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Sep 17, 2022

Standing: Who Can Sue to Protect the Environment?

A year ago the American Bar Association published  the essay "Standing: Who Can Sue to Protect the Environment?" 
Written by Marisa Martin & James Landman     Link to full article

Its a good,  (if slightly incomplete) list of  the various ways  that environmentalists and conservations can  gain standing to challenge  environmental permits or licenses granted to  would-be developers  and  pollution dischargers of our air, land and sea
                   
EXCERPTS:

"The basic idea behind “standing”—that only parties that have an interest in the case can bring the lawsuit—is relatively straightforward. In practice, however, developing a principled basis upon which standing can be demonstrated has proven to be extremely difficult, especially for those cases involving environmental issues"


"Environmental lawsuits range from the highly local to the global.  A plaintiff may file a lawsuit challenging the pollution of a nearby stream, the threats facing polar bears in the Arctic, or the increase in global warming due to unregulated greenhouse gas emissions."

On November 2, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that the trial in a case brought by 21 people, including minors, against the federal government for its role in the global warming crisis, could continue. Juliana v. United States is underway in the 9th circuit, in Oregon.

The plaintiffs, many of whom live in regions of the country suffering from effects of climate change, including extreme weather events, want a federal judge to order the federal government to develop a plan to address climate change.

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