Wednesday December 4, 2024
The Conversation —
In the 1993 movie “Jurassic Park,” Dr. Ian Malcolm, a fictional math genius specializing in chaos theory, explains the “butterfly effect,” which holds that tiny actions can lead to big outcomes. “A butterfly flaps its wings in Peking,” Malcolm posits, “and you get rain in Central Park instead of sunshine.”
What about when a federal agency flaps its wings? Should bureaucrats be required to think through the extended effects of decisions like funding a highway intersection or approving an offshore wind farm?
Congress opened the door to this question in 1969 when it passed the National Environmental Policy Act, known as NEPA. This law requires federal agencies to analyze the environmental effects of major proposed actions before making decisions.
On Dec. 10, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, the first major NEPA dispute before the court in 20 years. The Supreme Court’s ruling could significantly affect how NEPA applies going forward, especially with respect to climate change.