Chapter 1 Introduction to Environmental Law

This chapter should help you understand some of the sticking points associated with the creation of environmental law and associated environmental policy, including the very real challenges presented when people hold legitimately different opinions related to environmental goals and objectives, varied conceptualizations of what the environment is or should be, and trade-offs inherent in environmental decision making.

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight some of the important environmental policy thinking, problems, and goals that underlie our environmental laws and policymaking, and to encourage you to think about various points of view concerning our natural environment. Legislators, courts, and agency officials adopt and implement laws and regulations in response to perceived harms and a determination that a particular approach will best address those harms. Ultimately, lawmaking is policymaking. As you study environmental law, try to identify the environmental policy goals of each law. What environmental concerns does the law attempt to address? How likely is it that the law will achieve its environmental goals? Are there alternative approaches to solving this problem? What are the costs and the benefits of this approach to environmental policymaking?

Many questions about how we use the law to protect the environment will become apparent as you read this text—and you will realize that many of these questions do not have easy answers. The tensions reflected in such questions are ever present when decisions are made about the environment. This is true in many types of situations, such as where an environmental problem is being remedied, where a direct conflict exists between parties with adverse interests related to the environment, and where a proactive approach is being taken to an emerging environmental issue or challenge.

How are such tensions resolved? What balancing of interests is appropriate? The United States has an adversarial legal system. This means that if an environmental dispute must be resolved through a formal dispute resolution method such as a trial, there are clear winners and losers. Consider whether such an outcome is an appropriate or desirable goal in matters relating to the environment, keeping in mind that unanimously agreed-upon resolutions are rare in matters of environmental controversy.

This book will help you learn about the tools that are commonly used to make decisions relating to the environment. These tools include the relevant laws relating to the environment, the manner in which those laws are applied, and the policies and regulations associated with those laws. Additionally, this book provides disciplinary context regarding decision making about the environment. For example, you will learn to consider not just what the law is, but also the social, economic, and political forces at play when addressing environmental issues. Although decisions about the environment are often influenced by legal constraints and analysis, they are also often informed by ethical analyses and policy considerations. Even if clear-cut answers cannot be expected in most environmental controversies, understanding the larger context in which environmental law is created can be useful when addressing past harms, planning for sustainability, and dealing with emerging environmental problems at their onset.

Read Chapter 1 to develop an understanding of the origins of environmental law in the United States. Additionally, you will understand how ethical perspectives can affect environmental values, which can lead to policies and laws with different—and at times, inconsistent—goals. You will examine disciplinary intersections with environmental law.