Erik Brandon Bluemel (March 2, 1977 – May 6, 2009) was an assistant professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a scholar in the fields of environmental law, indigenous peoples law, and global administrative law. He held a J.D. from New York University School of Law, an L.L.M. from Georgetown University Law Center, and a B.A. in political economy from the University of California-Berkeley. Professor Bluemel died from injuries sustained after a bicycle accident in the early morning on May 6, 2009.

Early life Bluemel was born on March 2, 1977, in Arcadia, California.

Prior legal employment

Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2008, he clerked for Barefoot Sanders in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and Kermit Edward Bye in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He also served as a staff attorney and teaching fellow at Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Public Representation, where he represented dozens of national and local groups on administrative, environmental, and public land law issues.

High-profile cases

Some of the higher profile cases he worked on while at the Institute for Public Representation included representing groups who challenged various aspects of the Intercounty Connector,Katherine Shaver, Agencies Accused of Wrongly Approving Md. Highway Study, Washington Post, Oct. 2, 2007Timothy B. Wheeler, Two Lawsuits Filed Against ICC; Actions Are Efforts to Block Building of the Highway in the D.C. Suburbs , Baltimore Sun, Dec. 21, 2006 groups who challenged the development of a wind farm in a corridor used by protected migratory birds,David Dishneau, Appeals Launched over Species Protection, Washington Post, Dec. 1, 2006 and groups seeking environmental restoration of Poplar Point, a portion of the Anacostia National Park,Marc Fisher, , Raw Fisher, Washington Post, June 24, 2008Jonathan O'Connell, Environmental Groups Plan to Sue D.C. over Poplar Point, Washington Business Journal, June 20, 2008 among other projects.

Courses taught

At the University of Denver, he taught Administrative Law, Environmental Law, and Indigenous Peoples in International Law. His research interests included environmental federalism, climate governance, global administrative law, identity-based social movements, and environmental rights.

Community service

He served on the United Nations Development Programme Task Force on Access and Benefit-Sharing and Traditional Knowledge, as a member of the board of directors of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, and as vice-chair of the New York County Lawyers' Association Environmental Law Committee. He was a member of the Commission on Environmental Law of the International Union on the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He also served as a member of the board of advisors for The Ocean Foundation, and as vice-president of the board of directors for Keystone Conservation.

Scholarship

His scholarship includes articles on the global warming regime complex,Erik B. Bluemel, Unraveling the Global Warming Regime Complex: Competitive Entropy in the Regulation of the Global Public Good, 155 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1981 (2007) regional greenhouse gas regulatory regimes in the United States,Erik B. Bluemel, Regional Regulatory Initiatives Addressing GHG Leakage in the USA, in CLIMATE CHANGE AND EUROPEAN EMISSIONS TRADING: LESSONS FOR THEORY AND PRACTICE (Michael Faure & Marjan Peeters, eds., 2008) regulation of alternative energies,Erik B. Bluemel, Biomass Energy: Ensuring Sustainability Through Conditioned Economic Incentives, 19 Geo. Int'l Envtl. L. Rev. 673 (2007) administrative law,Erik B. Bluemel, Overcoming NGO Accountability Concerns in International Governance, 31 Brooklyn J. Int'l L. 139 (2005) environmental rights,Erik B. Bluemel, The Implications of Formulating a Human Right to Water, 31 Ecology L.Q. 957 (2004) protection of sacred sites and cultural property,Erik B. Bluemel, Accommodating Native American Native American Cultural Activities on Federal Public Lands, 41 Idaho L. Rev. 475 (2005)Erik B. Bluemel, Prioritizing Multiple Uses on Public Lands After Bear Lodge, 32 B.C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 365 (2005) and indigenous peoples' participatory rights in international law,Erik B. Bluemel, Separating Instrumental from Intrinsic Rights: Toward an Understanding of Indigenous Participation in International Rule-Making, 30 Am. Indian L. Rev. 55 (2005–06)Erik B. Bluemel, Substance Without Process: Analyzing TRIPS Participatory Guarantees in Light of Protected Indigenous Rights, 86 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc'y 671 (2004) among other topics.Much of Erik Bluemel's scholarship is available online through his page on SSRN.

References

External links Profile