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Advanced Introduction to U.S. Environmental Law
Providing a comprehensive overview of the current and developing state of environmental governance in the United States, this Advanced Introduction lays out the foundations of U.S. environmental law. E. Donald Elliott and Daniel C. Esty explore how federal environmental law is made and how it interacts with state law, highlighting the important role that administrative agencies play in the creation, implementation, and enforcement of U.S. environmental law.
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Critical Acclaim
Contents
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Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.
Providing a comprehensive overview of the current and developing state of environmental governance in the United States, this Advanced Introduction lays out the foundations of U.S. environmental law. E. Donald Elliott and Daniel C. Esty explore how federal environmental law is made and how it interacts with state law, highlighting the important role that administrative agencies play in the creation, implementation, and enforcement of U.S. environmental law.
Key features include:
• an examination of the key statutes, case law, and controversies involved in the regulation of natural resources
• a survey of the broad range of regulations and legal principles that govern the protection of the environment in the United States
• analysis of relevant statutes for specific issues including air and water pollution, climate change, endangered species, wilderness preservation, hazardous waste, and pesticides.
This Advanced Introduction will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of environmental law. It will also be beneficial for environmental lawyers, business executives, NGO leaders, policymakers, and think tank analysts who work on environmental issues
Providing a comprehensive overview of the current and developing state of environmental governance in the United States, this Advanced Introduction lays out the foundations of U.S. environmental law. E. Donald Elliott and Daniel C. Esty explore how federal environmental law is made and how it interacts with state law, highlighting the important role that administrative agencies play in the creation, implementation, and enforcement of U.S. environmental law.
Key features include:
• an examination of the key statutes, case law, and controversies involved in the regulation of natural resources
• a survey of the broad range of regulations and legal principles that govern the protection of the environment in the United States
• analysis of relevant statutes for specific issues including air and water pollution, climate change, endangered species, wilderness preservation, hazardous waste, and pesticides.
This Advanced Introduction will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of environmental law. It will also be beneficial for environmental lawyers, business executives, NGO leaders, policymakers, and think tank analysts who work on environmental issues
Critical Acclaim
‘Don Elliott and Dan Esty, both leading figures in environmental law and policy, promise in the first chapter to explain how environmental law really is made and works, and they deliver on that promise in a thoroughly enjoyable and accessible format. This book is a perfect reference for a new associate assigned to a law firm’s environmental law department as well as a great adjunct to a law school course casebook.’
– J.B. Ruhl, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law, Vanderbilt University Law School, USA
‘In the world of environmental law and policy, Yale Professors Dan Esty and Don Elliott shine brightly as stars in a galaxy of academic excellence. Their new book is current, readable, and provides the critical principles that are the platform for the building blocks of environmental progress.’
– John C. Cruden, former Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, US Department of Justice
‘An important resource for environmental lawyers and sustainability practitioners at all levels. For business executives new and old, this book offers knowledge critical to scaling up successful and lasting environmental practices and important guidance for those seeking to navigate the vast terrain of climate change and environmental regulations.’
– Brandi Colander, former Chief Sustainability Officer, WestRock and former Deputy General Counsel, White House Council on Environmental Quality
‘Elliott and Esty distill the essence of the USA’s complex infrastructure of environmental laws and practices—a remarkably ambitious regulatory framework that has restored much of America to recognizable greens and blues.’
– William K. Reilly, former Administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency and former President, World Wildlife Fund
‘This is an important contribution from two of our leading thinkers that lifts from the ponderous body of environmental law the key features that have animated progress in reducing the human toll on the environment. A go-to resource for anyone involved in building our environmental future.’
– Scott Fulton, President, Environmental Law Institute and former General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
‘This book is an extraordinary resource for anyone wanting a sophisticated overview of a field that is both enormously complex and extremely important. Yale Professors E. Donald Elliott and Daniel C. Esty bring to this project their extraordinary experiences as leading academics and former high-ranking government officials. The book is both highly sophisticated and easily readable and should be of interest to broad audiences, ranging from graduate and professional students to practitioners.’
– Richard L. Revesz, AnBryce Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, New York University School of Law, US
‘Advanced Introduction to US Environmental Law lives up to its title. This sophisticated analysis will satisfy advanced readers and the detailed explanations regarding how regulation actually works will be useful to beginners and experts alike.’
– Seth D. Jaffe , Partner, Foley Hoag LLP and Past President, American College of Environmental Lawyers
‘Don Elliott and Dan Esty seamlessly weave legal, political, scientific, and economic insights together as they highlight the successes and the failures of the U.S. environmental regulatory system. The book brings readers up to speed on decades of regulation under important statutes and identifies the challenges that future regulation must overcome. The treatment is comprehensive, nuanced, and pragmatic; written in a way that’s accessible to anyone interested in environmental law. I look forward to using the book in my environmental law course as supplemental reading and to introducing students to key issues in statutes that we don’t cover in detail.’
– Caroline Cecot, Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, US
– J.B. Ruhl, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law, Vanderbilt University Law School, USA
‘In the world of environmental law and policy, Yale Professors Dan Esty and Don Elliott shine brightly as stars in a galaxy of academic excellence. Their new book is current, readable, and provides the critical principles that are the platform for the building blocks of environmental progress.’
– John C. Cruden, former Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, US Department of Justice
‘An important resource for environmental lawyers and sustainability practitioners at all levels. For business executives new and old, this book offers knowledge critical to scaling up successful and lasting environmental practices and important guidance for those seeking to navigate the vast terrain of climate change and environmental regulations.’
– Brandi Colander, former Chief Sustainability Officer, WestRock and former Deputy General Counsel, White House Council on Environmental Quality
‘Elliott and Esty distill the essence of the USA’s complex infrastructure of environmental laws and practices—a remarkably ambitious regulatory framework that has restored much of America to recognizable greens and blues.’
– William K. Reilly, former Administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency and former President, World Wildlife Fund
‘This is an important contribution from two of our leading thinkers that lifts from the ponderous body of environmental law the key features that have animated progress in reducing the human toll on the environment. A go-to resource for anyone involved in building our environmental future.’
– Scott Fulton, President, Environmental Law Institute and former General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
‘This book is an extraordinary resource for anyone wanting a sophisticated overview of a field that is both enormously complex and extremely important. Yale Professors E. Donald Elliott and Daniel C. Esty bring to this project their extraordinary experiences as leading academics and former high-ranking government officials. The book is both highly sophisticated and easily readable and should be of interest to broad audiences, ranging from graduate and professional students to practitioners.’
– Richard L. Revesz, AnBryce Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, New York University School of Law, US
‘Advanced Introduction to US Environmental Law lives up to its title. This sophisticated analysis will satisfy advanced readers and the detailed explanations regarding how regulation actually works will be useful to beginners and experts alike.’
– Seth D. Jaffe , Partner, Foley Hoag LLP and Past President, American College of Environmental Lawyers
‘Don Elliott and Dan Esty seamlessly weave legal, political, scientific, and economic insights together as they highlight the successes and the failures of the U.S. environmental regulatory system. The book brings readers up to speed on decades of regulation under important statutes and identifies the challenges that future regulation must overcome. The treatment is comprehensive, nuanced, and pragmatic; written in a way that’s accessible to anyone interested in environmental law. I look forward to using the book in my environmental law course as supplemental reading and to introducing students to key issues in statutes that we don’t cover in detail.’
– Caroline Cecot, Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, US
Contents
Contents: 1. How U.S. environmental law is really made 2. Recurrent themes in U.S. environmental law 3. The Clean Air Act: successful but slow 4. Climate change: an “existential threat” not yet addressed 5. Clean Water Act: major progress but persistent challenges 6. Safe Drinking Water Act: once seen as a problem solved, but now new worries 7. Hazardous waste: extreme measures in the wake of a crisis 8. Regulation of chemicals: from toxic substance control to chemical safety 9. FIFRA: from misbranding to reasonable certainty of no harm 10. Occupational Safety and Health Act: making environments safe on the job 11. OPA90: why economic incentives only work sometimes 12. From protecting endangered species to promoting biodiversity and healthy ecosystems 13. National parks and wilderness preservation: “America’s best idea” 14. NEPA and information disclosure: techniques copied around the world 15. Beyond traditional environmental governance: corporate sustainability, performance benchmarking, private standard setting, and public–private partnerships 16. Conclusion: the best and the worst Index
