Green justice: The environment and the courts

Book · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6433086

Hoban, T M; Brooks, R O

This book introduces the interrelationship of the legal system and the environment. Students are confronted with key environmental law cases and asked to determine for themselves how the cases should have been decided. Broad questions are raised: What is the capacity of the courts to make fair judgments in cases involving complex scientific issues. Does the adversarial system on which our legal system is based, work at all when the issues involve multiple points of view. The authors' liberal arts approach leads to a wide spectrum of related topics: the history of the common law, the political science of administrative agencies, the philosophy of new rights for nonhumans, our obligation to future generations, and the ecology of species extinction. The struggle to spell out answers to questions such as the constitutional right to a decent environment and the placing of nature in public trust is revealed in the judicial opinions that form the centerpiece of this text. Explanatory introductions make the cases intelligible to beginners, and the accompanying study questions help both faculty and students link the cases to broader issues and to the relevant literature. The text is appropriate for under-graduate courses in environmental law and environmental policy, as well as for nonlaw graduate courses in planning or public administration.

• OSTI ID: 6433086
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
510600 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Regulations-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BIOLOGICAL EXTINCTION
ECOLOGY
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
FORECASTING
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
LAWS
LEGAL ASPECTS
MANAGEMENT
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
POLLUTION REGULATIONS
POLLUTION SOURCES
PUBLIC POLICY
REGULATIONS
RISK ASSESSMENT
WASTE MANAGEMENT