Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
Section Sponsored Resolutions
Policy Positions adopted by the ABA House of Delegates
February 11, 2008, Los Angeles
Urges U.S. Government to Take an Active Role in Addressing Climate Change
Urges the United States government to take a leadership role in addressing the issue of climate change through legal, policy, financial and educational mechanisms and to engage in active international discussions to address climate change, and urges Congress to enact and the President to sign appropriate climate change legislation.
Ecosystems
Urges federal, state, territorial and tribal governments, when considering and approving legislation, regulations and policies, to preserve and enhance the benefits that people derive from ecosystems, with due regard for economic, human and social impacts.
August 13-14, 2007, San Francisco
Integrating Rule of Law Initiatives with Global Environmental Issues
Urges governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations and other organizations to consider and integrate Rule of Law initiatives with global environmental issues.
August 8, 2005, Chicago
Oceans-Federal Regulator Structure
Encourages Congress and the President to take specific legislative, regulatory and other actions necessary to improve the structure of our country’s domestic management and regulation of its marine resources in order to better protect the integrity of its marine ecosystems and to ensure ecologically sustainable use and development of its marine resources.
Oceans-International
Urges Congress and the President to take specific legislative, regulatory and other actions necessary to improve the nation’s domestic management and regulation of its marine resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
Oceans-Marine Resources
Urges Congress and the President to promote effective international efforts to protect the world’s marine ecosystems and ensure the ecologically sustainable use and development of the world’s marine resources.
August 11-12, 2003, San Francisco
Sustainable Development
Adopts the internationally accepted definition of sustainable development and encourages governments, businesses and other entities to promote sustainable development as well as to adopt and implement legal and policy incentives to support and encourage sustainable development.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet-level Status
Urges Congress and the Administration to elevate protection of the environment of the United States to its highest level by enacting legislation elevating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet-level status.
August 12-13, 2002, Washington, DC
Settlement of longstanding Indian water right claims
Supports adequate federal efforts to assist in the settlement of longstanding Indian water right claims, predominately in the western states.
February 4-5, 2002, Philadelphia
Supports prompt ratification and implementation by the United States of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.
Supports prompt ratification and implementation by the United States of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
August 6, 2001, Chicago
Environmental Management Systems
Recommends that government agencies responsible for environmental protection adopt and implement legal and policy incentives designed to support and encourage businesses, governmental agencies and other entities subject to environmental regulation to implement voluntary environmental management systems (“EMS”)
August 10, 1999, Atlanta
Brownfields
Recommends that Congress promote the economic use of properties affected by environmental contamination, and reduce unnecessary litigation, by enacting legislation providing that upon the affected property's entry into and compliance with a State brownfields program, there should be no additional liability to the federal government or any other person under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.
August 5-6, 1997, San Francisco
Recommends that all courts be provided with qualified language interpreters, in order that persons with no or limited command of English may fully and fairly participate in judicial proceedings.
February 3, 1997, San Antonio
Encourages and promotes the use of alternative work schedules
August 7, 1995, Chicago
Scientific Knowledge When Regulating Environmental Matters
The Executive Branch and Congress should, through administrative and legislative means, as appropriate, provide for a suitable scientific body to undertake the on-going assessment of the state of scientific environmental knowledge, the on-going identification of environmental issues for which research is necessary, the oversight of such research, and the dissemination of environmental scientific findings and information to federal, state, tribal and local governments, the scientific community, and the public at large.
Public Participation in Environmental Decision Making
Recommends that Congress promote the economic use of properties affected by environmental contamination, and reduce unnecessary litigation, by enacting legislation providing that upon the affected property's entry into and compliance with a State brownfields program, there should be no additional liability to the federal government or any other person under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.
