Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/environmental-law

Introduction

# Course Review: Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy on Coursera In an era marked by increasing environmental challenges, the importance of understanding the intersection of law and ecology has never been more crucial. Coursera’s "Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy" offers a comprehensive framework for students to explore the foundational principles and ongoing debates that shape this vital area of study. Conducted by knowledgeable educators, this course is ideal for anyone interested in environmental justice, policy-making, and the legal frameworks required to protect our planet. ## Course Overview The course is structured into a series of modules that gradually build upon each other. It begins with basic concepts, assuming no prior legal knowledge, making it accessible to a wide audience. This is particularly refreshing given the complexity often associated with legal studies. The curriculum dives into different aspects of environmental law, including pollution control, property law, risk assessment, and the socio-economic factors influencing these domains. ### Why You Should Take This Course 1. **Foundational Knowledge**: Whether you are a student, a policy-maker, an activist, or simply someone who cares about the environment, understanding the law surrounding environmental issues is essential. This course lays that groundwork. 2. **Real-World Applications**: The curriculum uses case studies involving judicial opinions and landmark legislation to illuminate essential concepts. Topics range from local disputes to international treaties, providing a well-rounded perspective on current practices and challenges. 3. **Critical Thinking**: Each module encourages students to apply legal principles to real-world issues. Engaging in debates about environmental justice and the balance of private property rights versus ecological protection fosters critical thinking and analytical skills. 4. **Effective Learning Format**: Using interactive components such as peer-review exercises and theoretical sessions, the course promotes active learning. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with their peers, providing a collaborative educational atmosphere. 5. **Expert Insight**: The instructors bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in environmental law, ensuring that learners receive high-quality guidance and relevant information throughout the course. ## Syllabus Highlights The course covers various pertinent topics: - **Common-Law Approaches to Environmental Problems**: Students begin by learning how to interpret judicial cases related to environmental dispute resolution. This foundational module sets the tone for critical engagement with legal principles. - **Property and the Environment**: Exploring property rights in the context of environmental obligations equips learners with the understanding necessary to navigate the contentious debates surrounding land use and regulation. - **Statutory Programs**: High-impact legislation, such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), are explored, emphasizing their relevance and application in contemporary law. - **Risk Analysis and Toxic Substances**: With a focus on the implications of toxic substances and risk assessment, students will gain insights into the regulatory frameworks tasked with managing hazardous materials. - **Environmental Justice and Water Issues**: This module emphasizes the importance of access to clean water, introducing students to the mysteries of the Safe Drinking Water Act as well as global human rights claims regarding water. - **Climate Change Regulation**: Finally, the course culminates by addressing the urgent issue of climate change, examining regulatory actions and legislative frameworks that exist to combat this global crisis. ## Conclusion The "Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy" course on Coursera is a well-structured, informative, and engaging exploration of the intersection between law and environmental issues. It delivers critical insights into the frameworks and policies designed to protect our planet while considering the balance required to uphold individual rights and economic interests. In light of the growing environmental challenges our planet faces, I wholeheartedly recommend this course. Enroll before its closing date on February 22 to equip yourself with the knowledge and skills essential for effective participation in environmental advocacy and policy-making.

Syllabus

Common-Law Approaches to Environmental Problems

As the course does not presume any previous knowledge of the law or legal experience, it begins by teaching students how to “read” cases, to learn from judicial opinions in real-life disputes how judges articulate and apply legal principles. We focus on the law of nuisance, starting with cases involving simple disputes between neighbors, and then move to cases involving air and water pollution and even a very recent case on the introduction of exotic species into a river system! We end the week, as we’ll end every week, with a session spent on legal theory and policy, considering, this week, the relative strengths and weakness of the court system as an institution addressing environmental problems, in comparison to other institutions such as administrative regulators and the free-market system.

It’s impossible to understand environmental law without also understanding the important role that private property plays in people’s lives and the way in which property law recognizes these values. After using two cases involving property rights to water to introduce ourselves to property law, we’ll use the American constitutional approach to “takings” of property to determine when governments are forced to pay property-holders when environmental requirements infringe too much on private property rights. These cases are at the crux of an evolving philosophical dispute between whether we look at land merely as a personal commodity or as part of larger ecosystems that, often, demand recognition and require changes in personal behavior. In our “theory” session, we’ll introduce ourselves to a very powerful and famous economic model, the tragedy-of-the-commons model, that explains why markets often cannot adequately protect commonly held resources such as the oceans and atmosphere, and how legal regimes may be needed to correct the problem. We also post this week a peer-review essay exercise, which is mandatory for students wishing to obtain a Statement of Accomplishment with Distinction.

This week we start with perhaps the most influential American environmental statute ever enacted, the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), and its requirement for environmental impact analysis of certain actions that might significantly affect the environment. Over 70 countries have enacted programs similar to this one. Then, we study perhaps the strongest American environmental statute ever enacted, the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) and study cases under the ESA that are, among other things, at the cutting edge in the tension between private property and environmental protection. In our theory session, we begin to discuss issues of politics and political economy, and consider a range of topics in the political economy of environmental law.

This week we shift from land-use-related issues to the central role that “risk” plays in the regulation of toxic substances, pollution-control, and environmental law generally. We begin with an analysis of a regulatory decision involving 2,4,5-T, the active ingredient in herbicides (and in the notorious “Agent Orange” herbicide used by the United States in the Vietnam War), and learn how concerns over the “risk” of harm amplify the power of environmental law. We then analyze the role risk played in an ongoing dispute between the United States and Canada (on the one hand) and the European Community (on the other) over synthetic growth hormones given to cattle in North America. We shift to considerations of risk in the clean-up of sites contaminated with hazardous substances under a famous American statute, the so-called “Superfund” statute. in our theory session, we look at two economic dimensions of risk that explain why people rationally concern themselves with worst-case possibilities and also concern themselves with how risk is fairly (or unfairly) distributed.

This week, we pivot mostly into issues involving fresh water and water pollution, but not before continuing our discussion of risk distribution by exploring further the concept of environmental justice. We start with legal approaches to transboundary shipments of waste, using both the United States and international trade as case histories, using both examples to illustrate the challenge posed to environmental law by claims of environmental racism and injustice. Shifting to drinking water, we introduce ourselves to the American Safe Drinking Water Act and to recent United Nations measures articulating a human right to drinking water, and also consider the worldwide phenomenon of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and its intersection with fresh water resources. We introduce ourselves to the technology-based regulatory design of the American Clean Water Act. In our theory session, we explore the concept of economic cost-effectiveness and its role in pollution-control regimes generally and in the Clean Water Act in particular. We also see how this concept explains some of the interest in the design of “markets” for pollution control. This is also a week in which we post a research exercise, especially relevant for those interested in obtaining a Statement of Accomplishment with Distinction.

This week, we continue discussing aspects of water-quality regulation, including especially elements other than the technology-based systems in the American Clean Water Act. We then shift to air-pollution control, not only introducing the environmental-quality-based philosophy of this landmark statute, but also explaining how it coordinates with common-law approaches to pollution that we studied at the very beginning of the course. We then introduce ourselves to the dawning era of greenhouse-gas regulation under both the Clean Air Act and embryonic international climate-change efforts. In our theory session, we highlight the strengths and weaknesses overall of current systems of environmental law, and underscore the need for more effective, more insightful, and more resilient systems.

This module is optional.