June/July

Many an experienced neutral with an otherwise stellar record of resolving complex disputes has found multi-party environmental cases to pose particularly thorny challenges.

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA '90) was enacted in response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and was intended to "streamline federal law as to provide quick and efficient cleanup of oil spills, compensate victims of such spills, and internalize the costs of spills within the petroleum industry."

As civilization became more advanced, people began to trade goods across the Persian and Mediterranean Seas and other bodies of water. To allow trade to occur with as little disruption as possible, early seafarers and merchants began to develop their own set of rules and customs.

It has now been more than 45 years since Congress decided to regulate "waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act without defining the term. Those left to fill in the void are getting understandably cranky.

The year was 2009. Meryl Streep received a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Jay-Z received multiple Grammy nominations. And the NFC champion was a major underdog to the AFC champion in the Super Bowl.

Greater sage-grouse are symbolic of the vast, open lands between the Rocky Mountain and the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. But sage-grouse are in trouble.

Since the enactment of the one-page Antiquities Act of 1906, 16 presidents have designated 157 national monuments under its authority. These monuments range from a few acres to millions of acres in size preserving federal lands and cultural and historical sites for the benefit of the American public.

For the week ending March 23, the U.S. petroleum industry produced 68,460 barrels of crude oil. At $57.30 per barrel, this week's supply of crude oil is valued at $3,902,220.