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This course will introduce environmental justice as a social movement, including its central substantive concerns (the needs of humans in the built environment rather than the need to protect the environment from humans) and its methods (community-based political organizing rather than professionalized judicial or legislative action). The bulk of the course will then pursue a broader conception of environmental justice today by using social science research, theory, and case studies to investigate the civil rights and poverty aspects of environmental safety and natural resources. The course will include units on: (1) toxic exposure and public health disparities stemming from the disproportionate siting of locally-unwanted land uses in poor neighborhoods of color; (2) access to natural resources and basic public services, including clean water, wastewater disposal, and open space; (3) tools in environmental justice advocacy (including community-based lawyering, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, common law nuisance actions, and transactional lawyering); (4) environmental justice issues in Indian Country, and (5) environmental justice issues in climate change policy. Much of the course material, including student presentations, will be grounded in the experiences and advocacy histories of specific communities, both urban and rural, across the country. This class is limited to 25 students, with an effort made to have students from SLS (20 students will be selected by lottery) and 5 non-law students by consent of instructor. Special Instructions: Students on the waitlist for the course will be admitted if spots are available on the basis of priority and degree program. Course requirements will include class participation, in-class presentation, and either response papers (section 01) or a long research paper for R credit (section 02). A maximum of 10 students will be permitted to write the long research paper with instructor consent. After the term begins, students enrolled in the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Class participation, in-class presentation; response papers or a final research paper.

This is the South Africa Field Study component of Natural Resources Law and Policy ( LAW 2506). For details, see course description for Law 2506. This course will look at three issues covered in Natural Resources Law & Policy from a comparative perspective, focusing on Cape Town, South Africa, and the region surrounding it. First, we will look at the water challenges facing Cape Town, including (a) the supply limitations that led the city to warn in 2018 of a "Day Zero" when it would be forced to turn off everyone's taps and (b) the ongoing water equity issues facing the region's impoverished townships such as Khayelitsha. Second, we will visit with companies and law firms seeking to promote renewable energy projects to discuss the issues that they face. Finally, we will meet with environmental non-profits to examine South Africa's efforts to protect wildlife from poaching and other threats. Students might also participate in small, half-day conference with the University of Stellenbosch examining these and related sustainability issues. Elements used in grading: TBA. CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete and submit a Consent Application Form available on the SLS website (Click Courses at the bottom of the homepage and then click Consent of Instructor Forms). See Consent Application Form for instructions and submission deadline.

This course explores the close relationship between energy and environmental law. We will work through the major energy sectors and, for each, discuss key environmental law and policy issues that are influencing energy production and use. Our focus will be on current issues. We'll explore environmental issues that are traditionally associated with the energy sector, including air emissions, waste disposal and cleanup, and oil spills, while also covering new environmental issues emerging from the energy sector including climate change-related regulatory and business risk issues, energy infrastructure permitting issues, and environmental pressure points on the utility industry and on renewable energy and conventional energy projects, more generally. Elements used in grading: Exam; one written assignment; class participation.

This course offers an accessible survey of timely topics in environmental law and policy as the United States transitions presidential administrations. Taught by two practicing lawyers, the class introduces students from any background to the interactions between local, state, and federal environmental law as they apply to critical policy issues. We will analyze major changes in federal policy, providing historical context for the transformations now underway in the laws and institutions that shape environmental outcomes in the United States. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Final Paper. Cross-listed with Earth Systems ( EARTHSYS 108 & 208).

This course will study how society allocates and protects its most crucial natural resource -- water. The emphasis will be on current legal and policy debates, although we will also examine the history of water development and politics. The course will focus on United States law and policy, but insights from the course are applicable to water regimes throughout the world, and we will occasionally look at law and policy elsewhere in the world for comparison. Among the many issues that we will consider are: how to allocate water during periods of scarcity (particularly as climate change leads to more extremes); alternative means of responding to the world's growing demands for water (including active conservation); the appropriate role for the market and private companies in meeting society's water needs; protection of threatened groundwater resources; environmental limits on water development (including the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the "public trust" doctrine); constitutional issues in water governance; the human right to water; Native American water rights; protection of water quality; challenges to the substantive reform of existing water law; and interstate and international disputes over water. Students will be expected to participate actively in classroom discussions. Elements Used in Grading: Class participation, attendance and final exam. Cross-listed with Environmental Behavioral Science ( EBS 251).

Climate change presents an enormous challenge for the environment, our economy, and U.S. legal and policy norms. This course, open to law school students and graduate students from other schools, surveys the legal, socio-economic, and political implications of climate change. The course kicks off with a brief introduction to climate science and then dives into the wide range of legal and policy approaches for addressing climate change, including existing and potential decarbonization incentives and mandates, carbon accounting and disclosure obligations and practices, energy infrastructure needs, and climate adaptation and resilience strategies. Differing stakeholder perspectives will provide a focal point for analyzing rising tensions between federal and state climate-related laws and policies; corporate legal responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions; barriers of entry for clean energy and clean tech companies (including financing, infrastructure permitting, NIMBY-based restrictions, etc.); and the interests of communities that have borne the brunt of legacy pollution. The class will focus primarily on U.S. law and policy as influenced by international climate frameworks and emerging procurement and trade-based practices. We will have guest appearances by national climate law and policy leaders and practitioners. Grades will reflect class participation, a short paper, and an exam.

This seminar series focuses on the dramatic changes in recent decades in California water policy and management and how water researchers can help forge modern, collaborative solutions that will allow the state to adapt to an uncertain and challenging future. The seminar will meet six times during the Spring Quarter. The heart of the series will include four seminars with panels of outside experts covering the following topics: 1) The diversification of California's water supply portfolio; 2) The rise of the coequal goals of ecosystem restoration and water supply reliability; 3) The ongoing tension between collaborative and adversarial decision-making processes; and 4) Implications for water researchers seeking to help define pathways to meaningful solutions. In addition to these four seminar sessions, there will be an introductory California Water 101 session for students and a closing session on what we have learned. Students will be assigned readings and required to develop questions for discussion. Lead instructor for the seminar will be Landreth Visiting Fellow Dr. Timothy Quinn. Dr. Quinn spent more than ten years as the executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, and more than twenty years as the Deputy General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Over the course of that career, he was at the center of every major water management issue facing the state of California, including the state's use of Colorado River water, management of the Bay Delta, and sustainable groundwater management. This class will meet the first five weeks of the quarter. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments. Cross-listed with Civil & Environmental Engineering ( CEE 266E).

The tools of private environmental regulation (e.g., eco-certifications, CSR initiatives, supplier contracts) have become an increasingly important source of governance. But how do they work? How do they arise--why and how can corporations participate in these voluntary measures? How do they regulate firm behavior and how can regulators police the tools themselves? This interdisciplinary seminar examines these questions and more, with readings from traditional legal sources (cases, agreements), as well as from economics, political science, and social psychology. Guest speakers and case studies will add real-world context to our exploration of theory. Elements used in grading: Students may take the course for 2 units (section 1) or 3 units (section 2). Attendance, class participation, and short written assignments will factor into grades for both sections. Section 1 students will also prepare a private governance proposal and presentation. Section 2 students will write a research paper meeting the Law School's R paper requirements. After the term begins, students can transfer from section 1 to section 2, which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructors. Please note that the last two class sessions (May 21 and 28) will have to be rescheduled. Cross-listed with Environment and Resources ( ENVRES 228).

This 1-credit, discussion-based seminar will examine the challenge and promise of responding to climate change in democracy. Combining theoretical readings and real-world examples such as California community choice energy programs and the movement for a Green New Deal, we will explore questions including: To transform our fossil-fuel based economy, do we need more democracy or less democracy, and what practically does either of those things mean? What makes federal climate change legislation so hard to achieve? In contrast, why have many sub-federal communities been successful in adopting climate change policies, and what are the benefits and limitations of these local actions? Grades will be based on a series of short reaction papers and class participation. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Written Assignments. This class will meet 4:15-7:15pm on Mondays - April 20, April 27, and May 4.