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News Release

Legal Experts Analyze European, U.S. Approaches to Environmental Toxic Injuries Claims; Climate Change and Migration; Food Waste

Saturday, June 24, 2017

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.

The latest edition of the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (VJEL) includes articles on a range of timely issues, from climate change-related migration and international law to judicial approaches to environmental claims of toxic injuries. Published by Vermont Law School, the journal is available for download online.

"Vermont Journal of Environmental Law contributors put the environmental challenges we face in a legal context and present possible law and policy solutions," said VJEL Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Blackmon JD'17. "We are pleased to share their scholarship and research on issues ranging from the international response to climate change to how food waste can affect climate change—issues that affect all of us."

The journal opens with "Managing Uncertain Causation in Toxic Exposure Cases: Lessons for the European Court of Human Rights from U.S. Toxic Tort Litigation." Writer Katalin Sulyok analyzes how the European Court of Human Rights and United States courts differ in handling environmental claims of toxic injuries.

Additional articles and notes include "Candidate Conservation Agreements and ESA Listing Decisions: Underlying Incentives That Drive Stakeholder Behavior" by Michael Margherita; "The Coastal Act, Power Plants, and the Case for 'Undevelopment'" by Molly Melius, Sarah Reiter JD'13, and Sarah Newkirk; "Exiled by Emissions—Climate Change Related Displacement and Migration in International Law: Gaps in Global Governance and the Role of the UN Climate Convention" by Rina Kuusipalo; "Heat Up Those Leftovers, Not the Planet: How Combatting Food Waste Can Affect Climate Change" by Bonnie Smith JD'17; and "A Billion Grains of Truth: Distributional Impacts of Household-Level Climate Change Tax Subsidies in the United States" by Lynsey Gaudioso, winner of VJEL's 2017 White River Environmental Law Writing Competition.

The journal is available at vjel.vermontlaw.edu/current-volume.

The Vermont Journal of Environmental Law's mission is to provide an accessible forum to discuss contemporary environmental legal issues. VJEL publishes articles authored by academics, practitioners, and students alike. In selecting articles, VJEL editors recognize that environmental issues are inexorably linked with many other areas of law and seek to encompass a broad range of viewpoints and attitudes. In addition to publishing quarterly issues and hosting symposiums, VJEL reaches national audiences through its annual Top 10 Environmental Watch List. For more information about the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, including the latest commentary published on VJEL's EcoPerspectives blog, visit vjel.vermontlaw.edu.

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Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, is home to the nation's largest and deepest environmental law program. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; three Master's Degrees—Master of Environmental Law and Policy, Master of Energy Regulation and Law, and Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy; and four post-JD degrees—LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, LLM in Environmental Law, and LLM in Food and Agriculture Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, South Royalton Legal Clinic, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Energy Clinic, Food and Agriculture Clinic, and Center for Applied Human Rights. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.​