Environmental Personhood and the Rights of Rivers

March 17, 2023May 2, 2023

Environmental Personhood and the Rights of Rivers

By Monishaa Suresh

This is the first entry of a two-part post on environmental personhood. It defines and explains the history of environmental personhood both domestically and internationally. The second post explores the concept of legal personhood for rivers with a focus on two rivers that have already been granted personhood — the Whanganui in New Zealand and the Atrato in Colombia.

“Legal personhood” can be conferred to non-human entities, essentially treating them as people for limited legal purposes such as allowing the entities to sue, own property, and enter into contracts. This is not a new concept as corporations have long been considered “legal persons.” This then begs the question: if we can confer such legal protection to multi-billion dollar corporations, why can’t we do the same for the environment?

January 30, 2023April 4, 2023

The Corrupt Past of PFAS and Corporate Greed [1]

By Johanna Adashek

As early as the 1970s, the companies that manufacture and sell PFAS have known that their chemicals were apparent in human blood, at levels far higher than what was safe. Before the public was aware of the threat that PFAS posed to public health and safety, a farmer in West Virginia, Wilbur Earl Tennant, witnessed dozens of his cows die and was determined to find the cause. Tennant observed and recorded foamy discolored water spewing into his creek from a pipe connected to an industrial landfill. He also recorded self-officiated autopsies on his diseased cows that showed that the cows had been destroyed from the inside out. Tennant had attempted without success to find legal assistance in his town and from various government sources, including the state veterinarian. However, a neighbor’s friend, who had a grandson who worked as an environmental lawyer in a big firm in Ohio, led Tennant to Rob Bilott. For the next two decades, Bilott went head to head with the companies behind PFAS.

January 18, 2023October 2, 2023

What are PFAS? A Primer on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

By Johanna Adashek

This blog post is the first of a two-part post on PFAS. This post defines, explains the history and usage of, and summarizes the basic science of PFAS. It also covers recent federal regulatory initiatives addressing PFAS. The next post in the series explores the history of one PFAS: PFOA, with a focus on the story of Rob Bilott’s fight against the chemical companies behind PFOA.

Sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are synthetic, or man-made, chemicals found almost ubiquitously in the air, water, and soil. They bioaccumulate and biopersist in the bloodstream and have been tied to different cancers and fertility problems. The term PFAS refers to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. There are thousands of PFAS; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updates a master list called PFASMASTER that additionally includes “partially fluorinated substances, polymers, and ill-defined reaction products.” The list grows continuously larger and, as of August 2022, includes more than 12,000 chemicals. Companies began manufacturing PFAS in the 1940s and, despite widespread evidence of their harm, these harmful chemicals are still manufactured today. PFAS can be found in nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing, stain resistant fabrics, shaving cream, cosmetics, firefighting foams, and even tap water.^[1]

December 22, 2022April 4, 2023

EVENT DEBRIEF – The J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Distinguished Lecture on Global Climate Change and Energy Law 2022

By Claudia Delgado

On November 17, 2022, GW Law’s Environmental and Energy Law Program hosted The J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Distinguished Lecture on Global Climate Change and Energy Law. This lecture celebrates the vision and leadership of Professor Arnold Reitze, founder and director of the GW Law’s Environmental and Energy Law Program from 1970-2008, by inviting globally recognized environmental experts to address cutting-edge issues on climate change and energy law and policy. GW Law had the honor and privilege of hosting Dr. Damilola Olawuyi as its inaugural distinguished lecturer. Dr. Damilola Olawuyi, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is a Professor and Associate Dean for Research at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) College of Law in Doha, Qatar and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Afe Babalola University in Nigeria. He is also the UNESCO Chair of Environmental Law and Sustainable Development. His presentation, “The Search for Climate and Energy Justice in the Global South: Shifting from Global Aspirations to Local Realization,” addressed whether climate and energy justice can be secured if those most vulnerable to climate and energy insecurity are not adequately protected with human rights-based safeguards.

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