Environmental Law

2 Credit Hours

In this course, we will consider various legal regimes governing human relationships with the environment. We begin with longstanding principles of the common law and then expand to consider the major federal statutes that have come to dominate the field. Drawing on principles of ethics, ecology, economics, and the science of risk assessment, we will analyze the regulatory regimes governing air and water pollution, hazardous waste, and toxics. We will study some of the most hot-button issues in the field, including the range of possible responses to climate change, informational approaches to regulation, and the enforcement of environmental statutes through citizen suits. We will also learn the practical, problem-solving art of lawyering in this complex and fascinating field.