McCaffrey, Stephen C.; Salcido, Rachael E. --- "Legal Protection of the Environment" [2012] ELECD 775; in Clark, S. David (ed), "Comparative Law and Society" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Comparative Law and Society

Editor(s): Clark, S. David

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849803618

Section: Chapter 18

Section Title: Legal Protection of the Environment

Author(s): McCaffrey, Stephen C.; Salcido, Rachael E.

Number of pages: 19

Extract:

18 Legal protection of the environment
Stephen C. McCaffrey and Rachael E. Salcido*


1 INTRODUCTION

The natural environment sustains all life on Earth. It is our life-support system. The field
of environmental law has grown substantially over time as citizens and policy makers have
recognized the need to safeguard the health of the environment. This legal field relies on
multiple scientific fields, such as biology, geology, hydrology, toxicology, as well as social
science fields such as public health, to achieve its aims--a healthy, functioning and resil-
ient natural environment.
Environmental law is closely related to the fields of both natural resources law and land
use law. These fields all focus on human interactions with the natural world. Traditionally
the field of environmental law was primarily concerned with the effects of pollution on
components of the environment, such as air, water and soil. Natural resources law regu-
lates extraction of raw materials including minerals development, oil and gas, water and
forestry, focusing on effects upon the environment--flora and fauna. Land use law focuses
on the development of real property for housing and commercial purposes, transporta-
tion, energy development and transmission, among other things. Over time, the basic
field of environmental law has broadened into several subfields such as toxics regulation,
wildlife and biodiversity preservation, ocean and coastal law, and climate change to name
only a few.


2 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL
LAW

In the United States, the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s created a
legacy of ...