Boston College Law Review Volume 60 | Issue 1 Article 9 1-29-2019 A Dirty Waste—How Renewable Energy Policies Have Financed the Unsustainable Waste-to-Energy Industry Hale McAnulty Boston College Law School,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr Part of the Administrative Law Commons, Energy and Utilities Law Commons, Environmental Law Commons, and the Natural Resources Law Commons Recommended Citation Hale McAnulty, A Dirty Waste—How Renewable Energy Policies Have Financed the Unsustainable Waste-to-Energy Industry, 60 B.C.L. Rev. 385 (2019), https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr/vol60/iss1/9 This Notes is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A DIRTY WASTE—HOW RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICIES HAVE FINANCED THE UNSUSTAINABLE WASTE-TO-ENERGY INDUSTRY Abstract: The end of the 20th Century saw a major shift in the United States’ approach to energy policy. After decades focused on fossil fuel production, the country began to realize that renewable sources of energy were the way of the future. Motivated by environmental concerns and a realization that oil is a fi- nite resource, the federal government and local governments began adopting economic policies that rewarded investment in and production of renewable, clean technology. Governments relied on both mandates and tax incentives to encourage the use of energy from sources like solar and wind power.