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52 Env't L. [i] (2022)

handle is hein.journals/envlnw52 and id is 1 raw text is: ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Lewis & Clark Law School VOLUME 52 WINTER 2022 NUMBER 1 ARTICLES How to Choose Between Environmentally Positive Actions When One of Those Actions Can Harm the Other: A Case Study of the Conflict Between the California Condor and Wind T u rbin es...................................................................................... 1 Hope Babcock This Article looks at the potential conflict between restoring endangered condors to the wild and installing wind turbines, an increasingly important source of renewable energy. The ideal terrain for each is the same as both are dependent on wind and require some degree of isolation from people. Yet, they cannot coexist in the same space without harm occurring to any condor that transects the sweep of a turbine's blades. This Article explores various approaches to resolving conflicts involving incommensurable choices. The author rejects approaches that rest on commonsense norms, like first come, first served, moral principles, or on political realities because they are ambiguous and contestable. Nor does the author find it helpful to compare the durability of a choice, the breadth of its public support, or the severity of the consequences of a wrong decision, as the choices become indistinguishable. This Article concludes that the ease of replacing a use should be the dominant factor. Here, the irreplaceability of the condor means that it should prevail in any conflict with wind turbines as there are other equally viable sources of renewable energy. However, steps must be taken to lessen the negative impact of protecting condors on the growth of the wind turbine industry to be sure it continues to grow. One way to do that is to implement positive initiatives to offset harms to the losing side The Nondelegation Cliffhanger: Implications of the Potential Doctrinal Shift on Environmental Law and the Role of Environmental Advocacy ........................................................... 25 Frederick A. McDonald