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2017 Summer Session Classes

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Students, please note: CampusWeb is the authoritative source for class information, so please refer to CampusWeb when making final registration decisions.

 

2017 Summer Session Classes

ADR6416/Negotiating Environmental Agreements

This course teaches the skills necessary to be an effective negotiator and advocate in the environmental context, with particular emphasis on ocean and coastal disputes. This course explores the range of processes used to resolve environmental disputes, paying particular attention to consensual processes such as negotiation and collaborative decision-making. It considers relevant policy and practical considerations in selecting the most effective method of resolving environmental disputes.

Professor(s)

Sarah M. Reiter JD’13

Semester

2017 Summer - 8 Week Courses

ADR6450/Advanced Dispute Resolution Writing Seminar

“The courts of this country should not be the places where resolution of disputes begins. They should be the places where the disputes end after alternative methods of resolving disputes have been considered and tried.” Is Justice O’Conner’s statement true? What are alternative means of dispute resolution and are they really better for parties than taking a dispute to court? This course will introduce students to a wide range of alternative dispute resolution topics so that they can answer these questions.

Professor(s)

Laurie Beyranevand '03

Semester

2017 Summer - 8 Week Courses

ENV5223/Environmental Governance in the Developing World

This course describes the reasons for, techniques of, and results from, energy efficiency measures in leading programs around the United States. In exploring how leaders maximize energy efficiency results from the home and business to the grid, the course will explore the systems, policy, and legal basis that legitimize energy efficiency as an energy resource and assure societal trust in the outcomes.

Professor(s)

Yanmei Lin

Semester

2017 Summer - 8 Week Courses

ENV5224/Environmental Governance Field Study

Following completion of the Environmental Governance in the Developing World course, students may participate in an additional field trip to Southeast Asia. This trip will enable students to experience directly environmental conditions in the region and to meet leading environmental scholars and activists. Prerequisite: Environmental Governance in the Developing World.

Professor(s)

Yanmei Lin

Semester

2017 Summer - 8 Week Courses

ENV5497/End Use Energy Efficiency

This course describes the reasons for, techniques of, and results from, energy efficiency measures in leading programs around the United States. In exploring how leaders maximize energy efficiency results from the home and business to the grid, the course will explore the systems, policy, and legal basis that legitimize energy efficiency as an energy resource and assure societal trust in the outcomes.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - 8 Week Courses

ENV5115/Environmental Law

This introductory course covers the history of environmental values and policies, including a discussion of economics and the environment, common law roots, approach to federalism, and environmental justice. It compares and contrasts the major environmental statutes, such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and other federal statutes. It considers the goals and objectives of environmental laws, and the choices that are made both implicitly and explicitly in effecting the means of environmental protection.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

ENV5220/Environmental Economics and Markets

The course introduces students to the discipline of environmental economics and exposes them to debates over the use of market-based instruments in environmental, energy, and climate policy. It also introduces students to basic economics and finance concepts, examines key principles about market behavior and efficiency, and applies these basic elements and concepts to common environmental problems and actual case studies.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

ENV5408/The Law of Animals in Agriculture

This course will cover the evolution and regulation of animal agriculture in America, contrasted with farmed animal welfare policies in other developed nations. Material will include the laws related to the breeding, raising, feeding, transporting, and slaughtering of land and marine animals used for food, particularly as related to their welfare. The class will evaluate the long term sustainability of CAFO food production specifically and animal food production generally.Finally, students will explore the likely pressures from increased international trade in agricultural products.

Professor(s)

Pamela A. Vesilind JD'08

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

ENV5423/Ocean and Coastal Law

Long neglected by lawmakers despite its essential ecological functions, the marine environment has increasingly been the focal point of conservation and natural resource management efforts. As a foundation for studying the laws that govern the marine environment, the course considers the natural components of estuarine, coastal, and marine ecosystems and the current conservation issues confronting them.

Professor(s)

Don Baur
Tim Eichenberg

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

ENV5510/Three Essentials of the Electric Grid: Engineering Essentials

This course sets out, in three linked modules, the fundamental knowledge that professionals should have for working in the closely intertwined fields of energy and the environment. Students may take one, two, or three modules for one credit each. MODULE B – ENGINEERING ESSENTIALS:The engineering realities of energy infrastructure systems can greatly constrain the choices that lawyers and policy analysts might otherwise make. This module will cover the engineering fundamentals inherent in electric power grids and will explain how these engineering realities affect market and regulatory choices.

Professor(s)

Chris Root

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

ENV5511/Three Essentials of the Electric Grid: Business Essentials

This course sets out, in three linked modules, the fundamental knowledge that professionals should have for working in the closely intertwined fields of energy and the environment. Students may take one, two, or three modules for one credit each. MODULE A – BUSINESS ESSENTIALS: This module will explore the current national policy on transition to a smart electric grid with a primary focus on how this transformation can help lead to global environmental improvement.

Professor(s)

In Memoriam - Kevin B. Jones

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

ENV5512/Three Essentials of the Electric Grid: Legal Essentials

This course sets out, in three linked modules, the fundamental knowledge that professionals should have for working in the closely intertwined fields of energy and the environment. Students may take one, two, or three modules for one credit each. MODULE C – LEGAL ESSENTIALS: With the climate crisis, we have the need to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to a low carbon economy. This module examines how in practice we can use the power of the law to make progress on our climate goals through clean energy advocacy.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

ENV___/European Community Environmental Law

The EU has emerged as the undisputed leader in international environmental politics and the world leader in environmental regulation in the last 20 years. This course introduces students to the important role of the principles of European environmental law in environmental regulation and to the EU techniques for environmental management.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

WRI7380/Advanced Environmental Legal Research

This one-credit course provides in-depth exposure to the most useful, efficient strategies and resources for environmental law research, including specialized science and statistical information resources, international environmental law research, advanced administrative law research, legislative history, environmental updating services, etc. The course is designed to prepare students to research environmental legal materials and non-legal materials for use in law school and in practice.

Professor(s)

Christine Ryan

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 1

ADR6412/Mediation

This course examines the nature of mediation and explores theoretical and practical aspects of the process. It will analyze each component of the mediation process and provide students with the opportunity to apply theories and skills in simulation exercises. The course will also address ethical and practical issues.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5230/Global Energy Law and Policy

Global Energy Law and Policy explores the current policy framework in a particular region outside of the United States with a focus on clean energy policies. The course will explore the regions policy development process, the current energy policy framework, policies implementing global and regional climate commitments and emerging issues.

Professor(s)

Anna Marhold

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5406/Animal Rights Jurisprudence

This class will explore the concept of animal law as it relates to the broader concept of legal rights. We will look at whether and how animals are subjects of the law, whether the legal system responds to their needs, and if so, how. We will start by exploring the ways the legal system defines “animal” and then move on to a discussion of animals within property law, criminal law, environmental law, and constitutional law. We will contextualize this investigation within an overall rubric of legal and moral rights and whether animals have any such rights and if not, why not.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5430/Ecology

Ecology is an integrative science that can provide insight into many contemporary environmental problems. Through visits to a variety of field sites in central Vermont, readings, and lectures, this course will explore the principles of ecology using a hands-on, interdisciplinary approach. Course work stresses the inventorying of biotic and physical components of a landscape (pieces), examining how these pieces are distributed (patterns), and determining what forces drive these patterns (processes).

Professor(s)

Walter Poleman

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5446/Environmental Justice

The environmental justice movement is aimed at avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating disproportionately adverse human health and environmental impacts, including social and economic impacts, on minority and/or low-income communities, and for those communities to be engaged meaningfully in environmental decision-making processes. This course examines this environmental and public health problem.

Professor(s)

Barry Hill

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5474/Land Conservation Law

Increasingly important in our efforts to preserve ecological diversity, historic places, working lands, scenic viewsheds, open space, and public uses of land are conservation tools and processes such as donation of conservation easements, purchase of sensitive lands, and private/ public partnerships for land conservation.

Professor(s)

Jessica Jay JD/MSEL'97

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5500/Environmental Aspects of Business Transactions

This course will introduce students to the liability, diligence, and drafting issues that arise in complex environmental business transactions, such as the purchase and sale of major assets, real property, and company stock.

Professor(s)

Thomas McHenry

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5540/Public Health Implications of U.S. Agriculture and Food Policy

It is often argued that individual food choice is the ultimate exercise of personal responsibility in oursociety. But what if that conventional wisdom was challenged, instead recognizing that a complex web of agricultural and food laws substantially influences what ends up on our plates and ultimately affects the health of individuals and communities? These policies, and the regulatory mechanisms supporting them, play a vital role in determining health outcomes for our nation, and accordingly will be explored in depth in this course.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5561/Environmental Enforcement and Compliance

This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of enforcement of the federal pollution control laws. We will first discuss the basic regulatory structure of the pollution control laws and the administrative, civil, judicial, and criminal enforcement tools available to federal and state regulators to ensure compliance with those laws.

Professor(s)

Randolph Hill

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 2

ENV5311/Environmental Conflict Management Systems Design

An introduction to the theory, principles, and practice of conflict management systems design. Lawyers and environmental practitioners are increasingly called upon to design and manage systems to handle “streams” of disputes effectively and efficiently. This class will introduce students to consulting skills and allow the opportunity to practice these skills.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 3

ENV5383/Food System Justice and Sustainability

​This intensive seminar focuses on how impact litigation and political advocacy can be used to develop a sustainable food system. We will examine the existing national and local regulatory structures to consider how they facilitate and create barriers to sustainable agriculture; debate current alternative proposals, with a particular focus on local, regional and statebased policy proposals; and strategize ways in which advocates and litigators can push reforms to generate a more open, humane, environmentally sound, safe, and just food system.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 3

ENV5550/Renewable Energy Project Finance and Development

This course will provide an in-depth look at the legal and regulatory issues associated with the development and project financing of renewable energy projects such as wind, hydro, solar, and geothermal. The course will explain the various ownership structures that are used for developing an energy project, such as LLC arrangements and partnership agreements.

Professor(s)

Glenn Berger, JD'78

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 3

ENV5564/Peace, War and the Environment

This course provides a current and exciting overview of the law of environment, peacekeeping and state reconstruction. Its focus is on states which have been damaged by conflict e.g. Afghanistan and Iraq, failed states which lack even the most basic facilities and services e.g. South Sudan, and states rich in resources but with weak or ineffective government e.g. Western Sahara, Liberia. The course provides an overview of international environmental obligations, considers international humanitarian law, and reviews the establishment and development of peacekeeping missions.

Professor(s)

Catherine MacKenzie

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 3

ENV5902/The Colorado River

For students of American and western water law, the Colorado River presents an unmatched union of hydrology, history, demography, and jurisprudence. This class will explore the River’s influence on state, national, and international law. Drawing on both historical and legal sources, we will first address the unprecedented efforts of the seven basin states to allocate the River voluntarily.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 3

INT7446/International Trade and the Environment

This course is an up-to-the-minute, in-depth treatment of the intersection and frequent clash between two areas of policy and law, both of which are intended to promote human welfare and sustainable development: trade liberalization and environmental protection.

Professor(s)

David Wirth

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 3

ENV5405/Ecosystem Conservation Strategies

This course will focus on gaining an understanding of current approaches to landscape scale conservation projects. The course will review conservation theory and examine specific conservation implementation actions. Case studies will draw conclusions for lawyers and practitioners. The course will involve lectures, class discussion, and a research project. Materials will draw on actual projects involving The Nature Conservancy as well as projects from other conservation organizations.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 4

ENV5410/The Modern Farm Bill

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the breadth of policies and legal authorities included in the Farm Bill that Congress re-evaluates every 5 years. Students will explore Federal farm support, crop insurance and conservation programs, as well as those designed for food assistance, international trade, renewable energy and rural economic development.

Professor(s)

Chris Adamo JD'04
Jonathan Coppess

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 4

ENV5462/Public Lands Management: Montana Field Study

The Montana Field Study is a unique experiential learning opportunity. This class focuses on National Forest Management. Students experience forest management, wilderness, recreation, and roadless issues first-hand, in the wilds of Montana and Idaho. Almost the entire class is held in the field; we backpack into remote places. Instructor permission is required; contact the Environmental Law Center for further information.

Professor(s)

Jack Tuholske

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 4

ENV5468/Oil and Gas Production and the Environment

This course provides students with an understanding of the future of oil and gas as an energy resource, the framework of conservation law and property law used to produce and regulate oil and gas in the U.S., and the externalities of production. The course also reviews the nature of the typical oil and gas lease used in the U.S. on private lands and on federal leases. The federal laws related to offshore leasing are reviewed, notably the Coastal Zone Management Act and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 4

ENV5521/Earth Law

Climate change and other global threats are increasingly illustrating the limits of our existing environmental laws to stem degradation. This course posits that environmental declines will continue until we address a fundamental assumption underlying our legal system: that humans are separate from the natural world and may treat it as property to be exploited, rather than as a connected ecological partner. The course will critically examine the sources of this assumption and its impacts on preventing us from achieving a healthy, thriving planet.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 4

INT7440/Comparative U.S.-China Environmental Law

This course examines how China and the United States—the two countries with the greatest impacts on the planet’s environment—are using law to respond to environmental challenges. After an introduction to the history and structure of environmental law, the course compares approaches to regulation used in China with those employed by the U.S.

Professor(s)

Robert Percival

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 4

INT7441/China Field Study

Following completion of the Comparative U.S.-China Environmental Law course, students may participate in an additional field trip to China. This trip will enable students to experience directly environmental conditions in China and to meet leading Chinese environmental scholars and activists. Prerequisite: Comparative U.S.-China Environmental Law.

Professor(s)

Robert Percival

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 4

INT7450/International Investment Arbitration and the Environment

This course will examine a cutting-edge area of environmental advocacy. Under the umbrella of sustainable development, the course brings together the points of contact between three areas of international law, namely investment, human rights, and the environment, which together form one of the most dynamic areas of international environmental advocacy today. The course will explore how the various treaties underlying these 10 three regimes relate to one another, with a particular emphasis on dispute settlement.

Professor(s)

Semester

2017 Summer - Term 4