From the Editor...

• Pages: 10128-10128
• Date: 01 March 2025
• Published date: 01 March 2025
• Author: Jay Austin
• Subject Matter: Environmental Law

55 ELR 10128 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER MAR/APR 2025

From the Editor . . .

One of the privileges of my job at the Environmental Law Reporter is a bird’s-eye view of the f‌ield: of the com-

plex edif‌ice of environmental law, to be sure, but also of the natural landscapes, diverse geographic regions, and

localized concerns that gave rise to it. While experience suggests there is no substitute for federal environmental

protection, zooming in on concrete issues can both remind us why those protections exist in the f‌irst place, and

highlight alternative solutions when they falter.

This March/April issue captures some of that wide vista, from sea level rise on Eastern Alaska shores to data

centers in Northern Virginia greenf‌ields, from the Outer Continental Shelf to the inland Great Salt Lake. It looks

at place-based federal approaches to potential hazards under CERCLA and NEPA, how public lands agencies

could use prescribed burns to combat California wildf‌ires, and why Utah’s drought crisis might be a bellwether

of securities obligations affecting regional and national businesses alike. But it also surveys the “laboratories of

democracy,” including municipal environmental justice initiatives, how land use and zoning law may shape the

proliferation of artif‌icial intelligence, and Oregon’s effort to create a state-law model to address the global prob-

lem of e-cigarette waste.

Current political trends only underscore the need for this groundedness—whether for a bottom-up reimagin-

ing of how we protect the planet, or for illustrating the very real impacts that existing, seemingly remote laws and

institutions have on each of our daily lives. ELR’s coverage will continue to embrace both.

— Jay Austin, Editor-in-Chief

ELR Staff

Publisher: Jordan Diamond

Editor-in-Chief: Jay Austin

Managing Editor: Rachel Jean-Baptiste

Senior Editor: Hunter Leigh Jones

Editorial Coordinator: William J. Straub

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