lawyer

#Open Yale Courses

About the Course

Can law change human behavior to be less environmentally damaging? Law will be examined through case histories including: environmental effects of national security, pesticides, air pollution, consumer products, plastics, parks and protected area management, land use, urban growth and sprawl, public/private transit, drinking water standards, food safety, and hazardous site restoration. In each case we will review the structure of law and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.

Course Structure

This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 50 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Spring 2010.

Course Materials

Video and audio elements from this course are also available on:

About Professor John Wargo

Syllabus

Professor

John Wargo, Tweedy/Ordway Professor of Environmental Health and Politics

Description

Can law change human behavior to be less environmentally damaging? Law will be examined through case histories including: environmental effects of national security, pesticides, air pollution, consumer products, plastics, parks and protected area management, land use, urban growth and sprawl, public/private transit, drinking water standards, food safety, and hazardous site restoration. In each case we will review the structure of law and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.

Texts

Kessler, David. A Question of Intent. New York: Public Affairs, 2002.

Requirements

Students will complete a take-home midterm and a take-home final examination, but may substitute a short research paper for the midterm. Students will also prepare several short assignments to prepare for section and interpret readings.