1.0 – Introduction
Theoretically, Environmental law is a combined term describing international treaties, statutes, and procedures. In fact, it works to control the interaction of humanity and the natural environment. Generally, it may be separated into two most important subjects: pollution control and remediation . Development of international environmental law as a separate area of public international law began in the mid-1970s with the Stockholm Conference. Subsequently interest has progressively improved and it is one of the fastest developing areas of international law.
Contemporary subjects of international fear covered by environmental law include ozone layer depletion and global warming, etc. International collaboration in the system of treaties, agreements produced by intergovernmental organizations are being used to defend and protect the environment. In fact, the documents from the foremost organizations concerned with protection of the environment such as the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the European Union, the OECD, and the Council of Europe are from vital significance. Meanwhile crucial responsibility for the protection of the environment remains at the national and local level. Also, municipal laws and regulations connected to the environment are progressively being required.
2.0 – History
Through history in many antique civilizations pure water has been a major subject. The first environmental rules originating from Roman law rules and were also practical in the Middle Ages in Europe. The recognition that the natural environment was fragile and need a special legal protections. At that time, numerous influences - including a growing awareness of the unity and fragility o...
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6.0 – Principles and Concepts of International Environmental Law
Basically, understanding and intellectual capacity of modern international environmental law, requests not only understanding of treaty law, but also the translation of principles and concepts into legally obligatory rules and implements. Principles and concepts stand for a common ground in international environmental law. Also, it reflects the past development of international environmental law and have deep impact on its future development. Those mentioned terms play significant parts in international environmental law, which the most rapidly developing areas of public international law. In fact, it indicates the vital characteristics of international environmental law, providing regulation and control in understanding legal standards and constitute fundamental norms.
Solis, Hilda. “Environmental Justice: An Unalienable Right for All.” Human Rights 30 (2003): 5-6. JSTOR. Web. 13 February 2014.
Cases have been widely used in medical ethics and law. In both fields, numerous books and articles about cases have appeared, including book-length catalogs of cases. What I propose to do in this paper is to discuss whether environmental ethics should be case-based as in law and medicine.
It is difficult for humans to live in harmony with nature because humans’ selfishness always places profits before our earth’s needs. We live in a consumer society, which we purchase interesting products and dispose of them carelessly. Those products with non-decomposable materials, which make our life easier and more comfortable, result a massive damage to our environment. In the articles, “A Fable for Tomorrow” by Rachel Carson and “Our Animals Rite” by Anna Quindlen, both authors suggest destruction in nature world due to human’s activities. As environment issues presented by scientists, governments around the world start to give highly attention on the environmental protection, but there are many challenges in implementing environmental protection policies. Some of the top environmental concerns are air pollution, climate changing and trash waste. Although people started to aware the horrible consequences due to polluted environment, an efficient life, people apathy toward ecosystem and human's unlimited desires for a confortable life have created obstacles for the world to protect the environment.
...tained a streak of sustaining a strong society when suggesting their laws into the Criminal Justice System. Nonetheless, the recent proposal discussed on whether environmental harm should be criminalized has sparked controversy. There are many pros and cons that can be acknowledged in this case. One main thing is certain; the environment is very sacred to every human being and should be well cared for. Thus, there are many other techniques that can do this rather than it simply being placed in the Criminal Code. Civilians need to have a fair chance to deal with problems and as a whole; they can come together to help this environmental issue. Non-legal regulators can work together with society to better our world. Taking legal action would make things more complicated than need be when considering a law that has more negatives to our justice system than positives.
Mohai, P., Pellow, D., & Timmins, R. J. (2009). Environmental Justice. Annual Review of Environment and Resources , 34, 405-430.
Because of human and nonhuman connections to specific places including knowledge, experience and community, using a sense of place and permanence as a green transnational multilateral initiative could be a successful step towards green democracy and ecological citizenship. Robyn Eckersley offers the suggestion of a constitutionally entrenched principle that would enhance ecological and social responsibility: the precautionary principle. I suggest connecting localized, place-specific boundaries with the principle. This addition is meant to aid in fostering ecological citizenship, expanding the moral community, and creating a responsible society. This addition would also be meant to unite a transnational issue that all nations could agree upon. This would create a binding multilateral principle that would be thoroughly accepting of specific ecological needs and characteristics of specific places.
...ty. It is available to reflect the social values of a society such as new concepts of justice. The law Reform Commission of Canada is persistently submitting legal proposals that can be used to improve a society and it also serves as a crucial role to the structure of law and the government and the Canadian Criminal Justice System. A proposal that has drawn a lot of debate is the idea of whether environmental destruction and maltreatment should be criminalized. After examining the given themes, environmental harm should not be considered a crime. The undesirable outcomes of criminalizing environmental harm outweigh the positives of criminalizing such a reform. Although the environment affects people’s lives, so do the laws and regulations. This crime is too broad and may result in more harm than good in the Canadian society and the Canadian Criminal Justice System.
Wild Law: A manifesto for Earth Justice is a book by Cormac Cullinan that proposes recognizing the natural order of communities and ecosystem from a legal prospective. He attempts to show an integration of different fields of study like world politics, Environmental legal theory, physics and how teachings from the ancient world can create an appealing notion for the need for change in today’s environmental understanding. This book has been influential in informing and inspiring the global movement to recognise rights for “Mother Nature”. This movement Cormac Cullinan preaches is destined to shape the 21st century as significantly as the human rights movements shaped the previous century.
Environmental injustice has become a prominent issue within the context of the United States, because the dominant ideology of the nation promotes profit over the livelihood of people. Environmental racism refers to the intentional dumping of hazardous materials into specific communities, as well as limiting communities access to health food. Capitalism and the commercialization of healthy food has disregarded the sustainability of the environment, as well as disproportionately impacts poor communities of color. Corporations target communities of color because of lack of political clout, due to the most labor and time being spent on working low wage jobs and surviving the conditions produced by poverty. The structural positioning of communities,
...ction of a state’s purpose as its responsibility to its citizens. Ultimately – Environmental Security aims to increase state, community and individual ability to cope with limited natural resources, and risks, conflicts and changes due to environmental factors. What is most worrisome to anyone who observes these matters form a security perspective is not any single concern, but the totality of the increasing impact of the disruptions caused by a flawed modern industrial systems and its reach into all parts of the biosphere. Competition for resources and territory, diminishing access to food and water and threats to sovereignty has brought about changes in military planning and foreign policy as well as adaptations in the international legal system, with climate change and environmental security very much shaping the nature of 21st century International relations.
I will be discussing Environmental Justice as defined by Julie Sze and London, is the social movement that came from environmental racism which involves paying less attention to environmental concerns such as pollution among racial minorities (Sze and London 1332). Therefore, there are two parts of environmental justice and the first is that it battles environmental racism ad second, it deals with issues and policies regarding natural resources like air, water and land (Sze and London 1336).
In an effort to create a sustainable global environment a significant area of focus needs to be on the interrelationships that contribute to this goal. As with the relationships associated with globalization our actions are interconnected with one another, one nations decisions in a particular geographical area can often times impact those in another geographical areas. The same cause and effect theory applies to environmental interrelationships. An area that this can be most prevalent...
In The Development of Environmental Regimes: Chemicals, Wastes, and Climate Change, the authors provide a simple framework to analyze the development of global environmental regimes (GER) which ultimately addresses why states sometimes agree to cooperate on global environmental issues despite divergent interests. The chapter is divided into five subsections but begins with an introduction to explain the five processes involved in the development of GERs. The authors address questions such as who forms GERs and how are they formulated. Next, they apply the processes involved in the development of GERs to four case studies that are linked to global environmental issues: ozone depletion, hazardous waste, toxic chemicals, and climate change, respectively. The authors conclude that states and non-state actors can come together to address global environmental issues but not without obstacles.
In conclusion, however, although EU adopt legally binding directives and regulations, but still it lacks the capacity to control practical implementation, as well as the effective sanctioning mechanism. Similarly in EU mobilization is stronger which has promoted cooperation among environmental groups and better distribution of funds which help strengthen other environmental groups resulting into better implementation of EU environmental Policy and therefore, the anticipated dilemma in EU environmental governance can be inevitable.
...nces of habitual ecological legal principles. This is mostly so because environmental law itself is of moderately recent vintage, and as a result there has been little time for dependable state perform to enlarge, either in rejoinder to solemn declarations by IGOs or from side to side the all-purpose reception of norms set out in many-sided treaties. On the other hand, the processes described above have in additional areas, and in exacting that of human rights, been particularly creative in the formation of customary law, and there is consequently every cause to wait for that the similar will apply in admiration of ecological principles. http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu25ee/uu25ee0a.htm References http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/international.html http://indylaw.indiana.edu/library/InternatlLaw1.htm http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu25ee/uu25ee0a.htm