Articles

Revisiting myths and the Endangered Species Act

December 10, 2009 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton Earlier this month the Public Policy Institute of California issued a noteworthy paper on the Golden State's water crisis, California Water Myths.  The paper includes a brief discussion of the Endangered Species Act and whether this law and other policy concerns are really the "true villians" in t ...

Articles

The two big problems with the Indiana bat decision

December 23, 2009 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton In response to a federal court's decision to halt a West Virginia wind energy project due to the potential resulting harm the project may have on Indiana bats, the Baltimore Sun's Tim Wheeler asks what the ramifications of the court's decision will be for simlar projects in Maryland: "Will opponents of win ...

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Endangered Species Act, flawed federal court decision used to stop alternative energy project

January 06, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton Recall that last month a federal court halted a West Virginia wind energy project based on threats the project posed to the endangered Indiana bat. The court's decision was issued despite the facts that an Indiana bat had never been seen on the project site and that the bat caves of concern … ...

Articles

The Indiana bat decision : a dangerous precedent for alternative energy?

January 22, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton I have previously criticized a federal court's decision to halt a West Virginia wind energy project decision. The court's decision is seriously flawed, mainly because it failed to consider how small of an impact the wind project would have on the endangered Indiana bat species. Rather than focus on the health of & ...

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What's going on in Maryland?

January 28, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton Via the Washington Post, we learn of an incredible story, but sadly only the latest example of the needs of endangered species being placed well above the needs of humans: One hundred feet above the Chesapeake Bay, atop Calvert County's scenic cliffs, a battle rages between man and a tiny insect, the … ...

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Another wind energy project : so close, yet so far away

April 12, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton An apparent green light for an East Coast wind energy project: Constellation Energy has finalized its acquisition of a Garrett County wind project, closing a deal for the $140 million, 70-megawatt Criterion wind farm with California-based Clipper Windpower Inc. The project, now under construction, is scheduled to go online ...

Articles

Death by a thousand cuts

April 26, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton It's a wonder how small businesses tolerate today's regulatory landscape. In Virginia, it's taken more than a decade for a family to get permits necessary to provide Americans with wind energy. And yet the status of Highland New Wind Development's energy project is still uncertain, thanks in part to t ...

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Enviro groups continue to use flawed federal court decision to stop alternative energy projects

May 17, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton Environmental activists have once again used a flawed federal court decision in an attempt to forestall an alternative energy project on the East Coast. The Animal Welfare Institute and others claim that installation and operation of the Highland New Wind Development in Virginia will violate the Endangered Species Act by r ...

Articles

Alternative energy and the return of Indiana bat litigation

December 29, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton You may recall that around this time last year a federal court in Maryland issued a controversial decision to halt a wind energy project located in West Virginia.  The court felt the decision was necessary in order to protect endangered Indiana bats under the Endangered Species Act.  But as I explained on R ...