The Unifying Role of Harm in Environmental Law

89 Pages Posted: 13 Mar 2006

See all articles by Albert Lin

Albert Lin

University of California, Davis - School of Law

Abstract

Environmental law concerns itself largely with the prevention, mitigation, or correction of harm. Despite the importance of harm in motivating - and justifying - environmental law, relatively little attention has been devoted to understanding the concept. This article begins to bridge this gap by introducing a theoretical framework for analyzing harm in environmental law. A brief examination of harm in various environmental contexts not only reveals long-standing struggles with the concept, but also suggests the impossibility of defining harm in an objective manner. Concluding that harm is a normative concept based on underlying value judgments, this article adopts a framework that defines harm as a setback to interests in human autonomy that community norms have deemed significant. Under this framework, physical injury, emotional injury, and damage to property present easy cases of harm. Other effects, however, such as chromosomal damage from exposure to toxic substances, uncertain effects of emerging technologies, and damage to the environment itself, present more difficult cases. Application of the framework in these contexts suggests how society might accommodate changing understandings of the world and changing values while safeguarding personal autonomy.

Suggested Citation

Lin, Albert, The Unifying Role of Harm in Environmental Law. Wisconsin Law Review, Vol. 3, 2006, UC Davis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 74, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=889775

Albert Lin (Contact Author)

University of California, Davis - School of Law ( email )

Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall
Davis, CA CA 95616-5201
United States

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