Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Abstract

December 22 marks the 40th anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act, which started the modern era of environmental law, and the 40th anniversary of the Environmental Law Institute, which was founded to monitor the new field and to create a profession around the emerging discipline. To mark this anniversary, we asked a range of luminaries to forecast how environmental law and the profession dedicated to its successful implementation will mature over the next four decades. Will environmental protection still be the product of a social movement, or will it have become incorporated as part of the cost of doing business? Will businesses go beyond their legal requirements and lead the movement to sustainability, or will government still be wielding carrots and sticks? Will individuals modify their lifestyles, or will technology make increased environmental quality a natural outcome of economic improvement?

Disciplines

Environmental Law

Center/Program

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

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