1. Introduction to the Course

Environmental Politics and Law (EVST 255)

Professor John Wargo introduces the central question of the course, "Can law shape a sustainable future for ten billion people?" The purpose of the course is to examine the most important U.S. laws adopted over the past forty years, and to evaluate their effectiveness. Lectures will present histories of nuclear experimentation, industrial and organic agriculture, air quality, plastics, wilderness, green building certification, and land use regulation. By the end of the course students will be exposed to diverse statutory and regulatory strategies to prevent pollution, reduce wastes, protect human health, conserve energy, and to protect wild lands.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: Case Histories; Public and Private Sectors
18:02 - Chapter 2. Course Requirements
19:22 - Chapter 3. Major Course Themes
22:53 - Chapter 4. What is Our Capacity to Manage Environmental Quality?

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2010.