans; subdivision of land; the process of land development; vested property rights and development agreements; environmental review; environmental justice; growth control, sprawl, housing density, and affordable housing; constitutional challenges to land use regulation; redevelopment; historic preservation; direct democracy over land use; and sea level rise, climate change and climate action plans. Special Instructions: Attendance and student participation is essential; roughly four-fifths of the class time will involve a combination of lecture and classroom discussion. The remaining time will engage students in case studies based on actual land use issues and analysis of pending disputes. This class is limited to 20 students selected by consent. Elements used in grading: attendance, class participation, two short writing assignments, oral presentation of a report from attendance at a public meeting by a land use regulatory agency, and a final exam.

Environmental law subsumes two major sets of issues. One set of issues, which is the subject of Environmental Law & Policy ( Law 2504), focuses on pollution containment (e.g., the Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act). This course focuses on societal management of the natural world and natural resources (e.g., energy, water, and living species). Natural resource management presents extremely difficult and contentious issues of law and public policy. Major debates rage over whether farmers should do with less water in order to protect endangered fish species, how to equitably allocate water and energy, and whether federal land agencies should emphasize preservation, recreation, or resource extraction. This course is a survey course and will look at fish and wildlife protection (including the protection of endangered species), freshwater, energy, and public lands. A major goal will be to look at the flaws in current management and how that management can be improved. Class sessions will include both (1) critical examinations of current laws and policy and (2) in-depth discussions of situational case studies that force you to consider how you would address real-life issues. Students are expected to participate actively in class discussions. Elements used in grading: class participation and final exam (open book).

Freshwater is our most crucial natural resource, but it is facing mounting pressures from climate change and other factors. While public agencies traditionally dominated water management, private water companies are playing an increasingly important (and sometime controversial) role. In many cases, private companies are making critical contributions to meeting societal water needs (e.g., by developing new technologies and finding new ways to reduce water use). In other cases, however, the involvement of private companies has proven controversial (e.g., when private companies have taken over public water supply systems in developing countries such as Bolivia). This course will look at established and emerging businesses in the water sector and the legal, economic, and social issues generated by the private sector's involvement. These businesses include water technology companies (e.g., companies commercializing new desalination or water recycling technologies), venture capitalists, water funds (that directly buy and sell water rights), consulting firms, innovative agricultural companies, and large corporations (that increasingly are adopting corporate stewardship programs). The course will begin with two weeks of introduction to water and the private water sector. After that, each class will focus on a different water company. Company executives will attend each class session and discuss their business with the class. In most classes, we will examine (1) the viability and efficacy of the company's business plan, (2) the legal and/or social issues arising from the business' work, and (3) how the business might contribute to improved water management and policy. Each student will be expected to write (1) two short reflection papers on businesses that visit the class, and (2) a 10- to15-page paper at the conclusion of the class on an idea that the student has for a new water company, on an existing water company of the student's choice, or on a legal or policy initiative that can improve the role that business plays in improving water management (either in a particular sector or more generally). This course is open to graduate students from around the campus. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments, Final Paper. Cross-listed with Civil & Environmental Engineering ( CEE 273B) and Environmental Behavioral Science ( EBS 273).

(Formerly Law 774) This case study-oriented course will focus on the critical skills needed to evaluate, develop, finance (on a non-recourse basis), and complete grid-scale clean energy projects. This course will be essentially the same as in the past four years (when it was cross-listed as GSB GEN 335). This course is highly multi-disciplinary, both in terms of substance and student mix. The course has consistently had a significant mix of business, engineering, law and earth science students. As in the past, the course will focus on the issues associated with the business of developing, financing, constructing and operating grid-scale clean energy projects. The course will focus on what a project developer or lender (i.e., in either case, the business person) needs to know to develop and finance successful projects. The project development business--far more than many other businesses such as tech, manufacturing, consumer, services, retail or transportation--inherently involves a VERY long list of highly-germane and critical legal issues. We address the legal issues from the perspective of what a business person needs to understand in order to navigate them and complete a project. The primary course materials will be documents from several representative projects -- e.g., solar, wind, storage, carbon capture, transmission, combined heat & power -- covering key areas including market and feasibility studies, environmental permitting and regulatory decisions, financial disclosure from bank and bond transactions, and construction, input, and offtake contracts. For virtually every clean energy project, legal documents and financial/business models tend to highly customized. By examining actual projects and transactions we can learn how developers, financiers, and lawyers work to get deals over the finish line--deals that meet the demands of the market, the requirements of the law, and (sometimes) broader societal goals, in particular climate change, economic competitiveness, and energy security. Elements used in grading: Class Participation (35 %), Lecture-based Assignment (15 %), Group Project (50 %). Absences affect grade. This class is limited to 36 students, with an effort made to have students from SLS, GSB, engineering and earth sciences. (All students need to be graduate students.) CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.

This interdisciplinary course integrates the legal, scientific, and policy dimensions of how we characterize and manage resource use and allocation along the California coast. We will use this geographic setting as the vehicle for exploring more generally how agencies, legislatures, and courts resolve resource-use conflicts and the role that scientific information and uncertainty play in the process. Our focus will be on the land-sea interface as we explore contemporary coastal land-use and marine resource decision-making, including coastal pollution, public health, ecosystem management; public access; private development; local community and state infrastructure; natural systems and significant threats; resource extraction; and conservation, mitigation and restoration. Students will learn the fundamental physics, chemistry, and biology of the coastal zone, tools for exploring data collected in the coastal ocean, and the institutional framework that shapes public and private decisions affecting coastal resources. There will be 3 to 4 written assignments addressing policy and science issues during the quarter, as well as a take-home final assignment. Special Instructions: In-class work and discussion is often done in interdisciplinary teams of students from the School of Law, the School of Engineering, the School of Humanities and Sciences, and the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences. Students are expected to participate in class discussion and 2-3 Saturday field trips. Elements used in grading: Participation, including class session and field trip attendance, writing and quantitative assignments. Cross-listed with Civil & Environmental Engineering ( CEE 175A/275A) and Environmental Behavioral Science ( EBS 175/275).

Cities are on the front lines of solving many of society's sustainability problems, from advancing green buildings and clean energy, to preparing for the effects of climate change. With a diminishing role of the federal government on environmental policy and regulation, it is up to sub-nationals like states and cities to lead innovation and deployment of clean energy, resilience strategies, water management, and more. This class will explore the evolving role of cities in advancing sustainability from the lens of law, policy, planning, and governance. Some of the topics we will discuss in-depth include climate mitigation, clean energy, green buildings, climate adaptation and resilience, water supply and reuse, land use and transportation, and more. Case studies will focus on U.S. cities with some emphasis on California. Overarching themes across all content areas include legal constraints of city authority, governance, socioeconomic tradeoffs, and the roles of various types of institutions in developing, advancing, and advocating for local policy change. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments, Exam. Cross-listed with Environment and Resources ( ENVRES 212).