This book examines the development of environmental law in the period since the ground-breaking 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development or 'Earth Summit' in Rio de Janeiro. It demonstrates that a great deal has been achieved in the field of environmental law since the 1990s. However, the extraordinary environmental crises facing humanity in the 21st century indicate a continuing urgent need for the generation of robust policies and frameworks concerning ecological, socio-cultural and economic sustainability, implemented through appropriately innovative legal mechanisms. The book is divided into five sub-themes of sustainability: history, principles and concepts; environmental rights; access to justice and liability issues; natural resources, energy and climate change; and nature conservation. It includes expert legal opinion on developments to date, engaging with key themes from a broad selection of jurisdictions and perspectives. The analyses extend across public and private law to reflect the manifold areas which are rightly and necessarily the concern of environmental and sustainability law. Its contents offer not only critiques of developments to date, but also constructive engagement with matters of pressing concern to all. Written from a global perspective, this book will be an invaluable reference for academics, postgraduate students, practitioners and policy-makers concerned with environmental law and sustainability. Contributors: J. Benidickson, A.H. Benjamin, B. Boer, M.N. Camargos, M.A. Cohen, J.A.F. Costa, A. Daibert, J. de Cendra de Larragan, A. de Garay Sanchez, F. de Salles Cavedon, J.W. Dellapenna, A. du Plessis, W. du Plessis, J.J. Gonzalez, D. Hodas, E. Kasimbazi, R. Kibugi, F.R. Loures, N. Lugaresi, K. Morrow, C. Odidi Okidi, A. Paterson, N.A. Robinson, W. Scholtz, F. Sola, R. Stanziola Vieira, M.B. Tekle, S. Teles da Silva

This book examines the development of environmental law in the period since the ground-breaking 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development or 'Earth Summit' in Rio de Janeiro. It demonstrates that a great deal has been achieved in the field of environmental law since the 1990s. However, the extraordinary environmental crises facing humanity in the 21st century indicate a continuing urgent need for the generation of robust policies and frameworks concerning ecological, socio-cultural and economic sustainability, implemented through appropriately innovative legal mechanisms. The book is divided into five sub-themes of sustainability: history, principles and concepts; environmental rights; access to justice and liability issues; natural resources, energy and climate change; and nature conservation. It includes expert legal opinion on developments to date, engaging with key themes from a broad selection of jurisdictions and perspectives. The analyses extend across public and private law to reflect the manifold areas which are rightly and necessarily the concern of environmental and sustainability law. Its contents offer not only critiques of developments to date, but also constructive engagement with matters of pressing concern to all. Written from a global perspective, this book will be an invaluable reference for academics, postgraduate students, practitioners and policy-makers concerned with environmental law and sustainability. Contributors: J. Benidickson, A.H. Benjamin, B. Boer, M.N. Camargos, M.A. Cohen, J.A.F. Costa, A. Daibert, J. de Cendra de Larragan, A. de Garay Sanchez, F. de Salles Cavedon, J.W. Dellapenna, A. du Plessis, W. du Plessis, J.J. Gonzalez, D. Hodas, E. Kasimbazi, R. Kibugi, F.R. Loures, N. Lugaresi, K. Morrow, C. Odidi Okidi, A. Paterson, N.A. Robinson, W. Scholtz, F. Sola, R. Stanziola Vieira, M.B. Tekle, S. Teles da Silva

Levelling the Lake explores a century and a half of social, economic, and legal arrangements through which the resources and environment of the Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake watershed have been both harnessed and harmed. Jamie Benidickson traces the environmental consequences of resource extraction and recreation as well as their impacts on local residents, including Indigenous communities, which encouraged new legal and institutional responses. Assessing the transition from primary resource extraction toward sustainable development, Levelling the Lake also shows how interjurisdictional and transboundary issues continue to play a significant role throughout the region.

To most, the flush of a toilet seems a routine motion to banish waste and ensure cleanliness: safe, efficient, necessary, nonpolitical, and utterly unremarkable. However, Jamie Benidickson's examination of the social and legal history of sewage in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom demonstrates that the uncontroversial reputation of flushing is deceptive. In a time when community water quality can no longer be taken for granted, this book is particularly relevant, as it delves into and clarifies the murky issues surrounding the evolution of the culture of flushing.Drawing upon the experience of urban centres, including Toronto, Chicago, New York, and London, The Culture of Flushing carefully analyzes more than two hundred years of history to describe how we conveniently came to view streams as nature's sewers, and how water, one of our planet's most precious resources, became an acceptable medium for the disposal of urban and industrial waste. Informed by the evolution of legal doctrine, contemporary understanding of the chemical and biological characteristics of water, changing theories of disease, and the influence of professionals in such fields as public health, engineering, and economics, this book pushes the reader to seriously reconsider our casual habit of flushing it all away.Unique, comprehensive, and accessible, The Culture of Flushing will appeal to everyone from specialists in environmental history, environmental law, public health, engineering, and public policy to the general reader concerned with protecting water quality and the environment.