Cumberland School of Law's Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics
Encyclopedia
The Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics is a bioethics
, biotechnology
, and biotechnology law research center of Cumberland School of Law
located on the Samford University
campus in Birmingham
, Alabama
. It is one of the few research centers of its kind at a United States law school, and, in conjunction with the Cumberland Law Review
, the Center publishes an annual journal of scholarly works, which circulates in the United States and foreign countries.
The center was founded in December 2003 by David M. Smolin
, who serves as its director.
The Center focuses its research and conferences on the ethical and legal implications of biotechnology
and biotechnology law, rather than pursuing a general emphasis on the subject of bioethics
or bioethics law like many other academic research centers. Its location within Birmingham places it in an emerging center for biotechnology research and commerce. Of primary importance for the Center, however, is generating law review
articles on emerging biotechnology issues, which is often done as part of a conference speakers' presentation.
and biotechnology law, as well as how different ideologies answer, or if they even can answer, different bioethical issues. The Center's approach to bioethical research attempts to understand "multiple perspectives" and evaluate the validity of each.
The Center has sponsored five conferences that have dealt with the United States health care system, research on children, biofuels, genetically modified foods, and whether the field of bioethics and its methodology
can provide actual answers to ethical questions or merely the opinions of ethicists.
. The symposia attempt to offer a broad range of views and seek factual, persuasive solutions to problems, rather than to generate opinionated debates.
Speakers have included U.S. Congressman Artur Davis
, atmospheric scientist John Christy
, medical ethics expert Gregory Pence
, Vermont Law School's environmental center director Michael Dworkin, John Nyman, Larry Palmer, and law professors, entrepreneurs and other experts. Speakers often publish a paper in the Cumberland Law Review
that develops the theme of their presentation. Many of the articles are available online.
and India
. "In China, approximately ten percent of females have disappeared from the population at birth in last generation alone. Similarly, about five percent of female are "missing" from India's population. Collectively, this indicates a loss of tens of millions of Chinese and Indian females which creates significant socioeconomic complications. The sex-ratio imbalances in China and India have grown worse despite successful economic development and pressures toward cultural modernization. Scholarship on "the missing girls" of China and India has been increasingly successful in documenting and identifying some of the most direct causes. The purpose of this symposium is to gather and urge a group of the leading scholars to discuss remedies to the problem of missing girls."
This Conference was hosted on February 27, 2009 and its stated purpose was that: "The public in the United States and throughout much of the world has become keenly aware of the limitations of continued reliance on petroleum-based fuels. Concerns over diminishing supplies, growing demand, price instabilities, environmental impacts, international competition for limited resources, energy security, and the costs of foreign involvement necessitated by our “addiction to oil” have created an imperative toward renewable energy. Yet, some view the United States’ first major venture into renewable fuels, corn-based ethanol, as a failure that has contributed to higher food prices and brings little overall environmental or supply gain. Political and popular rhetoric suggests that a technological fix
, in forms such as second-generation biofuels, fuel cells, electric cars, or a hydrogen economy
are just around the corner, and yet most estimates posit that petroleum based fuels will predominate for at least several more decades. President Barack Obama has promised a new and different energy policy. This conference, taking place a little more than month into the new administration, will look at the possibilities for transportation energy policy both for the United States and other nations. Upon examination, government has a limited set of tools it can use to promote a transition to renewable energy and promote energy conservation/efficiency. Options include subsidies or tax credits for renewable energy, taxing carbon-based energy, funding research, promoting/funding/designing for mass transit, renewable fuel standards, CAFÉ-fuel efficiency standards, and mandating that energy efficient/alternative energy cars be built in exchange for financial help for the car industry. These issues of supply, demand, price, security, nationalism, and environment occur within an interdependent world. Hence, this conference will look beyond the United States to transportation energy policy throughout the world."
This Conference was hosted on Thursday February 22, 2007 at Cumberland School of Law
. The keynote speaker of the Conference was United States Representative Artur Davis
(D) who spoke about the need for change in the current health care delivery system in the United States. His speech was delivered in part as a presentation of the Thurgood Marshall Lecture series sponsored by the Black Law Students Association at Cumberland.
The sponsors for the Symposium included the Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics, Cumberland Law School, Samford University
, the Cumberland Law Review
, and Cumberland Law School's Chapter of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
The five panels were:
This Conference was hosted on Monday, February 10, 2006 at Cumberland School of Law
. The speakers and publications analyzed global energy policy, climate change
and the role of biofuels as a supplement to the petroleum-based economy in both the utility and transportation sectors. Host professor David Smolin stated that "[r]aising awareness of what's happening with traditional and alternative energy sources can help us as a society make more informed choices."
It included six panels and two question and answer sessions. The panels were:
The participants were:
The Brochure for the Conference may be viewed at:
and analyzed how secular and religious methodologies answered the previously mentioned bioethical dilemmas. The impetus for the Conference sprang from three common criticisms of the field of Bioethics
that "1) basic principles of bioethics
are vague and indeterminate, and provide no real answers to bioethics
dilemmas...2) there is no real expertise in the field but merely the subjective answers of individual bioethicists and...3) that the mainstream bioethics
field has some of the "wrong" answers to basic bioethical dilemmas..."
The Conference was sponsored by Cumberland School of Law's Center for Bioetechnology, Law and Ethics, the Cumberland Law Review
and Cumberland School of Law
.
It included three panels:
The participants were:
.
Sponsors were Cumberland Law School's Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics, the Cumberland Law Review
and the Center for Ethics & Values in the Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
. The Conference analyzed the impact of the production and use of genetically modified foods.
It included six panels:
The participants were:
, and the University of Alabama School of Medicine Division of Continuing Medical Education.
The Conference analyzed the ethical implications of research on children. There were four panels at the conference:
The Children's research brochure may be viewed at:
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
, biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
, and biotechnology law research center of Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
located on the Samford University
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
campus in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. It is one of the few research centers of its kind at a United States law school, and, in conjunction with the Cumberland Law Review
Cumberland Law Review
The Cumberland Law Review is a law review published by the students at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.Founded in 1970, the Review publishes three issues a year, with each issue averaging between 150 and 200 pages. Each issue consists of any combination of tributes, articles,...
, the Center publishes an annual journal of scholarly works, which circulates in the United States and foreign countries.
The center was founded in December 2003 by David M. Smolin
David M. Smolin
David Mark Smolin is a professor of law at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he is the Harwell G...
, who serves as its director.
The Center focuses its research and conferences on the ethical and legal implications of biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
and biotechnology law, rather than pursuing a general emphasis on the subject of bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
or bioethics law like many other academic research centers. Its location within Birmingham places it in an emerging center for biotechnology research and commerce. Of primary importance for the Center, however, is generating law review
Law review
A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school or through a bar association...
articles on emerging biotechnology issues, which is often done as part of a conference speakers' presentation.
Methodology and purpose
Research focuses on understanding current bioethical issues related to biotechnologyBiotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
and biotechnology law, as well as how different ideologies answer, or if they even can answer, different bioethical issues. The Center's approach to bioethical research attempts to understand "multiple perspectives" and evaluate the validity of each.
The Center has sponsored five conferences that have dealt with the United States health care system, research on children, biofuels, genetically modified foods, and whether the field of bioethics and its methodology
Methodology
Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
can provide actual answers to ethical questions or merely the opinions of ethicists.
Annual symposium
The center hosts an annual Symposium at which experts give presentations on bioethical issues. The papers are published in the Cumberland Law ReviewCumberland Law Review
The Cumberland Law Review is a law review published by the students at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.Founded in 1970, the Review publishes three issues a year, with each issue averaging between 150 and 200 pages. Each issue consists of any combination of tributes, articles,...
. The symposia attempt to offer a broad range of views and seek factual, persuasive solutions to problems, rather than to generate opinionated debates.
Speakers have included U.S. Congressman Artur Davis
Artur Davis
Artur Genestre Davis is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for , serving from 2003 to 2011 when he was succeeded by Terri Sewell, also a member of the Democratic Party....
, atmospheric scientist John Christy
John Christy
John R. Christy is a climate scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville whose chief interests are satellite remote sensing of global climate and global climate change. He is best known, jointly with Roy Spencer, for the first successful development of a satellite temperature...
, medical ethics expert Gregory Pence
Gregory Pence
Gregory E. Pence is a professor in the department of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is an expert in the field of medical ethics who has written several books and has testified before the United States Congress and the California Senate about cloning and reproductive...
, Vermont Law School's environmental center director Michael Dworkin, John Nyman, Larry Palmer, and law professors, entrepreneurs and other experts. Speakers often publish a paper in the Cumberland Law Review
Cumberland Law Review
The Cumberland Law Review is a law review published by the students at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.Founded in 1970, the Review publishes three issues a year, with each issue averaging between 150 and 200 pages. Each issue consists of any combination of tributes, articles,...
that develops the theme of their presentation. Many of the articles are available online.
Topics
- Feb. 26, 2010 - The Missing Girls of ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
: What Can Be Done?
- Feb., 2009 - Transportation Energy PolicyEnergy policyEnergy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption...
in National and Global Perspective: a New Beginning?
- Feb., 2008 - Child launderingChild launderingChild laundering is the stealing and selling of children to adopting parents under false pretenses. Often the adoption agency or adoption facilitator hides or falsifies the child's origin to make the child appear to be a legitimate orphan by manipulating birth certificates, intake records, or...
and international adoptionInternational adoptionInternational adoption is a type of adoption in which an individual or couple becomes the legal and permanent parents of a child that is a national of a different country...
- "The Baby Market
- Feb., 2007 - The United States Health Care System: Access, Equity, and Efficiency
- Feb., 2006 - Biofuels and the New Energy Economy
- Mar., 2005 - BioethicsBioethicsBioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
MethodologyMethodologyMethodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
- Does the Field of Bioethics Provide Answers or Expertise? - An Exploration of Secular and Religious Methodologies
- Mar., 2004 - Genetically Modified Foods - National and Global Implications of Genetically Modified Organisms: Law, Ethics & Science.
- Mar., 2003 - The Ethical and Legal Issues in Research with Children
Scholarly output
The following are a selection of articles generated by the Center, which are available on-line. For a complete list refer to the Cumberland Law Review:- Christy, J.R., 2006: The ever-changing climate system, Cumberland Law Review, 36 No. 3, 493-504
- Dolgin, Janet, Method, Mediations, and the Moral Dimensions of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, Cumberland Law Review, 35 No. 3
- Nelson, L.Jack, Catholic Bioethics and the Case of Terry Schiavo, Cumberland Law Review, 35 No. 3
- Rabago, Karl, A Strategy For Developing Stationary Biodiesel Generation, Cumberland Law Review, 36 No. 3
- Shepherd, Lois, Shattering the Neutral Surrogate Myth in End of Life Decisionmaking: Terry Schiavo and Her Family Cumberland Law Review, 35 No. 3
- Smolin, David, Does Bioethics Provide Answers? Secular and Religious Bioethics and Our Procreative Futures, Cumberland Law Review, 35 No. 3
- Smolin, David, Nontherapeutic Research with Children: The Virtues and Vices of Legal Uncertainty, 33 Cumberland Law Review 621 (2003).
- Smolin, Michael, Challenges and Opportunities for Energy Alternatives for Transportation in the United States, Cumberland Law Review, 36 No. 3
- Tomain, Joseph, Smart Energy Path: How Willie Nelson Saved The Planet, Cumberland Law Review, 36 No. 3
- Weaver, Jacqueline, The Traditional Petroleum-Based Economy: An “Eventful” Future Cumberland Law Review, 36 No. 3
Missing Girls of China and India, 2010
This Conference is being held on February 26,2010 at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama to discuss the causes and socio-economic impact of "missing girls" in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. "In China, approximately ten percent of females have disappeared from the population at birth in last generation alone. Similarly, about five percent of female are "missing" from India's population. Collectively, this indicates a loss of tens of millions of Chinese and Indian females which creates significant socioeconomic complications. The sex-ratio imbalances in China and India have grown worse despite successful economic development and pressures toward cultural modernization. Scholarship on "the missing girls" of China and India has been increasingly successful in documenting and identifying some of the most direct causes. The purpose of this symposium is to gather and urge a group of the leading scholars to discuss remedies to the problem of missing girls."
- Overview - Valerie Hudson, Brigham Young University
- India - Sunil Khanna, Oregon State University
- China - Susan Greenhalgh and Wang Feng, University of California-Irvine
Transportation Energy Policy, 2009
Technological fix
A technological fix or technical fix refers to an engineering or technical solution to a problem caused by human nature. Frequently the solution is an impractical and/or humorous proposal such as the Internet Protocol Evil bit or the "suitable application of high explosives" to interpersonal problems...
, in forms such as second-generation biofuels, fuel cells, electric cars, or a hydrogen economy
Hydrogen economy
The hydrogen economy is a proposed system of delivering energy using hydrogen. The term hydrogen economy was coined by John Bockris during a talk he gave in 1970 at General Motors Technical Center....
are just around the corner, and yet most estimates posit that petroleum based fuels will predominate for at least several more decades. President Barack Obama has promised a new and different energy policy. This conference, taking place a little more than month into the new administration, will look at the possibilities for transportation energy policy both for the United States and other nations. Upon examination, government has a limited set of tools it can use to promote a transition to renewable energy and promote energy conservation/efficiency. Options include subsidies or tax credits for renewable energy, taxing carbon-based energy, funding research, promoting/funding/designing for mass transit, renewable fuel standards, CAFÉ-fuel efficiency standards, and mandating that energy efficient/alternative energy cars be built in exchange for financial help for the car industry. These issues of supply, demand, price, security, nationalism, and environment occur within an interdependent world. Hence, this conference will look beyond the United States to transportation energy policy throughout the world."
- Energy Futures - Professor Lakshman GuruswamyEnergy and Environmental Security Initiative (EESI)Established in 2003, the Energy and Environmental Security Initiative is an interdisciplinary Research & Policy Institute located at the University of Colorado Law School. The fundamental mission of EESI is to serve as an interdisciplinary research and policy center concerning the development and...
, University of Colorado Law School - United States Energy Policy - Professor Joshua Fershee, University of North Dakota School of LawUniversity of North Dakota School of LawThe University of North Dakota School of Law is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota at the University of North Dakota and is the only law school in the state of North Dakota. Established in 1899, the law school is home to approximately 235 students and has more than 3,000 alumni...
- India’s Energy Future Professor Deepa Badrinarayana, Chapman University School of LawChapman University School of LawChapman University School of Law, commonly referred to as Chapman Law or Chapman Law School, is a private, non-profit law school located in Orange, California. The school offers the Juris Doctor degree , combined programs offering a JD/MBA and JD/MFA in Film & Television Producing, and LL.M...
- Human Rights, Human Development, and Energy - Professor David Smolin, Cumberland School of Law, Samford UniversitySamford UniversitySamford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
(focusing on the need to pursue low cost energy primarily because it is a human rights issue) - Point/Counterpoint - Professor David Smolin (Cumberland/Samford) will moderate a discussion among all conference participants, inviting discussion by both conference participants and audience, on the hard questions and difficult choices facing both the United States and other nations in regard to transportation energy policy.
The Baby Market, 2008
The speakers for this event were:- Michele Goodwin - visiting professor at University of Chicago Law School, chair-elect of the Association of American Law SchoolsAssociation of American Law SchoolsThe Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...
section on law and medicine, and a fellow of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. - Judith Daar - California law professor and clinical professor of medicine , "Progress and Pitfalls in Emerging Reproductive Technologies";
- Gregory PenceGregory PenceGregory E. Pence is a professor in the department of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is an expert in the field of medical ethics who has written several books and has testified before the United States Congress and the California Senate about cloning and reproductive...
- University of Alabama at Birmingham philosophy professor and medical ethics specialist , "The Case for Non-Regulation"; - David M. SmolinDavid M. SmolinDavid Mark Smolin is a professor of law at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he is the Harwell G...
- Cumberland professor and international children's issues specialist , "Money, Markets and Intercountry Adoption." Smolin is director of the Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics. - Arun Dohle - live commentary on a Danish public television documentary, "A Baby Business." Dohle was an adult adoptee and specialist on adoption corruption issues in India, was a consultant on the documentary.
Health Care Access, Equity, and Efficiency, 2007
Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
. The keynote speaker of the Conference was United States Representative Artur Davis
Artur Davis
Artur Genestre Davis is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for , serving from 2003 to 2011 when he was succeeded by Terri Sewell, also a member of the Democratic Party....
(D) who spoke about the need for change in the current health care delivery system in the United States. His speech was delivered in part as a presentation of the Thurgood Marshall Lecture series sponsored by the Black Law Students Association at Cumberland.
The sponsors for the Symposium included the Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics, Cumberland Law School, Samford University
Samford University
Samford University, founded as Howard College is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the , Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V....
, the Cumberland Law Review
Cumberland Law Review
The Cumberland Law Review is a law review published by the students at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.Founded in 1970, the Review publishes three issues a year, with each issue averaging between 150 and 200 pages. Each issue consists of any combination of tributes, articles,...
, and Cumberland Law School's Chapter of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
The five panels were:
- Overview - L.Jack Nelson of Cumberland School of LawCumberland School of LawCumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
- Equity is Efficient - John NymanJohn NymanJohn Nyman age 69 was a Swedish wrestler who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics.In 1936 he won the silver medal in the Greco-Roman heavyweight competition.-External links:*...
, Professor of EconomicsEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, University of MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557... - A Thurgood MarshallThurgood MarshallThurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
Lecture - U.S. Representative Artur DavisArtur DavisArtur Genestre Davis is a former member of the United States House of Representatives for , serving from 2003 to 2011 when he was succeeded by Terri Sewell, also a member of the Democratic Party....
(D) - Health Care Disparities: Race and Poverty - Dr. Camara Jones, CDCCenters for Disease Control and PreventionThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
, and Sidney D. Watson, Professor of Law, Saint Louis University School of LawSaint Louis University School of LawSaint Louis University School of Law , also known as SLU LAW, is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the professional graduate schools of Saint Louis University. Opened in 1843, it is the first law school west of the Mississippi River. The school has been ABA... - Solutions - John V. Jacobi, Professor of Law, Seton Hall Law School, and Dr. Robert Ohsfeldt, Professor, Texas A&MTexas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
School of Rural Public Health.
Biofuels and the New Energy Economy, 2006
Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
. The speakers and publications analyzed global energy policy, climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and the role of biofuels as a supplement to the petroleum-based economy in both the utility and transportation sectors. Host professor David Smolin stated that "[r]aising awareness of what's happening with traditional and alternative energy sources can help us as a society make more informed choices."
It included six panels and two question and answer sessions. The panels were:
- The Traditional Energy Economy;
- Energy Policy: A Human RightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
Perspective; - Global Climate Change and Energy Policy;
- National SecurityNational securityNational security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
, Cost and Environmental Analysis of BioenergyBioenergyBioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may include wood, wood waste, straw, manure, sugarcane, and many other byproducts from a variety of...
; - A Strategy for Developing Stationary BiodieselBiodieselBiodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
Electric Generation, Challenges; and - Opportunities in Developing BioenergyBioenergyBioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may include wood, wood waste, straw, manure, sugarcane, and many other byproducts from a variety of...
Alternatives.
The participants were:
- John ChristyJohn ChristyJohn R. Christy is a climate scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville whose chief interests are satellite remote sensing of global climate and global climate change. He is best known, jointly with Roy Spencer, for the first successful development of a satellite temperature...
of the University of Alabama in HuntsvilleUniversity of Alabama in HuntsvilleThe University of Alabama in Huntsville is a state-supported, public, coeducational research university, located in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees, and is organized in five...
, - Michael Dworkin, director of Vermont Law SchoolVermont Law SchoolVermont Law School is a private, American Bar Association accredited law school located in South Royalton, Vermont . The Law School has one of the United States' leading programs in environmental law, and the Law School is currently ranked #1 in Environmental Law by U.S...
's Institute for Energy and the Environment, - Karl R. Rabago, president of Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association,
- David M. SmolinDavid M. SmolinDavid Mark Smolin is a professor of law at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he is the Harwell G...
, director of Cumberland Law School's Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics, - Michael J. Smolin, PE, principal of EXL Group, LLC, and
- Jacqueline Lang Weaver, professor at the University of Houston Law CenterUniversity of Houston Law CenterThe University of Houston Law Center is a law school located in Houston, Texas. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1947, the Law Center is one of 12 academic colleges of the University of Houston...
.
The Brochure for the Conference may be viewed at:
Bioethics Methodology, 2005
This Conference was hosted on Monday, March 14, 2005 at Cumberland School of LawCumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
and analyzed how secular and religious methodologies answered the previously mentioned bioethical dilemmas. The impetus for the Conference sprang from three common criticisms of the field of Bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
that "1) basic principles of bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
are vague and indeterminate, and provide no real answers to bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
dilemmas...2) there is no real expertise in the field but merely the subjective answers of individual bioethicists and...3) that the mainstream bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
field has some of the "wrong" answers to basic bioethical dilemmas..."
The Conference was sponsored by Cumberland School of Law's Center for Bioetechnology, Law and Ethics, the Cumberland Law Review
Cumberland Law Review
The Cumberland Law Review is a law review published by the students at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.Founded in 1970, the Review publishes three issues a year, with each issue averaging between 150 and 200 pages. Each issue consists of any combination of tributes, articles,...
and Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
.
It included three panels:
- Alternative Reproduction Technologies,
- Death and Dying, and
- Children as Research Subjects - Grimes v. Kennedy Krieger Institute Inc., 366 Md. 29, 782 A.2d 807 (Md. 2001).
The participants were:
- Janet Dolgin, JD, law professor, Hofstra University School of LawHofstra University School of LawThe Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University is located in Hempstead, New York. Founded in 1970 and accredited by the ABA in 1971, the school offers a JD, a joint JD/MBA degree, and LL.M degrees in American Law and Family law...
- L. Jack Nelson III, JD, LLM, law professor, Cumberland School of LawCumberland School of LawCumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
- Larry I. Palmer, JD, Chair of Urban Health Policy at the University of LouisvilleUniversity of LouisvilleThe University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
- Lois Shepherd, JD, professor, Florida State University College of LawFlorida State University College of LawFlorida State University College of Law is the law school of Florida State University in Tallahassee. The law school's highly accomplished and accessible law faculty delivers a program that has an interdisciplinary orientation designed to produce well-rounded and effective lawyers.The law school...
and - David M. SmolinDavid M. SmolinDavid Mark Smolin is a professor of law at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he is the Harwell G...
, JD, of Director of the biotech center, law professor, Cumberland School of LawCumberland School of LawCumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
Genetically Modified Foods, 2004
This Conference was hosted on Monday, March 31, 2004 at the Bradley Lecure Center, Children's Harbor Building of the University of Alabama at BirminghamUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
.
Sponsors were Cumberland Law School's Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics, the Cumberland Law Review
Cumberland Law Review
The Cumberland Law Review is a law review published by the students at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.Founded in 1970, the Review publishes three issues a year, with each issue averaging between 150 and 200 pages. Each issue consists of any combination of tributes, articles,...
and the Center for Ethics & Values in the Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
. The Conference analyzed the impact of the production and use of genetically modified foods.
It included six panels:
- Four World viewWorld viewA comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
s on Genetically Modified FoodGenetically modified foodGenetically modified foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms . Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques...
, or GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
versus Monsanto Company, - Genomics-Guided Agricultural Biotechnology: Seeking a Less Politically Volatile Approach to GMO Development,
- GMOs as an International Trade Issue: Using the World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
to Resolve an International Public Policy Conflict, - Can GMOs Help Developing Countries in their Quest for Food Security?,
- The Promise and Peril of GM Agriculture in the Developing World: What Will Become of Traditional Agriculture Knowledge?, and
- Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, as a Case Study in Perspectives on GMOs.
The participants were:
- David E. Adelman, J.D., Ph.d. of the James E. Rogers College of LawJames E. Rogers College of LawJames E. Rogers College of Law is the law school at the University of Arizona located in Tucson, Arizona and was the first law school founded in the State of Arizona, opening its doors in 1915. Formerly known as University of Arizona College of Law, it was renamed in 1999 in honor of noted...
at the University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, - Marsha Echols, J.D., LL.M., J.S.D., of Howard UniversityHoward UniversityHoward University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
School of Law, - Charles R. McManis, J.D., of the Washington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
School of Law, - Gregory PenceGregory PenceGregory E. Pence is a professor in the department of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is an expert in the field of medical ethics who has written several books and has testified before the United States Congress and the California Senate about cloning and reproductive...
, Ph. D. of the University of Alabama at BirminghamUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamThe University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
, - C.S. Prakash, Ph. D., of the Tuskegee UniversityTuskegee UniversityTuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
, - David M. SmolinDavid M. SmolinDavid Mark Smolin is a professor of law at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he is the Harwell G...
, J.D, of Cumberland School of LawCumberland School of LawCumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
, and - Elizabeth Bowles, J.D. candidate, of Cumberland School of LawCumberland School of LawCumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
.
Research with Children, 2003
This conference was hosted on March 21, 2003 by the Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics, the Center for Ethics and Values in the Sciences at the University of Alabama at BirminghamUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
, and the University of Alabama School of Medicine Division of Continuing Medical Education.
The Conference analyzed the ethical implications of research on children. There were four panels at the conference:
- The Ethical Basis of the Pediatric Research Regulations - Robert Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of the Committees for the Protection of Human Subjects at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
- The Legal Basis for Pediatric Research: Issues, Trends Cases - David Smolin, J.D.,
- Understanding the Role of Assent in Pediatric Research - Maureen Kelley, Ph.D., of the School of Public Health, UAB
- Factors Influencing Children’s Participation in Research - Marlon Broome, Ph.D., the FAAN Professor and Associate Dean for Research, School of Nursing, UAB.
The Children's research brochure may be viewed at:
Current and prior fellows
The following is a list of fellows who have served the Center:- Holly Bennet (Class of 2005)
- Brian R. Mooney (Class of 2006)
- Jakarra Jones (Class of 2007)
- Jared Kerr (Class of 2008)
- Kelley Moyers (Class of 2008)
- David Rohwedder (Class of 2009)
Current and prior research associates
- John Bowles
- Kelli Hooper
- Kelley Moyers
- Steven Owens
- Kelly Ransom
School websites
- Cumberland Law Library biotech resources Samford Law Library
- Cumberland School of LawCumberland School of LawCumberland School of Law is an ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The 11th oldest law school in the United States, it is 160 years old and has more than 11,000 graduates. Its alumni include two United States Supreme Court Justices; Nobel Peace Prize recipient...
- wiki
- Cumberland Law ReviewCumberland Law ReviewThe Cumberland Law Review is a law review published by the students at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.Founded in 1970, the Review publishes three issues a year, with each issue averaging between 150 and 200 pages. Each issue consists of any combination of tributes, articles,...
- wiki
Conference information
- Biofuels Conference
- Children in Research conference
- Health Care conference
- Genetically Modified Foods conference