The Global Environment: Institutions, Law, and Policy
edited by Regina S. Axelrod, Stacy D. VanDeveer, David Leonard Downie
From the Publisher: The new edition of this award-winning volume reflects the latest events in the climate crisis while providing balanced coverage of the key institutions, issues, laws, and policies in global environmental politics. Chapter authors provide crucial historical context while synthesizing the latest scholarship for a student audience. In addition to three entirely new chapters, all of the es-says are written specifically for this volume— updated with new case material, maps, figures, exam-ples, and interpretations. Additionally, an updated chronology of global environmental policy and an updated list of acronyms aid students in critical reading, as well as review and study.
Climate Change and Sustainable Development Law in a Nutshell
John R. Nolon, Patricia E. Salkin
From the Publisher: Policies regarding sustainable development and climate change management appeared on the world stage at the same time and should be studied and understood as a single body of law. This Nutshell enables readers to learn how the U.S. legal system fosters greenhouse gas reduction, energy conservation, and sustainable patterns of growth including energy efficient and sustainable buildings, the use of renewable energy resources, the protection of sequestering open space, and the adaptation of buildings and communities to sea level rise and natural disasters.
Agenda for a Sustainable America: The law Applying to Nuclear installations and Radioactive Substances in its Historic Context
edited by John C. Dernbach
From the Publisher: This book is a comprehensive assessment of U.S. progress toward sustainable development and a roadmap of necessary next steps toward achieving a sustainable America. Packed with facts, figures, and the well-informed opinions of forty-one experts, it provides an illuminating “snapshot” of sustainability in the United States today. And each of the contributors suggests where we need to go next, recommending three to five specific actions that we should take during the next five to ten years. It thus offers a comprehensive agenda that citizens, corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and government leaders and policymakers can use to make decisions today and to plan for the future.
Sustainable development holds enormous promise for improving the quality of life for Americans over the coming decades. Agenda for a Sustainable America describes what we need to do to make the promise a reality. It assesses trends in twenty-eight separate areas of American life—including forestry; transportation; oceans and estuaries; religion; and state, local, and national governance. In every area, contributors reveal what sustainable development could mean, with suggestions that are specific, desirable, and achievable. Their expert recommendations point the way toward greater economic and social well-being, increased security, and environmental protection and restoration for current and future generations of Americans. Together they build a convincing case for how sustainable development can improve our opportunities and our lives.
Climate Change and the Law
Chris Wold, David Hunter, Melissa Powers
From the Publisher: This new book comprehensively assesses the law and science of climate change, as well as the policy choices for responding to this global problem. Given the all-encompassing reach of climate change, Climate Change and the Law allows students to study how the many different areas of law–public international law, public administrative law, federal environmental law, state and municipal regulations, and the common law–can be implicated in addressing a major social issue. This text-book thus provides students with an integrated experience to study law and an understanding of the many climate-related challenges facing the next generation of lawyers. The book begins by exploring the international climate change regime, including a detailed investigation of emissions trading and the controversial regime for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through land use and forest management practices. It also explores options for a future international agreement in light of calls to reduce emissions by as much as 80 percent.
Nuclear Law: The Law Applying to Nuclear Installations and Radioactive Substances in its Historic Context
Stephen Tromans
From the Publisher: This book is a practical guide to the international, EC and UK law applying to the various uses of nuclear energy and radioactive substances. The first edition was produced in 1997, and given the renaissance of interest in nuclear power in the UK and worldwide, this new, updated and much expanded edition is timely. It will cover the law relating to the permitting and operation of nu-clear power stations, the decommissioning and clean-up of former nuclear facilities, radiological protection, the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, liability and insurance, and the security and transport of radioactive materials. Readers will find a clear framework explaining the development and application of nuclear law, and how domestic law is based on and influenced by international and European requirements and by its historical context. In the commercial context, the chapters dealing specifically with new build and with decommissioning will be vital reading.
A Substantive Environmental Right: An Examination of the Legal Obligations of Decision-makers Towards the Environment
Stephen J. Turner
From the Publisher: Accute global awareness of environmental degradation seems at last to have created a consensus that environmental obligations should be imposed on decision-makers, whether state or non-state actors. However, although substantive environmental rights have been developed to a limited degree, there is as yet no international treaty or agreement that provides a globally accepted substantive human right to a good or clean and healthy environment.
This impressive book proposes such a right. In unprecedented depth, the author probes the legal obligations of decision-makers within states, companies, multilateral development banks and the World Trade Organization and develops a sound substantive human right that creates duties, both nationally and internationally, by which all decision-makers are legally bound to follow specific rules and procedures that would prevent or limit environmental degradation stemming from their decisions. Among the major issues dealt with in the course of the presentation are the following: determination of an equitable form of compensation where less environmentally-degrading alternatives are not viable; anthropocentric approach vs. intrinsic rights for all ecosystems and natural systems; problems of fixing qualitative standards; problems arising from the differing economic capacities of states; the extent to which state constitutional provisions relating to the environment can direct and constrain legislators and policymakers; effectiveness of responses to pressure upon multinational enterprises to take the environment into consideration in their decision-making processes; intergenerational equity; protection of indigenous and vulnerable communities; and public participation in the environmental impact assessment process.
ThomChat 