Environmental Law Seminar: Emerging Technologies and the Environment

Seminar - 2 hours. Emerging technologies such as genetic engineering, nanotechnology, synthetic biology, and geoengineering have the potential to transform lives, economic systems, and entire societies. The health and environmental risks and uncertainties associated with these technologies also pose novel and fascinating challenges for regulators. Existing laws, domestic and international, in some instances offer a starting point for managing risk and uncertainty, but often constitute an imperfect fit. Emerging technologies present new and unanticipated circumstances, and their rapid development frequently outpaces the ability of legislators and regulators to respond. This course will examine legal regimes that might apply to various emerging technologies and consider governance mechanisms and reforms that might enable more foresighted and participatory development and management of technology. Students will do extensive reading of cases, statutes, treaties, and scholarly analyses. Each student will write a 25-page research paper on a topic of emerging technology regulation.