Free: Putting the Wind (Back) to Work
Patricia G. Hammes and Mitchell E. Menaker, partners at Shearman & Sterling, and Robert N. Freedman, counsel at the firm, write that the recent growth of the wind power industry was driven by a combination of demand-side growth generated by regulatory requirements, investment subsidies provided by tax-based incentives and a very liquid financing market. If this history is telling, they, say, it will likely take a similar mix to drive future growth in at least the near term.
Passive Building
Eileen D. Millett, a partner at Gibbons, and J. Cullen Howe of Arnold & Porter, wtite: New York may wish to consider encouraging the voluntary adoption of passive house standards by builders and owners through public education and outreach and offering continuing education courses on passive building for engineers and architects. It may also want to adopt a goal of incorporating passive house standards into the state building code within the next decade or sooner.
Water Meets Climate Change
Kathy Robb, a partner at Hunton & Williams, writes: Because interstate compacts allocate water for the future, states must identify water availability and anticipate water needs with a fair degree of certainty in order to conclude that the terms of the compact are sufficient to induce them to enter into the agreement...[P]olitical considerations and an unwillingness to commit to future allocation can paralyze an attempt to forge a compact.
How Law Firms Are Going Green
David J. Freeman, a partner at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, Lauren Piccolo, a business development supervisor, and Paul Henesy, a summer associate, write: Demand for all things green at law firms is unquestionably on the rise. Firms are ramping up their energy practices, focusing on clean and renewable energy. They are developing expertise in sustainability and climate change issues. At the same time they are advising their clients, they are being asked by clients, and asking themselves, about the environmental impact of their own operations.
