Global Warming Program

The issue of Global Warming is finally being recognized for what it is—the defining environmental concern of the era, and one of the greatest challenges facing humanity.  The impacts of unchecked global warming will be far-reaching and extremely disruptive to civilization as we know it. With few holdouts, climate scientists the world over have concluded that global warming is already underway and that it is being driven by human activity.  The primary means by which we have this effect is through the burning of fossil fuels, which releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere.  Since the industrial revolution, humanity has doubled the levels of CO2, which acts as a shield, preventing heat from radiating back into the upper atmosphere. As a result temperatures have risen considerably and an acceleration of the rise is expected.

Since this is a global problem, a global solution involving full international cooperation within a binding framework to reduce CO2 emissions will be necessary.  But in the meantime, standing still is not an option, and Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center refuses to do so.  The Center will make the carbon impact of a particular regulatory or policy decision or facility operation a priority consideration in our work, applying our legal expertise to help craft a solution that stops growth in CO2 emissions and better yet, reduces it.

Here are some examples of the work we do that relates to the issue: