Environmental Law and Policy

United States' environmental laws and policies have grown in importance and complexity in response to our increased knowledge of the risks and challenges associated with our present trajectory. We are experiencing the stark challenge of shifting the cultural and economic drivers of unsustainable patterns of living on the land at a time of a deep ideological divide in our democratic institutions. This divide is interfering with the ability of our elected leaders to develop long-term, systemic strategies for change. On the other hand, we have a better societal understanding of the risks of failing to address the unsustainability of the ways that humans are currently living on our planet. In response, local, state, tribal, and national-level leaders are open to new policy approaches, giving rise to the opportunity for environmental professionals to participate in the development of improved systems. In this course, we explore the ways that the United States has made important progress in addressing many environmental problems through its laws and policies. However, this exploration also reveals that those solutions have tended to exist in isolation, not addressing or perhaps masking larger system declines that we can see in the form of climate change, loss of biodiversity, inequitable allocation of the benefits and burdens of environmental degradation, and permanent disruption to the ability of the land, air, and water to regenerate. The fact that these trends are not abating in response to the strategies employed over the past fifty years of the modern American environmental movement suggests a need to explore what has worked, what has not worked, and how we view our current challenges through an ecological lens in order to adjust our strategy in response to that knowledge. Students in this course explore the major areas of US environmental and natural resources law and policy, with a focus on the areas of water quality and quantity, biodiversity, hazardous waste and toxic substances, and land use. Students review examples that demonstrate the interplay of local, state, tribal, and federal governmental decision-making processes. In addition, students gain experience in reading case law, statutes, and regulations, as well as policy analyses. Finally, students are invited to bring their own personal and professional experiences to bear as we explore the importance of collaboration and interdisciplinary thinking to solve complex environmental issues.