"Unlike the ecosystem, which appears to operate by specific, natural rules and thus has an internal consistency or logic of its own, the legal system is a human creation, a regulator of social behavior developed long before our ecological awareness arose." Thomas More Hoban & Richard Oliver Brooks, Green Justice: the Environment and the Courts, 2nd ed. (Westview Press, 1996),
Nature knows no boundaries. Nevertheless, human made laws constantly attempt to regulate "nature". Much has been written about the "tragedy of the commons". Environmental laws have been enacted to address this tragedy.
Nevertheless, we find ourselves in the midst of several simultaneous environmental crises: climate change and pollution of the air, water and land, that make up our biosphere, the thin sliver of earth where life exists. This pollution takes many forms, but of special concern are substances that are not biodegradable or which take a very long time to biodegrade, like plastic. While nature is the ultimate recycler, these man-made substances can overwhelm natural systems.
The primary aim of this LibGuide is to help researchers locate the major laws and regulations that make up the current environmental legal framework in the U.S. and internationally. A secondary aim is to highlight goals and initiatives to implement those goals at global and local levels. More broadly, this Guide is intended to promote environmental literacy among lawyers and non-lawyers alike. While providing an overview of the current environmental legal framework, it attempts to help researchers assess how well environmental law has worked, what it has achieved and where it has fallen short, so that collectively, we can improve our approach to environmental issues.