Environmental law is the legal discipline concerned with balancing environmental issues and concerns of the public, with the rights of property owners (individuals, businesses and government) to be able to develop and use their property for a specific purpose. Environmental law may be reflected both explicitly and implicitly ways through statutes and regulations, such as building codes, zoning ordinances, condemnation policies and land use restrictions. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a federal agency charged to regulate chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment which icludes air, water, and land. Federal and state environmental laws reflect local policy and priorities, which vary from place to place, resulting in conflicts between localities on major environmental issues. Environmental law draws from and is influenced by principles of environmentalism, ecology, biology, conservation, stewardship, responsibility and sustainability. From an economic perspective it can be understood as concerned with the prevention of present and future externalities.

Environmental issues today:

There are many of areas of concern effecting the environmental landscape today. Some of which include air and water quality, global climate change, agriculture, species preservation and protection, pesticides and hazardous chemicals, waste management and conservation and management of public lands and natural resources.

While many countries worldwide have passed environmental laws, the implementation and enforcement of these laws has been very slow to date. Much of this is caused by lack of financial and fiscal resources that many countiries possess. In recent years, environmental law has become seen as a critical means of promoting sustainable development (or "sustainability") which has helped increase environmental awareness and subsequently has improved the overall enforcment of these laws. Policy concepts such as the precautionary principle and environmental justice have informed many environmental law reforms in this respect. There has been considerable experimentation in the search for more effective methods of environmental control beyond its traditional command and control style of regulation.

Attorneys specializing in Environmental Law:

Attorneys specializing in Environmental law must have great insight and knowledge in areas such as Ecology, Biology, Administrative Law, Agricultural Law, Animal Law, Compliance Law and many other legal areas that govern the existing legal obligations that exist between society as a whole and the natural environment. Environmental attorneys need to be able to understand and comprehend a system of complex and interlocking statutes, common laws, treaties, and policy regulations which seek to protect the natural environment and which may be affected, impacted or endangered by human activities. Environmental attorneys handle cases involving the protection of natural resources, land, wildlife, regulation of harmful emissions into the air and water, and monitoring of commercial and industrial activities for their impact on the environment. Environmental attorneys also advise businesses on compliance regulation with federal and state environmental laws.

Individuals looking for an attorney specializing in Environmental law need to find someone who is well versed in the EPA Policies and Regulations, Clean Air Act, Air Pollution Control Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Water Pollution Control Act, and Wildlife and Wilderness Act and Endangered Species Act. Only an experienced and knowledgeable attorney specializing Environmental law will understand the subtle and complex differences between these acts and regulations that ultimately govern human behavior and its impact on the natural environment.

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