This book is a study of legal doctrines that hinder the development of efficient, economically sound policies for protecting
the environment. The author is the executive director of the Center for Individual Rights and an adjunct scholar at AEI. A summary of the book follows.
Legal scholars, policy analysts, and journalists who follow
environmental politics have noted that federal courts have become increasingly skeptical of environmental
regulation. Judges now treat environmental interest groups and regulators more harshly, and industry plaintiffs more sympathetically. These tendencies signal a broader and more profound shift, the demise of environmental values and ideology in American constitutional and administrative law. The courts have jettisoned ecological presumption and returned to more traditional legal doctrines. This shift is conducive to somewhat more sensible and efficient regulation. Moreover, it has had a profound effect on the substance and tone of the environmental policy debate.