Sept. 25, Professor Susan Apel, "The Brave New World of Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Modern Family"

Recent technologies have enabled people to form families in ways different from the traditional.  In a nod to Aldous Huxley (and Shakespeare), some refer to these changes as a dystopian "brave new world," while others laud the advances of science.  As the debate continues, the law must deal every day with changes in family formation and answer questions about assisted reproductive technologies, surrogacy and the rights and responsibilities of parenthood. These new technologies have caused a legal tsunami in which the law struggles to define what used to be but are no longer simple concepts:  mother, father and child.

Oct. 5, Professor Pat Parenteau, "To Frack or Not to Frack?"

The development of hydro-fracturing technology-aka "fracking"-has led to a boom in the production of natural gas from ancient shale deposits in the Marcellus formation of the Northeast and other parts of the country. Compared to coal natural gas is a vastly preferable fuel source for electricity generation. For starters, it emits less than half the CO2 of coal during combustion and you don't have to blow the tops off of mountains to get it.  The gas industry touts fracking as the bridge to a clean energy future. But the issue is not so simple. Gas is basically methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more potent than CO2. Fugitive emissions of methane are a major problem with fracking although there is much debate over the exact amount that escapes from the thousands of wells and pumps and pipelines. EPA has proposed rules to capture these emissions but it is not all clear when the rules will become law or even whether they will survive the presidential election. Methane does not last as long in the atmosphere as carbon but scientists are concerned about its potential for accelerating climate change through positive feedback loops such as melting Arctic ice and permafrost. Proponents of solar and wind are concerned that the heavy investment in unconventional gas will impede the development of these even greener technologies. Then there are all those YouTube videos of people's tapwater catching on fire; and the periodic blowouts, explosions and earthquakes linked to fracking. So, here we go with another energy and environment conundrum: Can fracking be done safely? Is it a bridge to the future or a bridge to nowhere? 

 Nov. 20, Professor Greg Johnson, "Unfinished Business: The Military's Treatment of Transgender Servicemembers"

The LGBT civil rights movement achieved an historic victory last year when Congress repealed the "don't ask/don't tell" law, allowing lesbian and gay members of the military to serve openly for the first time. Yet our work is not done. The military still discriminates against transgender service members. The military considers any transgender expression a "psychosexual condition" that requires the service member's automatic discharge. Several studies have looked into this growing problem, and each has reached grim conclusions; one said that the military has a "viscerally negative response" to transgender service members. Some discharged transgender service members have sued the military, but so far no lawsuit has been successful. This presentation will assess the likely outcome of such suits in light of recent developments in LGBT civil rights jurisprudence.  It will also "unpack" arguments seeking to distinguish a ban on openly gay service members from a ban on transgender service members. Are there differences?