Irus Braverman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520298842
- eISBN:
- 9780520970830
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520298842.003.0009
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
In chapter 4, “Coral Law under Threat,”the pendulum swings back to despair. The chapter documents the focus of contemporary legal regimes—in particular, the U.S. Endangered Species Act—on threat and ...
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In chapter 4, “Coral Law under Threat,”the pendulum swings back to despair. The chapter documents the focus of contemporary legal regimes—in particular, the U.S. Endangered Species Act—on threat and endangerment, exposing how ill-equipped this law is for dealing with coral species and also with the sheer scale of their “super wicked problem.” Here, federal administrators provide insight into the processes by which listing and delisting decisions take place, their deliberations about coral classification providing a fresh perspective on the correlations between law and science. While the frustrations with existing legal regimes, as well as the fraught relationship between scientists and lawyers, invoke a sense of despair, some also see hope on the legal horizon. Two such hopeful instances are the emerging international regulation of climate change and the signals of possible receptiveness by U.S. courts to the assertion of constitutional rights to a healthy environment.Less
In chapter 4, “Coral Law under Threat,”the pendulum swings back to despair. The chapter documents the focus of contemporary legal regimes—in particular, the U.S. Endangered Species Act—on threat and endangerment, exposing how ill-equipped this law is for dealing with coral species and also with the sheer scale of their “super wicked problem.” Here, federal administrators provide insight into the processes by which listing and delisting decisions take place, their deliberations about coral classification providing a fresh perspective on the correlations between law and science. While the frustrations with existing legal regimes, as well as the fraught relationship between scientists and lawyers, invoke a sense of despair, some also see hope on the legal horizon. Two such hopeful instances are the emerging international regulation of climate change and the signals of possible receptiveness by U.S. courts to the assertion of constitutional rights to a healthy environment.
