Blog By: Stevi Whitman
In this blog, 3L staffer Stevi Whitman argues for the use of certification marks to promote authenticity within the whiskey industry by introducing the Estate Whiskey Alliance® (EWA). The EWA is a member led association spearheaded by UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky, the James B. Beam Institute, Marker’s Mark Distillery, and other founding members, tasked with ensuring quality standards of whiskey production, promoting the benefits of local sourcing, and advancing sustainability efforts throughout the whiskey industry through the use of certification marks.
Blog By: Phillip Burress
Kentucky is home to 100 distilleries in 42 counties and produces 95% of the world's bourbon. In this Blog, 3L Phillip Burress discusses the threat posed by "Whiskey Fungus" on Kentucky property owners and the legal challenges facing Kentucky distillers.
Blog By: Ashton Edwards
In this Blog, 3L Staffer Ashton Edwards argues that instead of staying silent on the issue, Congress should respond to the interstate commerce concerns that reside in the Prop 12, a proposition that was made law by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. Edwards discusses that so far, Congress has yet to address the arguments and concerns of Farmers, the Court, or citizens, even though this law arguably has a substantial impact on interstate commerce.
Blog By: Antonio C. Ellzey
In this Blog, 3L Staffer Antonio C. Ellzey discusses the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry, particularly the impact of Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, which limits deductions for businesses engaged in the cannabis trade due to federal prohibition. Ellzey discusses the potential benefits of rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, which he argues would alleviate financial burdens on cannabis businesses, enhance safety, and stimulate economic growth.
Blog By: Yuha Jung
In this Blog, outgoing 3L Staffer Yuha Jung explores two recent youth climate cases, one resolved in Montana (Held v. State) and another ongoing in California (Genesis v. EPA), emphasizing their implications for future climate litigation. Jung contends that youth-led climate lawsuits will ultimately contribute positively to safeguarding a clean and healthy climate for future generations.
In his blog post, 2L staffer Trevor Payton discusses the history of the United States’ climate change fight and analyzes three different presidential administrations’ approaches to the issue. Here, Payton highlights the benefits to Biden re-entering the U.S. into the Paris Climate Agreement by way of executive action and assesses the implications going forward.
While climate change has become a global problem, climate action in the United States remains a hotly contested political issue. This has lead to a complete lack of any meaningful, comprehensive climate plan. In this piece, staffer Shelby Lamar examines how the new administration has begun to deal with climate change and explores a potentially helpful political tool to get climate change legislation passed through even without bipartisan support.
Two years ago, the deeply conservative state of Kansas repealed a law requiring twenty percent of the state’s electric power to come from renewable sources by 2020, seemingly delivering a blow to the state’s environmentalists. Kansas zipped past that twenty percent goal in 2014 and actually produced more than thirty percent of its energy from wind by 2016. This underscores the reality that some of the fastest growth in renewable energy is occurring in states led by Republican governors and legislators.
