World Renewable Energy Forum

The Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Graduate Program at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law was a sponsor of this week's World Renewable Energy Forum (WREF). The WREF took place at the Denver Convention Center from May 13th-17th.

The event is significant because it combined the biennial World Renewable Energy Congress and the American Solar Energy Society's National Solar Conference. The WREF featured speakers from around the world including industry professionals, renewable energy laboratories, and university academics.

Sturm College of Law's Professor Don Smith chaired a discussion on Monday the 14th. The topic for discussion was: Can U.S. Renewable Law and Policy Catch Up?  Professor K.K. DuVivier, who was on the panel, also used the conference to talk about her book, The Renewable Energy Reader.  The book was a popular attraction at the Program's booth.

"The WREF was a great opportunity for the ENRGP program to share information with professionals interested in attending the program. The forum also served as a way to help professionals become aware of the type of education our students recieve and increase their interest in hiring those who have obtained the LLM or Masters degree in Environmental and Natural Resources Law," said Professor Smith, who also directs the Graduate Program.

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

Outstanding Environmental and Natural Resources Students Named

Anthony Austin and Jessica Allan have received the honor of being named Outstanding Environmental and Natural Resources Students! Congratulations to them both! This award is given to the students who achieve the highest GPA's in our program.

Anthony Austin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and The Study of Religion from the University of California, San Diego. He received his JD degree from Golden Gate University School of Law.
Anthony expressed his gratitude when he stated: “It's a real privilege to be bestowed with this award, especially given how talented and accomplished this class is. I am extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to attend DU Sturm College of Law for my LL.M. It is a wonderful program and I could not have earned this honor without the support of the faculty and staff at Sturm and within the Environmental and Natural Resources Graduate Program."

Jessica Allan received a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from University of California in Santa Barbara.
Jessica commented:   "It is such a honor to receive this award for MRLS Outstanding Student. I have worked very hard this year and it is encouraging to know that this hard work has been recognized. I want to thank Lucy and Professor Smith for this award and for all of their support throughout this program. My classmates in the MRLS program are very intelligent and driven people who I feel lucky to call friends. I will miss everyone very much next year."

Associate Administrative Director, Lucy Daberkow, commented: "it is a great honor to have Jessica and Anthony in our graduate program. They are extremely talented students who have enriched our program and our lives tremendously." Congratulations to both Jessica and Anthony! Their commitment to the program and their confidence in their classmates is evident.

MRLS alum enjoys success in Australia

Kathryn Sachs, a 2009 Master of Resources Law Studies graduate, is employed by the engineering company, URS, in their Asia Pacific branch.
She is currently based in Brisbane, Australia working on a project between ConocoPhillips and the Australia's leading energy provider, Origin Energy, to construct LNG (liquefied natural gas) facilities near the Port of Gladstone on Australia's east coast. When complete, the facility will help to market Australia's natural gas to larger export markets across the Pacific. Kathryn's focus is assuring that the project complies with all
federal, state, and local environmental laws that apply to it.
Her responsibilities include providing compliance management expertise, coordinating regular reviews of compliance reports and monitoring data, maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of relevant approvals processes and legislation and assessing their relevance to the project, and liaising with environmental, legal, tenure, and engineering professionals to monitor the status of approvals.
Demand from China and other emerging economies is driving a boom in the natural resources sector of the Australian economy and consequently, professionals with a high level of knowledge or expertise in the natural resources sector are in demand. Kathryn's background as an MRLS graduate, proved valuable in securing her position, and though the legislative requirements differ between the US and Australia, she credits her DU experience with helping her analyze legal requirements critically and apply the law to real-life scenarios in resource development.
Kathryn is thrilled to be able to use her education to work and live
abroad. She sees it as a valuable opportunity to step outside of the
framework of the US legal system and see how things are done elsewhere - and the surfing is pretty good too!

Lucy Daberkow, Associate Administrative Director, commented: " We could not be more proud of Kat's accomplishments! We've been following her career since her graduation from the MRLS program and knew that she was truly one of the brightest stars in our program."

LLM Student, William Saunders, Represents the ENRGP Program at The 2012 Sustainable Opportunities Summit

William Saunders blogs about his experience at the recent Sustainability Summit.

The 2012 Sustainable Opportunities Summit dealt with issues at the forefront of our efforts to shift to a more sustainable way of life. The topics were balanced, dealing with the environment, natural resources, technology and the economy. The speakers were incredibly knowledgeable and passionate. It was clear they knew the stakes and were attacking the issues from all angles.

The conference kicked off with an inspiring keynote speech from John Viera from Ford Motor Company. Mr. Viera talked about the innovations going on at Ford and in the state of Michigan. Ford is taking responsibility for the way they run their operations, but also the way they interact with the community. Ford is looking at everything from recycling to human rights to using water and other natural resources sustainably. By the end of his key note, the tone had been set -- sustainability encompasses everything we do as individuals or as a corporation.

The conference was then broken up into “tracks” which addressed different topics relating to sustainability issues. The first session I attended was titled: The Intersection of Information Technology and Energy Efficiency. Most interesting, were SmartGrids and outsourcing data storage to servers like the “clouds” offered by companies such as Amazon and Apple. Clouds are also available for businesses. One of the major concerns with both types of innovation is privacy. All the panelists stressed that these companies recognize the implications for their reputation if privacy is breached. A yet unanswered concern involves: who owns the data?

As David Gold from Clean Technology Investments discussed, there has been a marked pull-back in investment in renewable and clean technologies since the economic downturn in 2008. Mr. Deora, however, pointed to some of the efforts currently taking place in Colorado. Specifically, he highlighted the focus on transportation fuels, such as compressed natural gas, identifying and overcoming market challenges to facilitate public-private partnerships for project financing, and the development of the Innovation Resource Portal – which is sort of a one-stop-shop for problem solving and identifying gaps in the energy market.

The next session was on the Future of Water. One of the most important aspects of sustainability was discussed during this hour: the collision of food, energy, and water. Agriculture uses about 80% of our water here in Colorado and globally around 70%. But some studies have shown we may have a 40% global shortfall in water by as early as 2030. Our public water policy needs to catch up to reality. There is a nexus between food, energy, and water and this lies at the core of our ability to achieve global sustainability.

The fourth session I attended addressed Green Jobs in the Colorado Economy. There was a lively debate on how to define a “green job.” The liveliness was certainly due to the presence of Hunter Lovins from Natural Capitalism Solutions and her outspoken opinions on how we go about creating green jobs in our local economy. She was a staunch supporter of implementing renewable energy with Colorado and convincingly argued that companies who focus on sustainability are more profitable.

The final session of the day that I attended was perhaps the most interesting. Aaron Dignan, CEO of Undercurrent and author of the book Game Frame gave an innovative and groundbreaking talk about “Gamification.” Mr. Dignan posed the question: why do we show increased focus and concentration when playing a video game or filling out an NCAA bracket, but go through the motions and suffer from a lack of motivation in real life? He argues that games offer structure and satisfaction that we don’t get in our real life experiences. If businesses can find ways to create these qualities, employees would be able to focus on their work in much the same way they obsess with Angry Birds or Call of Duty. The result would be a revolution in the way we think about real life and the common tasks that are completely unfulfilling in work or everyday life.

The day ended with good beer, tasty snacks and plenty of opportunities for networking and mingling outside the conference rooms. I’ve certainly come away from this conference more educated on some of our most pressing issues regarding sustainability efforts. And I met plenty of smart, dedicated, and innovative people along the way.

Alvaro Ordonez, Denver Law LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law Graduate, Involved in Major Ecuadorian Mining Contract

Undersecretary of State for Ecuador Alvaro Ordonez was involved in negotiating the first large scale mining contract in Ecuador.

Mr. Ordonez, an Ecuadorian attorney, is a 2009 graduate from Denver Law's Environmental and Natural Resources Law LLM program.

Wilson Pastor, the Ecuadorian government's Nonrenewable Resources Minister, said, "With this project Ecuador will be the world leader in terms of how much revenue it will be obtaining," Mining.com reported.

The agreement was signed between Ecuacorriente, a Chinese-based firm, and Ecuador.

Don Smith, Director of the Denver Law program, said, "All of us in Denver were thrilled to learn about Alvaro's role in helping his native country establish its first major mining deal. This agreement seems likely to benefit Ecuador and enhance its status as a key location for the production of natural resources."

Lucy Daberkow, Administrative Director of the LLM program, said, "Everyone associated with Denver Law is proud of the accomplishments in which Alvaro is involved. When Alvaro studied in Denver he often talked about his love of his country. Now he is in a position to put what he learned here to work for the benefit of all Ecuadorians."

Denver Law to Host Discussion on State and Municipal Regulation of Oil and Gas Development: Who Sets the Standards in Colorado?

Join the Environmental and Natural Resources Law program at the Sturm College of Law for an opportunity to expand your knowledge of oil and gas regulations.

This exciting opportunity, which is open to the public, is the second of four events sponsored by Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in conjunction with the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program.

The event takes place on April 12 in Room 165 from 3 to 4:30 PM. There will be a reception afterwards.

Panel members will discuss recent steps taken by cities and counties in Colorado to regulare oil and gas exploration. They will examaine the legal question whether regulation by cities and counties, as contrasted to state regulation of this activity, is wise policy adbn wehther it is permitted by the state's constitiution.

Complimentary parking will be available in Lot L. Two (2) CLE credits have been approved.

Please, join us for an afternoon of education and socialization. However, if you are unable to join us in person, you may participate online via the webinar. If you decide to join us for this event, you will need to RSVP. Follow the links to register for the Live Event and Webinar respectively.

Angelica Oman
Graduate Program Assistant

Three International Mining Law Professionals With Links to Denver Law to Teach in Prestigious Mining Law Program in Lima, Peru

Three individuals associated with Denver Law's Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program will be among the acclaimed faculty presenting at the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation's upcoming Short Course on International Mining Law, to be held in Lima, Peru, in June.

Two mining law practitioners who have taught as adjunct professors at Denver Law -- Luis Carlos Rodrigo of Lima and Paul Schlauch of Denver -- along with Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy LLM graduate and now prominent Chilean mining lawyer Daniel Altikes of Santiago, Chile, will lecture on various subjects related to international mining law.

Don C. Smith, Director of Denver Law's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, said, "The caliber of our program at Denver Law can be seen in the fact that three of the leading mining law professionals in the Western Hemisphere, all of whom have connections to DU, are participating in this important mining course in Lima. This speaks volumes about the types of adjunct professors and students our program attracts."

More information about the event can be found by clicking here.