Introduction: The Intersection of Constitutional and Environmental Law

PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, American Bar Association, 2011

34 Pages Posted: 22 Oct 2011

See all articles by James R. May

James R. May

Washburn University - Washburn University School of Law; Widener University Delaware Law School; Haub School of Law at Pace University

Date Written: October 20, 2011

Abstract

This chapter introduces the various ways that constitutional law shapes environmental law, ways that are examined in detail in the chapters that follow. It is hard to overstate the profound influence constitutional law has on legal and policy responses to the most pressing environmental issues of our day: climate change, species and biodiversity conservation, pollution control, use of natural resources, sustainability, rights to a quality environment, individual property rights and liberty interests, wind power, interstate movement of waste and energy, carbon allowances, and land use, to name a few. These issues are molded by constitutional features including the Commerce, dormant Commerce, Supremacy, Takings, and Due Process Clauses; the nondelegation, standing, and political question doctrines; the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments; and principles of executive authority and federalism. Constitutions in many U.S. states, as well as in other countries, also explicitly address environmental concerns. This chapter briefly explains how these and other lower profile constitutional issues shape environmental law.

Keywords: constitutional law, environmental law

JEL Classification: K32, K10

Suggested Citation

May, James, Introduction: The Intersection of Constitutional and Environmental Law (October 20, 2011). PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, American Bar Association, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1947074

James May (Contact Author)

Washburn University - Washburn University School of Law ( email )

1700 SW College Ave.
Topeka, KS 66621
United States

Widener University Delaware Law School ( email )

4601 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE 19803-0406
United States

Haub School of Law at Pace University ( email )

78 N. Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
United States

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