environmental law centers

In the Cross Hairs

The Right has taken umbrage at some of the important work of environmental law professors and centers.

The fossil fuel industry and its conservative allies seem to have taken notice of the important work done by environmental law centers. Their response is to try to repress this valuable work.  This is a backhanded acknowledgement that law schools are making a difference.This campaign has targeted some of the law schools with the most prominent environmental law programs.  Climate scientists have long been the target of harassment and public attack. It appears that people who work on climate policy are now also in the crosshairs.  What we’re seeing lacks the drama of other attacks on free speech and academic freedom. But it is capable of being no less harmful. McCarthyism writ small is still McCarthyism.

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Lighting Candles in Dark Times: Environmental Law Centers in the Trump Era

These law school centers show it’s possible find ways to make a difference.

Environmental law  have become vibrant parts of the law and policy ecosystem. At a time when despondency seems all too common, the work of these law school centers offers beacons of hope for the future of environmental protection.  Some of that work is playing defense — pushing back against deregulatory efforts — while other work plays offense by identifying innovative directions for environmental policy. A comprehensive survey isn’t practical, but I’ll provide examples from several different centers.

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Environmental Law Centers — Western version

It’s not just on the coasts where law schools works on sustainability.

This is part of an occasional series on the work of environmental law centers. My goal in this series is to highlight one of the ways that law schools work for the public interest, not just on the coasts but throughout the country. Here, I’ll focus on the Interior West — the plains, mountains, and …

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Defending the Environment, Deep in the Heart of Dixie

It’s not hospitable territory for environmental work, but some law schools are still trying.

National environmental groups tend not to devote many resources to the Deep South.  State governments and often courts are barren ground for environmental arguments.  And.the local activist community is also thin.  Law schools are also fewer in number than in the Northeast or Pacific Coasts.  So what’s going on in those schools in the environmental …

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Law Schools and the Environment: East Coast Version

Environmental law centers aren’t just a California thing. .

Readers of this blog probably have some sense of what the environmental law centers at UCLA and here at Berkeley are doing. There are too many environmental law centers to do a a comprehensive nationwide survey, and trying to pick a top-10 list would be completely subjective. To keep this post manageable, I’ll only discuss …

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Guess What? It’s THAT Time of Year.

Yes, it’s fundraising season. And yes, we’re asking you to help out.

Yes, it’s fundraising season. And yes, we’re asking for your help on this Giving Tuesday — not for our own sakes, but because we think the work we’re trying to do on climate change and other issues is important. Like everyone else, I’m sure you find fundraising appeals annoying.  That’s why we hardly ever do …

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Guess What? It’s THAT Time of Year Again.

Yes, it’s fundraising season. And yes, we’re asking for your help.

Like everyone else, I’m sure you find fundraising appeals annoying.  That’s why we hardly ever do them. But twice a year doesn’t seem like too much of an imposition, and this is a really important time. In many ways, developments in Washington have been even grimmer than expected.  So there’s an especially critical need today for …

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What Are Law Schools Doing About Climate Change?

Quite a bit, as it turns out.

Law schools produce volumes of scholarship on climate change and energy issues.  They also train the next generation of leaders in environmental law.  Those are the traditional roles, but many law schools are also engaging more directly with those issues.  I’ve put together a sample of some current programs, which illustrate the depth and diversity …

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500 Points of Light

How do law schools promote environmental law? Let me count the ways.

My favorite Sesame Street character is the Count.*  Like him, “I love to count Things.”  A list of law school programs in environment and energy law, recently compiled by Ed Richards at LSU,  gave me the opportunity to do just that.  Here are some of the things that I counted: 39 environmental law clinics 40 LLM …

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Law Schools Doing Good

How Law Schools Serve the Public

Most people probably think of law schools, when they think of them at all, as places that train future lawyers.  That’s true, and it’s important, but law schools do a lot more.  Faculty scholarship makes a difference –law review articles laid the foundation for many of the ideas now guiding judges (both on the Right …

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