Course Description

Environmental protection law is a relatively young sector of law in the U.S. and abroad; however, patterns and frameworks have evolved that illuminate major themes and necessities of long-term societal governance and sustainability. Environmental protection law is one of the only areas of the U.S. legal system that explicitly takes into account the needs of future generations in establishing its regulatory standards. In this session, we will explore some of the specific features of U.S. environmental law that have direct relevance in other national systems, as well as its general thematic features, which are relevant in virtually all modern national states.

Please note: Professor Plater recorded this asynchronous session at a time before the Administration of President Joseph R. Biden began a process to restore environmental protection regulations.

Learning Objectives

• Participants will describe and analyze the evolutionary path of the development of environmental protection law in the United States.
• Participants will discern some of the ways in which environmental protection legal standards can be defined, and the different legal structures by which these standards can best be applied.
• Participants will define the interrelationships between environmental media -- air, water, toxics -- recognizing that the different problems are often commingled and interacting, not isolated individually from one another.
• Participants will recognize that individual environmental problems cannot be treated the same way from one legal system to another, but that all solutions ultimately will be interrelated globally as well as locally, at the present moment and for the long term sustainable future of human society and the planet.

Estimated Time to Complete

2 Hours

Instructions for Successful Completion

Participants have 90 days to complete the course online after registration. To successfully complete the course and receive a certificate, participants must 1) read the Learning Objectives; 2) participate in the course; and 3) complete the course evaluation at the end of the course. After successfully completing the evaluation participants will be able to access their certificate of course completion.

You must be at least 18 years old to participate in the Insights courses. All sales are final; we are not able to offer refunds. Registrations may not be transferred to another person or to another course, workshop, or program.