RECENT LAW LIBRARY ARTICLES
For owners of older residential real estate, lead based paint can seem like a problem from another era. It is not. A recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency settlement involving an apartment complex in Putnam, Connecticut, is a useful reminder that ...
Greenwashing claims are still a thing, and businesses should treat them as a legal compliance issue, not merely a public relations concern. That point was underscored last week when Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez announced that Tractor Supply West, ...
Environmental law has in large measure focused on pollution: the contaminated river, the leaking underground tank, the smokestack, the Superfund site. But an equally consequential environmental problem is emerging when there is simply not enough water in the needed locales. ...
Commercial Space Launch Reform – FAA Proposal Will Cut Years from Licensing Approvals
The United States is in the midst of a new space race. Unlike the Apollo era, this competition is driven not only by governments but by private companies launching communication satellites, developing reusable rockets, planning lunar missions, and even envisioning data centers in low Earth orbit. If the United States ...
Radon – Test and Decide for Yourself
Radon is a real health risk. It is also an area where education and informed decision making are far more effective than additional government mandates. Approximately 21,000 Americans die each year from radon induced lung cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Radon is the second leading cause of ...
Roll Back of Endangered Species Habitat Regulation by Rescinding the Definition of “Harm”
For decades, federal agencies interpreted a single word in the 1973 Endangered Species Act, "harm" far beyond its ordinary meaning. On July 14, 2026, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service corrected that course by rescinding the regulatory definition that had treated significant habitat modification or ...
Rollback of Federal Appliance Efficiency Standards Happening – What Businesses Need to Know
The U.S. Department of Energy has proposed one of the most significant changes to federal appliance regulation in decades. While much of the public debate has focused on dishwashers and gas stoves, the proposal has implications far beyond the kitchen. Manufacturers, builders, retailers, property owners, and businesses that purchase or ...
The Supreme Court’s Monsanto Decision – Why Businesses Far Beyond the Herbicide Industry Should Pay Attention
The U.S. Supreme Court's June 25, 2026, decision in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell is being reported in the mass media as another chapter in the long running Roundup mass tort litigation. That characterization misses the larger story about the Court amassing power for itself and the Executive branch. For real ...
California Extended Producer Responsibility Law Challenged in Federal Court
California’s experiment with extended producer responsibility (EPR) has finally met significant resistance. Seventeen states, joined by the National Association of Wholesaler Distributors, have filed suit in federal court challenging California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, which was SB 54. The case, State of Nebraska et al. v. Heller ...
