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Environmental Law
The environmental legal field is expanding in relation to growing public concern and increasing government support. In the United States, President Obama signed the Recovery and Reinvestment Act – commonly referred to as the stimulus plan – that devotes $787 billion to the economy in green spending. The plan intends to create millions of green jobs and re-route traditional industries that produce high levels of pollutants and engage unsustainable practices.
Obama comes closer to setting environmental law to regulate greenhouse gases and climate change than any other American president. Since he declared carbon dioxide and gases a threat to public health and welfare, Congress is under increased pressure to pass legislation. President Obama also came down hard on the automobile and oil and gas industries when he demanded that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reconsider denying 18 states – including California – the ability to enforce motor vehicle greenhouse gas limits at higher than federal standards.
Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope commended the president’s actions, and the tremendous progress it represents. Pope has been involved with the Sierra Club – a leading American environmental group - since the 1970s and Executive Director since 1992. Under Pope’s leadership, the Sierra Club has helped influence legislation to protect over 10 million acres of wilderness and to challenge former Vice President Cheney’s secret negotiations with major energy lobbyists.
The most influential environmental law firm in the United States is Earthjustice – a non-profit interest law firm devoted to ensuring the preservation of natural spaces, resources and wildlife, as well as advocating for healthy environments for all people. Earthjustice President, Trip Van Noppen is committed to using law courts to protect the health of people and the environment. Van Noppen first got involved in environmental issues locally after graduating from Yale undergraduate studies, joining the fight to Save Our Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee. It was this early exposure to the influence of public interest lawyers in the field that encouraged Van Noppen study law at the University of North Carolina.
Earthjustice Vice President of Litigation, Patti Goldman has been with the firm since 1994, when she first joined as a staff attorney. Since then Goldman has been dedicated to civil rights, constitutional law and government accountability in her fight to safeguard the environment from pesticides, and trade institutions. Goldman earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Law Degree from the University of Wisconsin in addition to a fellowship at Georgetown University Law School devoted to women’s civil rights.
As federal and state environmental regulations strengthen and multiply, the need is growing for environmental lawyers and consultants in major companies as concerns over environmental impacts rise. In order to be sustainable – both economically and environmentally – companies are responding to the evolution of eco-sensitive standards, and environmental lawyers play a major role in researching, constructing and advocating environmentally responsible strategies.
EDUCATION SIDEBAR:
Legal careers in most countries require a Law Degree and the successful completion of a state or federal bar exam. Once enrolled in Law, many schools offer a specialty in environmental law, or international environmental law.
Some of the most reputable schools for Environmental Law degrees in the US include:
• The Environmental Law Center, Vermont Law School
• Lewis and Clark Law School, Portland, OR
• Yale Law School
• University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Law
• Stanford Law School
• Center on Environmental and Land Use Law, NYU School of Law
Prior to law school, an undergraduate degree is usually required. For careers in environmental law, undergraduate studies in fields such as Biology, Environmental Science, Wildlife Studies, Forestry, Marine Science and Natural Resource Management are encouraged.
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