Law and Policy of Water, Air, Climate & Biodiversity: Protecting Natural Resources & the Environment
ENVS 276
Fall 2024
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01
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How do we protect our environmental and natural resources, and why have we chosen this path? When and how do the public, NGOs, and regulated industries have a voice? When is an environmental impact statement required and which alternatives must be considered? When and how are environmental considerations part of the decision-making process? Is there a path forward to better address greenhouse gases and climate change? How can we protect endangered and threatened species and preserve their habitats? Where do we go from here as we confront the more complex issues associated with greenhouse gases/climate? How do our energy sources impact our environment?
This highly interactive course will examine the source of environmental and natural resource law, its evolution, and boundaries. It will explore how and when we have access to the process and then turn attention to the programs most central to natural resource and environmental protection: the National Environmental Policy Act, The Clean Water Act, The Clean Air Act, as well as certain land-focused state and municipal programs. Given renewed commitments to alternative energy and environmental justice (EJ), the course devotes time to considering both through the lens of environmental law and policy.
The course concludes with a capstone project in which students are assigned to a team as either proponent or opponent. Each team is then provided an information packet setting a scenario, setting, certain facts, and any legal information beyond course coverage. Following this, each team prepares for and advances technical, legal, and policy arguments in support of its goals and is afforded the opportunity to cross-examine the opposition. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM ENVS |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: ENVS195 OR ENVS197 OR ENVS219F OR E&ES199 OR E&ES155 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ENVS-MN)(ENVS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
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