Environmental Law
This course offers a basic examination of the rapidly growing body of law concerned with interrelationships between human activities and the larger environment. It addresses rationales for environmental protection; risk assessment and priorities; the attributes of markets and of governments policies; choice of policy instruments for environmental protection; the roles of different branches and levels of government, and of non-governmental actors; interplay of scientific, economic, social and other factors in development and consequences of environmental law. These topics are analyzed in the contexts of common law and statutory law regimes for air, water, hazardous waste and toxics, resource use, and biodiversity and ecosystems. The focus is on U.S. legal system, with some illustrations from foreign, international and global contexts.
Please note that course organization and content may vary substantially from semester to semester and descriptions are not necessarily professor specific. Please contact the instructor directly if you have particular course-related questions.