ENVI 269
Environmental Law and Policy Fall 2024
Division II
Cross-listed CAOS 269

Class Details

America’s environmental statutes, regulations, legal precedents, and policies have grown in complexity over the last 75 years. These bi-partisan, broadly supported laws also shaped environmental laws and policies in the European Union, China, the Middle East, and countries in the Global South. Yet in 2024, America is no longer a global leader in climate mitigation or environmental protection. As legal and policy solutions to environmental problems continue to evolve based on values, science, market dynamics, and increasing climate change impacts, it is important to study this complex legal landscape to understand where opportunities lie for more ambitious and just solutions to complex environmental problems. This class surveys major environmental laws and policies by looking at cases of current, complex environmental problems. This course will focus not only on the hallmark American environmental laws, regulations, and policies but also on the interplay of state and tribal law, food, water, mineral, energy, tax, and animal rights law issues, and international treaties and climate agreements. By the completion of the semester, students will understand both the successes and failures of modern environmental law. In addition to learning about the substantive legal issues covered in the course, students will develop legal research skills associated with researching statutes and regulations and interpreting judicial decisions. This course will help students interested in future work in law or policy understand how to analyze cases, regulations, and policy, and see opportunities for future solutions.
The Class: Format: lecture
Limit: 25
Expected: 25
Class#: 1264
Grading: no pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: 1) Class Participation (leading discussion and presenting materials) 20%; 2) Weekly 300-word Case Briefs 30%; 3) Comparative Law/Policy Analysis (5-7 page research paper) 30%; 4) Final Exam 20%
Prerequisites: ENVI 101 or permission of instructor
Enrollment Preferences: Preference to Environmental Studies majors and concentrators and sophomores and above.
Distributions: Divison II
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
ENVI 269 Division II CAOS 269 Division II
Attributes: AMST Space and Place Electives
ENVI Environmental Policy
EVST Social Science/Policy
JLST Interdepartmental Electives
POEC Depth

Class Grid

Updated 10:08 am

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