Sustainabilty in the Age of Climate Change

The Environmental Law Collaborative's first book is now available from ELI. The ELC is a bi-annual gathering of law professors to discuss challenging issues. We gather with a minimal agenda to explore an important topic and consider the best way to move the conversation forward. Our first meeting in 2012 examined the concept of sustainability to inquire into whether it changes (or should change) when we add the lens of sustainability. That gathering led to a series of blog posts on our sister blog (Environmental Law Profs) and were published together in ELR. Most of the participants then expanded on the posts contributing chapters to a book: Rethinking Sustainability to Meet the Climate Change Challenge.

Cribbing from ELI's press release:

Has the concept of sustainability as we know it reached the end of its useful life? It is a term that means many things to many people, but it has been a positive driving force across all levels of society in a broad-based effort—either through laws and treaties or voluntary action—to keep our planet and our people healthy. But none of those efforts have managed to prevent climate change. It’s a reality that’s here to stay, and it’s bigger than we would have imagined even 20 years ago.

This volume presents a collection of papers from experts in the field articulating a wide range of thoughtful ways in which various conceptions of sustainability need to be re-examined, refined, or articulated in greater detail to address these challenges. The chapters reflect the kind of thoughtful and sophisticated thinking that is needed to accelerate the transition to sustainability in the face of a changing climate. As editors Jessica Owley and Keith Hirokawa note, one of the main challenges is the need for a better understanding of the issues and developing the proper means of communicating them.

The work is provocative and timely. Profs. Owley and Hirokawa have deftly edited a well annotated book that is essential in assessing whether sustainable development can address—or survive—the problems of climate disruption.”—Nicholas A. Robinson, Gilbert & Sarah Kerlin Professor of Environmental Law Emeritus, Pace University School of Law

Check out the preface and table of contents here, and chapters from Robin Kundis Craig, Keith Hirokawa, co-blogger extraordinaire Stephen Miller,  Jessica Owley, and Jonathan Rosenbloom. 

I guess to get the rest of the chapters, you'll have to buy the  book (or juts ask the authors nicely).