It’s hard to find environmental law in the Constitution, easy to find it in a law school: Maybe that’s why. “Environmental policy, from the perspective of a lawyer, is much more complicated than just the law,” NYU law school Adjunct Professor Amelia Salzman ’85, former associate director for policy outreach of the White House Council on Environmental Quality says. “Environmental policy is so politically and economically charged these days that simply bringing lawsuits is not necessarily the best or only way to accomplish policy change—one really has to mount a much more strategic campaign to accomplish these changes.”

“That’s why, in her Public Interest Environmental Law Practice class, Salzman focuses on preparing students to practice in a world that requires a firm command of not just years-long litigation but also savvy public relations, constant networking, strategic engagement with decision-makers, and creative and sometimes counterintuitive coalition-building,” her alma mater’s web site claims. “Salzman’s lectures cover three big case studies: the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, the permit process for TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline, and the EPA’s ozone emissions regulation under the Clean Air Act.” Saltzman worked in the Obama White House when they killed the pipeline.

Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.
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