2. Principles & Strategies in Environmental Law

Environmental Politics and Law (EVST 255)

The United States' fragmented, piecemeal approach to environmental law is presented through the cases that led to the creation of major environmental statutes such as the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The variety of federal agencies and levels of government that participate in creating and implementing regulation contribute to the fragmentation of American environmental law. Environmental law seeks to balance the costs of environmental degradation with the economic benefits that companies reap. However, the uncertainty of environmental costs leads to a slow and ineffective regulation process.

00:00 - Chapter 1. A Course About Defining and Solving Problems
04:09 - Chapter 2. The US's Fragmented Approach to Environmental Law
09:22 - Chapter 3. The Central Questions of Environmental Law
30:08 - Chapter 4. A Society with Elaborate Environmental Law
37:33 - Chapter 5. Overview of Cases for the Course

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

This course was recorded in Spring 2010.