Green Building Law Update

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Tag Archives: Stuart Kaplow

Maryland Supreme Court Dismisses Landmark Climate Case Against Oil Companies

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, GHG, greenhouse gas
The Supreme Court of Maryland ruled last week, “[t]he question presented in this case is whether Maryland local governments may bring state common law tort claims against 26 multinational oil and gas companies to recover damages caused by global greenhouse gas emissions. We hold that they may not.” The Court went on to say, “.. … Continue Reading

Debunking Myths About Crumb Rubber on Playgrounds – What 100+ Studies Reveal

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental, recycling, Sustainability
Few issues illustrate the symbiosis of environmental stewardship and public health as clearly as recycled rubber, commonly known as crumb rubber, used in playground and athletic surfaces. Since its introduction in the 1970s, crumb rubber has been scrutinized, debated, and, at times, misunderstood. Today, the weight of scientific evidence provides a far more settled and … Continue Reading

From EV Mandates to Building Standards – California Lawsuit Could Limit State Climate Regulation

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Federal, GHG
The U.S. Department of Transportation filed a lawsuit last Thursday that may reshape the regulatory landscape not only for vehicles, but also climate policy, and even energy use across the country. Be assured, this litigation is about far more than only electric vehicles in California. The complaint, filed by the Justice Department on behalf of … Continue Reading

Tokenization – Real Estate Reinvented in the Funding of a Maldives Resort

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental
Real estate has long been characterized by friction: high minimum investments, illiquidity, opaque capital stacks, and access largely reserved for institutions. Tokenization challenges that paradigm. A new Maldives resort development provides a real world learning opportunity for how this financial architecture is evolving, and why it matters, including for environmental performance. In real estate, tokenization … Continue Reading

The Right to Bee – Peru’s Recognition of Legal Rights for Stingless Bees

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental
The Provincial Municipality of Satipo, Peru has approved Ordinance N° 33, declaring the rights of stingless bees including legal standing to sue if threatened or harmed. The bees within the territory of the Avireri-Vraem biosphere reserve that spans nearly 16,000 square miles (.. larger than the state of Maryland) from the Amazon rainforest to the … Continue Reading

Climate Change Chapter Omitted from Federal Courts Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, Environmental, GHG, greenhouse gas
On February 6, 2026, the Federal Judicial Center, the research and education arm of the federal judiciary, omitted (i.e., withdrew) a chapter from the newest edition of its reference manual on scientific evidence that addressed climate change. . The manual is a guide to help judges make unbiased determinations about scientific testimony, but in this … Continue Reading

Why Land Subsidence Matters More Than Sea Level Rise

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Environmental, resilience, Sustainability
When we talk about “sea level rise,” most people immediately think of melting polar ice and warming oceans. But along much of the United States’ Atlantic coast, especially in and around the Chesapeake Bay, that narrative only tells part of the story. Emerging science shows that land subsidence, the sinking or lowering of the land … Continue Reading

A More Efficacious Way to Measure Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Federal, GHG, greenhouse gas
As an environmental attorney who spends much of my time advising business owners, I have learned an immutable truth: markets work best when the rules are clear, fair, and grounded in reality. Environmental policy is no exception. Contrary to the prevailing narrative in popular media, the global business community has not uniformly shifted away from … Continue Reading

United States Sues Morgan Hill and Petaluma over All Electric Building Laws

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, Federal
On January 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the cities of Morgan Hill (Santa Clara County) and Petaluma (Sonoma County), California, challenging local ordinances that effectively ban natural gas infrastructure and gas powered appliances in new buildings. The complaint, docketed as Case 5:26-cv-00056 in the U.S. District Court for the … Continue Reading

WARNING: This Product Contains an Ingredient Not Recommended for Human Consumption …

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Environmental, State
Businesses across the country face a consequential legal and commercial crossroads as Texas Senate Bill 25, branded the Make Texas Healthy Again Act, thrusts state level food labeling regulation into uncharted constitutional and regulatory territory. The stakes are high: companies that manufacture, market, or sell food products may soon confront unprecedented warning requirements that could … Continue Reading

Microplastics – The Next Environmental Crisis We Can No Longer Ignore

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Environmental
For decades, environmental law has been built around visible harms: smokestacks, discharge pipes, landfills, and oil spills. We regulate what we can see. Microplastics represent the opposite problem, an environmental threat that is largely invisible, already ubiquitous, and increasingly understood to be biologically active. In many contemporary risk assessments, microplastics now rank among the top … Continue Reading

2025 Year in Review of Environmental Blog Posts

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Environmental, greenwashing, Legal, wind turbine
As 2025 draws to a close, environmental law once again proved to be less about ideology and more about adaptation. The environmental issues that resonated most this year, from political, cultural to economic, reflected in our Top 10 most read blog posts, were those that sat squarely at the intersection of regulation, innovation, and market … Continue Reading

Extended Producer Responsibility – A Rapidly Changing Environmental Landscape in Maryland and Elsewhere

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, recycling
Extended Producer Responsibility laws, often referred to simply as EPR, represent one of the most consequential shifts in U.S. environmental policy affecting businesses from manufacturers and multi family residential building owners to distributors and retailers. These laws fundamentally change who pays for, manages, and is accountable for the end of life of consumer product packaging, … Continue Reading

Reopening a 10 Year Old Bankruptcy for Environmental Claims to Bring Finality to CERCLA Liability

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Federal
Environmental and real estate practitioners spend a great deal of time counseling clients on how to avoid or allocate liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA a/k/a Superfund). For purchasers of property, the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is often the talisman performed to establish the innocent landowner or bona fide … Continue Reading

Federal Bank Regulators Withdraw Climate Mandates

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Climate Change, Codes and Regulations, Federal
On October 16, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency jointly “.. announced the withdrawal of their interagency Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions.” This is a positive and, frankly, refreshing development, a rare instance of government appropriately narrowing its … Continue Reading

From Boilerplate to Benchmarking: The New Era of Climate Smart Leases

By Stuart Kaplow on Posted in Codes and Regulations, Energy, GHG, Green Building, greenhouse gas
It would be convenient if this were only a prospective conversation about the leases you are about to sign. It isn’t. Tens of thousands of existing leases (many with long renewal terms) are for premises that are subject to greenhouse gas disclosure and reduction laws already on the books and now being phased into effect. … Continue Reading
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