Page 8 - Green Builder Magazine Jan-Feb 2018 Issue

Green Building NEWS

The Latest on Sustainability and Renewable Energy

Environmental Lawyers Say

Natural Land Has Rights, Too

Green activists believe natural entities
like the Colorado River should be treated
as persons instead of property.

HE STATE OF COLORADO and its Governor are being
sued by the Colorado River. The lawsuit by Denver
lawyer Jason Flores-Williams and environmental group CREDIT: JEFFREY BEALL/FLICKR
Deep Green Resistance seeks personhood rights for the
T river, which Flores-Williams says is being “egregiously
overused,” as it supplies water to seven states. The suit also alleges the Natural wonder? Environmentalists say personhood rights must be
State “violated the river’s right to flourish” by polluting and draining established for the Colorado River to prevent its destruction—and
it, and threatening endangered species. serve as an example for future cases.
“If a corporation has rights, so too should an ancient waterway resource pollution or depletion. Future lawsuits might seek to block
that has sustained human life for as long as it has existed in the pipelines, golf courses or housing developments, Flores-Williams says.
Western United States,” the suit states. An additional goal is to “force If successful, the suit would be a first in the United States, but
humans to take better care of natural resources by creating a legal not unprecedented. Several nations have endowed similar status
consequence for inaction,” Flores-Williams says. on natural entities in an effort to preserve them, according to the
The suit could practically rewrite environmental law, possibly New York Times. Many legal experts consider the suit “ridiculous,”
allowing the redwood forests, the Rocky Mountains or the deserts but Harvard Environmental Law Director Jody Freeman believes it
of Nevada to sue individuals, corporations and governments over “has some merit, but faces a very uphill battle.”

EVs Slated for Huge Chunk of Auto Engine Market by 2030

Technology, changing costs and mandates are
expected to permanently knock fossil fuel-powered
vehicles off their perch.

YBRID AND FULLY ELECTRIC VEHICLES (EVs) are expected to
cut the global market share of pure internal combustion engines
(ICEs) by about 50 percent by 2030, according to new research CREDIT: WORKHORSE GROUP INC.
H by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The report attributes the market change to new technology, regulatory
mandates and consumer cost of ownership. BCG expects the transition to A future Workhorse. Electric trucks like the Workhorse W-15 are rolling
take place in three phases over the next dozen years. into the vehicular market and will be a common sight by 2030.
“ICEs will continue to be the dominant powertrain for the next several by incentivizing sales of non-ICEs.
years, at least through 2020, as the prices of EVs will remain high, even with After 2025, falling battery prices and rising consumer demand will drive
incentives,” the report states. “And, the payback period based on total cost rapidly increasing sales of all EVs, the report notes. “[EVs’] higher mileage
of ownership for consumers will be too long to be attractive.” will result in more-rapid payback of the investment,” study lead author Xavier
But as the industry moves into phase two, from approximately 2020 Mosquet says. “We expect pure ICEs to decline in share from 96 percent
to 2025, EVs will increase their share of market as original equipment globally today to about half of all vehicles around 2030.”
manufacturers meet tighter fleet-wide efficiency and emissions standards BCG’s report is available at http://bit.ly/2AzLwC5.

6 GREEN BUILDER January/February 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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