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.
Blog By: Camille Camp
In this blog, 2L Staffer Camille Camp discusses the threat black vultures pose to the livestock industry and the proposed bill aimed at assisting livestock producers. Additionally, she highlights the essential ecological function served by black vultures and stresses the importance of finding a sustainable solution that both addresses the threat to livestock and preserves the black vulture population.
Blog By: Daniel Martell
In his blog, Vol. 17 Executive Editor Daniel Martell reports on a barrier in the transition to clean energy: local opposition to solar projects in rural communities. While opposition groups have delayed and derailed solar projects in the past, Martell argues that there are steps that solar farm developers can take to the conflict and cost that come with public opposition to their energy projects.
Blog By: Daniel Short
2L Staffer Daniel Short discusses the Kentucky legislature's decision to create an acreage requirement for hunting and fishing licenses, exempt private landowners. Shortly after, the legislature rescinded the rule, which Short argues was the right decision because of the requirement's uncertainty in enforcement and effectiveness, as well as the detriment to resident outdoorsmen.
On October 28, various Navajo Environmental Groups filed suit in federal court against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), claiming the EPA passed a rule that exempted the Navajo Generating Plant from emission requirements. In the complaint the To’ Nizhoni Ani, Black Mesa Water Coalition, and Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment claim that the EPA bypassed its own emissions standards in a plan it approved for the Navajo Generating Station located on the tribes reservation.
On July 16, 2015, by a 28-2 vote, the United States Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Agriculture, Rural, Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill (S.1800) for fiscal year 2016. This bill, commonly referred to as the Federal Farm Bill, supports agriculture cooperative conservation and rural community programs implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Through these programs, the USDA promotes and financially supports essential nutritional needs for the elderly and for children and their families, as well as food and drug safety.
The total number of bourbon barrels in the state of Kentucky surpassed 5.6 million in 2014 making the bourbon population much larger than the human population (4.4 million) of the Bluegrass State. A number of those barrels will eventually be bottled as one of the most iconic and recognizable bourbons produced in Kentucky – Maker’s Mark. Distilled in Loretto, Kentucky, Marker’s Mark credits its unique product to the four fundamental elements of water, wheat, wood, and wax.
President Barack Obama’s proposed 2016 fiscal budget comes with some exciting news for the coal miners of Kentucky. In the budget is a proposed plan that includes a $1 billion fund to be distributed over a period of roughly five years to “redevelop abandoned coal mines" in about ten states, including Kentucky. This new proposal is called the “Power+ Plan. “Power” stands for Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization.
Kentucky is a region of almost 26 million acres of land, and of that land a little less than half is covered in woodlands owned by roughly 467,000 private landowners. That is a vast amount of land to look after, and almost too much for anyone to monitor completely. Today, woodland property owners face the problem of unauthorized property entry and unapproved timber cutting on their land.
The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant species that was first discovered by a colonial governor of North Carolina in the 1700s. Since its discovery, people have been enthralled by the plant’s worldly beauty and strange feeding habits. Charles Darwin thought it was one of the world’s most magnificent plants. However, in recent years poachers have become the flytrap’s newest admirer.
In September 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter “EPA”), armed with data independently obtained by a group of researchers at West Virginia University, accused Volkswagen Corporation of “cheating” on emissions tests. Specifically, the allegation charged that Volkswagen had equipped certain models of their diesel engine vehicles with “defeat devices” – software on the vehicles that could detect when the vehicle was undergoing emissions tests, and subsequently regulate the amount of emissions that would be produced during the testing phase.
