![Farm workers are the population most at-risk of pesticide exposure (Photo: Aqua Mechanical). Farm workers are at high risk of harmful pesticide exposure (Photo: Aqua Mech.)](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/fifra-blog_0.jpg?itok=w2Bv-6Ef)
Vibrant Environment
All | Biodiversity | Climate Change and Sustainability | Environmental Justice | Governance and Rule of Law | Land Use and Natural Resources | Oceans and Coasts | Pollution Control
![Farm workers are the population most at-risk of pesticide exposure (Photo: Aqua Mechanical). Farm workers are at high risk of harmful pesticide exposure (Photo: Aqua Mech.)](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/fifra-blog_0.jpg?itok=w2Bv-6Ef)
In 2010, two sisters—ages 1 and 4—died after licensed exterminators misapplied pesticides too close to their home. In 2011, roughly 60 dead mammals and migratory birds were found on and near a private hunting preserve after pesticides were unlawfully applied in hopes of killing coyotes. And in 2015, an entire family was hospitalized, and now suffers from neurological damage, following the improper pesticide fumigation of their house. Yet, the perpetrators in each of these cases were only charged with misdemeanors.
![Sustainability will be a key focus of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (Photo: LA 2028) Sustainability will be a key focus of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (Pho](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/la2028_0.jpg?itok=ygmn5QeS)
Paris and Los Angeles are set to host the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games, respectively. Hosting the games will offer these cities the chance to showcase not only their countries’ finest athletes, but also their technological innovation and cultural vibrancy. However, preparing for the Olympics also presents massive infrastructural, economic, and environmental challenges.
![An electric car charges at a station in Newcastle, England (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). An electric car charges at a station in Newcastle, England (Photo: Wikimedia Com](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/uk-electric-car.jpg?itok=YoAfSgQy)
As reported previously in the Environmental Law Reporter's Weekly Update, several countries have expressed their desire to move away from vehicles powered by diesel and gas in recent months. Most recently, the British government committed to ban the sale of diesel and gas vehicles from 2040 to curb rising levels of nitrogen oxide.
![A cannabis sativa plant (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). A cannabis sativa plant (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/cannabis-sativa-plant-8.jpg?itok=7dP_l8dr)
What is the most valuable crop in California? It isn’t almonds ($5.3 billion), strawberries ($1.8 billion), or grapes ($1.3 billion), but cannabis, now worth around $17 billion annually. In fact, cannabis is presently the fastest growing industry in the United States with over 30 percent per year compound growth according to preliminary 2016 revenues reported in Colorado by the Marijuana Enforcement Division.
![Every summer, new interns, law clerks, and experts join ELI in Washington, D.C. Every summer, new interns, law clerks, and experts join ELI in Washington, D.C.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/washington-monument-1627184.jpg?itok=FKFTgfuV)
Even after lawmakers leave the capital for their August recess, there’s still a summer buzz in the air at ELI’s offices in Washington, D.C. From June through August, nearly every open desk is filled by a volunteer, intern, or law clerk working to further ELI’s mission and support its many programs around the world. This summer, I was fortunate enough to spend a brief three months in the nation’s capital as one of those students. My fellow interns and law clerks hailed from as far as U.C.
![Featured News & Analysis Article Featured News & Analysis Article](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/megaphone.png?itok=dzbHCBm5)
When a public company describes the impact of a proposed regulation, it must consider two audiences: regulators and financial markets. It would like to sway the regulator by emphasizing how stringent regulations could cause job losses or reduce investment. But it may wish to convince investors that the company will thrive in the face of any plausible regulatory outcome.
![An array of eco-labels, such as EKOenergy, certify environmentally friendly practices across a wide range of industries. An array of eco-labels, such as EKOenergy, certify environmentally friendly prac](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/eko-energy.jpg?itok=2nDsoY63)
In response to reputational pressures and economic incentives, many companies tailor their product design, purchasing decisions, and management systems to reflect environmental considerations. Because consumers usually can’t observe these benefits in a company’s products or services, firms increasingly turn to environmental certification schemes or “ecolabels” to highlight their achievements.
![ELI's Cards Against Calamity board game engages coastal communities in resilience planning. ELI's Cards Against Calamity board game engages coastal communities in resilienc](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/cards-against-calamity-edited.png?itok=tghviCM0)
ELI’s Technology, Innovation and the Environment project targets the market for serious games with our new game, Cards Against Calamity, a multiplayer board game that explores coastal communities’ resilience to crises. Cards Against Calamity was developed in collaboration with 1st Playable Productions and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
![Despite having few natural enemies, bluefin tuna are threatened by overfishing (Photo: NOAA). Despite having few natural enemies, bluefin tuna are threatened by overfishing (](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/noaa-tuna.jpg?itok=KU4wIsWD)
Bluefin tuna, the general group name of several species that belong to subgenus of true tunas Thunnus (Thunnus), are the largest of all tunas and have a natural lifespan of over 50 years. Reaching over two meters in length and weighing 200 kilograms as adults, the species is at the top of the marine food chain. But for great white sharks, bluefin tunas have few natural enemies. Sadly, in the last few decades, a new enemy has appeared: humans.
![A natural gas drilling rig on the Pinedale Anticline, Wyoming (Photo: BLM) A natural gas drilling rig on the Pinedale Anticline, Wyoming (Photo: BLM)](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_thumbnail/public/images/blog/natural-gas-wyoming.jpg?itok=zfcYeWpO)
On July 3, 2017, the D.C. Circuit ruled against the Trump Administration in Clean Air Council v. Pruitt, holding that it could not delay an EPA rule limiting methane pollution from oil and gas drilling. The 2016 rule was part of the Obama Administration’s regulatory strategy to reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas roughly 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.