ABSTRACT
This book provides an introduction to the legal framework governing human control, use, and protection of that portion of the earth’s natural endowment found within the United States – American environmental and natural resources law. It is a framework that has grown and evolved dramatically over the years, reflecting changing human needs and interests in the uses of nature.
At its base is a set of common law property rights regimes developed around specific natural resources such as minerals and water. Over time, statutory rules have codified and changed many common law principles so that now the framework is largely statutory and even regulatory. Early problems of resource allocation among human beneficiaries have evolved into difficult problems of adjusting the rights and responsibilities of resource owners and users.
Once almost totally a creature of state law, this framework is now a complex mix of federal and state law. Important matters of constitutional and administrative law are now part of this framework. To study this field is to understand and apply many subject areas. The study of the law of nature’s resources benefits from a close consideration of the physical and natural systems that constitute the earth’s endowment. Our understanding of earth sciences has lagged our desire to gain benefits from the earth’s assets. For example, we were extracting oil and gas before we understood the mechanics of the reservoir systems in which they existed. Initial rules allowing unmanaged development changed radically once we better understood the nature of the resource. Similarly, we disregarded the life support functions of natural assets such as water in our pursuit of the economic benefits they help provide. With improved understanding of these other valuable functions, rules are changing regarding the manner in which humans use nature’s resources.
MacDonnell, Lawrence, The Law of Nature’s Resources (December 2012).
First posted 2021-02-12 06:59:57
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