And in CERCLA news: EPA Adds Newtown Creek (NYC) to its Superfund List.

The Environmental Protection Agency has added another NYC waterway to its Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). The designation of the four-mile-long Newtown Creek, which divides Brooklyn and Queens, was announced yesterday by Regional Administrator Judith Enck.

Like the Gowanus Canal in Carroll Gardens (Brooklyn), water samples from Newtown Creek have revealed the presence of P.C.B.s, metals, pesticides, volatile organic compounds and other contaminants. This is due to the "more than 50 industrial facilities" that were located along its banks since the mid-1800's, "including oil refineries, petrochemical plans, fertilizer and glue factories, sawmills and lumber and coal yards."

Newtown Creek is the second Superfund Site in the City. The EPA also added sections of the Black River in Jefferson County to the NPL, bringing the number of Superfund Sites in New York to 86.

Click here to read the rest of the EPA's Press Release.

Breakfast AND Sustainable Real Estate Development?! Sign me up!

Attention Environnmental  Real Estate Aficionados: October 6th @ 8:15am, the New York Law School Center for Real Estate Studies is hosting its 4th Annual Breakfast Forum on Sustainable Real Estate Development.

Panelists include David Bragdon (Director, NYC Office of Long-Term Planning & Sustainability), Fred Harris (Senior VP, AvalonBay Communities, Inc.), and Gail Suchman (Special Counsel, Stroock & Stroock & Lavman LLP)

CLICK HERE to RSVP for this FREE event!
Seating is limited, so don't wait for too long.

Pro-Environment Cases May Be In Danger

The National Law Journal reports that environmentalists are concerned that the Supreme Court may grant review of the landmark decision Massachussetts v. EPA (2007), setting the stage for a  "reversal of the rare, recent high court victory for environmentalists."

Should environmentalists fear that the high court will over-rule these important cases? What are the implications of these cases being overturned?

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Columbia University's Climate Center and Events

Columbia University, within its Earth Institute, has a Climate Center. The Climate Center seeks to:

"... improve humankind's capacity to understand, predict, and respond to climate variability and change within a multidisciplinary approach to sustainable development. By integrating basic and applied research in climate science, engineering, public health, economics, social science and political science conducted throughout Columbia University, the Center will develop strategies for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, while communicating the science and impacts of climate change to society and providing policy analysis and advising to stakeholders and decision makers."

They have some great events coming up and their calendar can be accessed here: http://climate.columbia.edu/?id=events 
and for your convenience I have also posted their events on our calendar which can be accessed through the link on the top of the page or here: http://nylsels.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

New Green City Fair - Union Square NYC - September 29, 2010 10am-6pm

GrowNYC presents NEW GREEN CITY welcoming more than 100,000 visitors to New York City’s largest annual green event in Union Square Park. Following the success of Green Brooklyn...Green City in September of 2009, this year's family-friendly event showcases government agencies, non-profits, entrepreneurs and community & corporate partners at the forefront of environmental stewardship, education and awareness. 
 

 

New Green City is an official participant of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation's Green Event Program.  

Follow this link to read more: http://www.grownyc.org/newgreencity

Meet NY Environmental Attorneys! NYSBA Environmental Law Section's Fall Meeting (10/1-10/3)

The Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is hosting its annual "Fall Meeting" from October 1st thru October 3rd.

This annual meeting is a great opportunity for law students and recent graduates to meet practicing environmental attorneys and professionals. NYLS's very own Professor Schnapf will be in attendance and has offered to introduce students to some of the Section's leaders.





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Sierra Club and American Littoral Society's 25th Annual Coastal Cleanup

This Saturday (September 25th) the Sierra Club and the American Littoral Society are undertaking their 25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup. Last year, over 10,000 volunteers helped to clean and document over 140,000 pounds of debris along the NY shoreline.

This is a great opportunity to: clean the beach and document what litters our shores, compile data to devise strategies to combat pollution, increase public participation in solving the problem of pollution, and increase public awareness and appreciation of the coastal environment.

Contact Barbara Cohen if you'd like to get involved, cleanups will be taking place at Long Island Sound and along the Hudson River : ALSBeach@aol.com or (718) 471-2166





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Environmental Law Panel at Brooklyn Law 9/21

Tomorrow night (sorry for the late notice) there will be a panel on careers in environmental law and natural resources. The panel starts at 6-8PM and will take place in Room 503.

The panel will be moderated by Brooklyn Law's new environmental law professor Gregg Macey and will also include dinner.

The following are the bios for the panel members:





Read more » 





Gasland Screening and Q&A w/Director, 9/29, Central Park‏

Gasland is a movie about fracking and its actual and potential effects on drinking water, our environment and the tectonic plates. The director will be having a screening and a question and answer session after the screening on Wednesday September 29, 2010 at the Arsenal Gallery - 830 5th Avenue at East 64th St.

Be sure to get your tickets early. Not only is this a great movie, but it has also been known to cause a ton of controversy among environmentalists, the government, and non believers. Please see this interesting article in the Huffington Post about the governments reaction to Gasland moviegoers in PA: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alison-rose-levy/guess-what-seeing-a-movie_b_717241.htmlk

The MTA Wants to Raise Your Monthly Metrocard Price (or limit the number of rides/month)

The MTA has been holding a series of public hearings regarding their proposed fare hikes for 2011. Several students from New York Law School will be attending next Tuesday's (9/21) public hearing at the Brooklyn Museum (begins at 6pm). Enough is enough MTA!

The truth is that anyone who uses the monthly Metrocard will be impacted by these fare increases. The MTA's two proposals for monthly Metrocards are: (a) raise the price of the current Unlimited Metrocard to $104 or (b) raise the price of the monthly Metrocard price to $99 and impose a 90-trip cap.





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Meet Over 130 Public Interest Employers!

Equal Justice Works is hosting its annual "Equal Justice Works Conference and Career Fair" and invites 2Ls and 3Ls to meet with prospective Public Interest employers. This year's fair is in Bethesda, MD (righ outside of DC).

The application deadline is quickly approaching (Sept. 24th) so hurry up!

Don't miss this opportunity to meet over 130 public interest employers, practicioners and leaders.

For instructions and more information, please click on the Student Guide.

General Interest Meeting

The Environmental Law Society of New York Law School is hosting our first general interest meeting of the year on Thursday, Sept. 16th from 12:50pm-1:50pm in room A600.

Please come and join us as we discuss  upcoming Executive Board Elections, petitioning administration for more environmental law courses, upcoming conferences, what to look forward to in the upcoming year, events, and more.

Long Island Gets a Little Cleaner (according to the EPA)

The SMS Instruments Superfund Site (Deer Park, NY) gets the "green thumbs up" from the EPA.

"After completing all the cleanup work needed to address contaminated soil and ground water, and assessing recent monitoring data, EPA has determined that the cleanup was successful and that the site no longer poses a significant threat to public health or the environment."

Considering how difficult it is for SF Sites to be removed from the NPL, the residents of Deer Park should be excited about this.

SMS Instruments Superfund Site had been on the NPL for over 2 decades.

Landfilling Plastic Bottles May be Better than Recycling?

Just when you thought we had it right, this post from Eric Johnson (director of Atlantic Consulting, a Swiss-based strategic consulting company) claims that, in certain circumstances, landfilling plastic water bottles may have a lower carbon-footprint than recycling.

I'm not too sure if I buy into this just yet. I wonder if Thomas Friedman has anything to say about this claim... -JA

We're Looking for Motivated Candidates!

The Environmental Law Society's Executive Board elections are coming up and we're looking for motivated law-students to be environmental leaders!

The ELS-EBoard is the central decision-making body for the Society. It sets the Society's agenda for the year and provides important environmental law information to our members.

This year's goals include: petitioning NYLS administration for more environmental law courses, providing members with information about environmental law internships and jobs, and providing real-world legal assistance to environmental non-profits such as WeAct and Earthjustice.

The 2010-2011 EBoard positions are: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Marketing/Publicity Officer. ALL POSITIONS ARE OPEN!

If you are interested in running for a position, please send a 1-2 paragraph "Statement of Interest" to Jose Almanzar (jose.almanzar@law.nyls.edu) by midnight, Tuesday September 14th.

The Statement of Interest should highlight: (1) your interests in the Society; (2) your interests in environmental law; and (3) why you're running for the EBoard position (basically telling us why should we vote for you).

If you have any questions about specific EBoard duties and responsibilities, please contact Jose Almanzar (jose.almanzar@law.nyls.edu).

Best,
ELS

Socio-economic-minded individuals sought to make environmental policy

A prominent environmental leader is openly seeking comments for his Model Green Building Municipal Ordinance for New York State.

If you are interested in commenting, please contact Jose Almanzar (jose.almanzar@law.nyls.edu).

-Environmental Law Society of New York Law School

Flippidy, floppedy, doo!

In a recent interview, top climate change skeptic, Bjorn Lomborg, admits that global climate change is happening and that we need to do something about it ASAP. Ohh, and that it's extremely expensive.

EPA Fracking Hearings Rescheduled for September

Postponed August meeting on hydrofracking rescheduled for September.  See the schedule below.  Apparently, EPA is requesting pre-registration for attendance.

Meeting Information:
EPA will hold four identical sessions during a two day session at the same location:

Date: Monday, September 13, 2010
Location: Broome County Forum Theater, 236 Washington St., Binghamton
Time:

• 12:00pm – 4:00pm (pre-registration begins at 10:30am)
• 6:00pm – 10:00pm (pre-registration begins at 4:30pm)

Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Location: Broome County Forum Theater, 236 Washington St., Binghamton
Time:

• 12:00pm – 4:00pm (pre-registration begins at 10:30am)
• 6:00pm – 10:00pm (pre-registration begins at 4:30pm)