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108 Law Libr. J. 301 (2016)
Climate Change Litigation: Regulatory Pathways to Cleaner Energy

handle is hein.journals/llj108 and id is 295 raw text is: KEEPING UP WITH NEW LEGAL TITLES provenance and accuracy), the outputs (data and predictions), or the intermediate decisions used to reach those particular predictions. ¶78 Pasquale also convincingly demonstrates why the black boxes need to be inspected, showing how biases and inaccuracies can become embedded in algo- rithms. Pasquale's explanations give readers ample reason to be skeptical of deci- sions or factual assertions generated by proprietary algorithms. He importantly points out that data are not inherently neutral or objective; they can be based on biased sources. Data can also be corrupted, of unknown or untrustworthy prove- nance, or just impossible to meaningfully generalize. Scientific methodologies are commonly misapplied to social situations, producing predictions of dubious value. All of these factors can combine to create some potentially shoddy algorithmic outputs. 179 Pasquale's masterful explanation is evenhanded and never tendentious, but is coupled throughout with impassioned and well-reasoned arguments for opening the black boxes and making the algorithms intelligible in the name of corporate accountability. The closing chapters offer proposals for building a transparent and intelligible society: regulating important information and finance infrastructure like public utilities, individual data rights, data provenance standards, data use regulation, and hiring private-sector expertise to oversee complex regulatory com- pliance. He makes a strong case for a paradigm shift in our fundamental informa- tion economy, suggesting intriguing public alternatives to private information and finance infrastructures, and new ways for these important industries to better fur- ther the public good. The Black Box Society is a first-rate work of synthesis, combin- ing ideas from law and economics, interpretive social science, science studies, and the philosophy of technology into an essential study of the political economy of information. Peel, Jacqueline, and Hari M. Osofsky. Climate Change Litigation: Regulatory Path- ways to Cleaner Energy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. 376p. $99. Reviewed by Mark Popielarski* 980 Concerns regarding carbon emissions and their potential impact on global temperatures, the ecosystem, and the planet's continued habitability have spurred a significant increase in efforts by politicians, diplomats, business entities, and activ- ists to tackle this issue through many different approaches, including treaties, stat- utes, regulations, and public education. Climate Change Litigation: Regulatory Pathways to Cleaner Energy explores how environmentalists may use a country's domestic court system to change existing laws or influence policy decisions. While this approach is not commonly used in most countries where other mechanisms provide more effective approaches for changing domestic climate-related laws, Jacqueline Peel and Hari M. Osofsky focus their research and discussion on two major fossil fuel and carbon-producing countries that have witnessed significant efforts to alter existing laws through litigation: the United States and Australia. * @ Mark Popielarski, 2016. Research/Reference Law Librarian, Westminster Law Library, University of Denver Strum College of Law, Denver, Colorado. Vol. to8:2 [2016-131 301

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