Showing papers in "Golden Gate University Law Review in 2000"

Does the U.S. Government Realize that the Sea is Rising? How to Restructure Federal Programs so that Wetlands and Beaches Survive

Abstract: How far into the future does your responsibility extend? If our institutions are likely to protect the coastal environment for the next twenty to thirty years, but eliminate wetlands and beaches fifty to 200 years hence, do you say: “Not on my watch, not in my lifetime, not my problem.” Do we have a duty to take actions that would lead future generations to look back at us and say, “at the turn of the millenium, people were thinking of us. They made mistakes, but given what they knew, they did the right thing, and we are better off because they did.” Is the future something that we discount by three percent per year so that the next century is worth a few cents on the dollar? Does our re­ sponsibility extend for as long as the greenhouse gases that we release today are likely to stay in the atmosphere? 1