Kept up to date by supplements. Includes bibliographical references (p. xxxvii-xl) and index.

Environmental values and policies, an introduction -- Environmental law, a structural overview -- Waste management and pollution prevention -- Regulation of toxic substances -- Regulatory process -- Air pollution control -- Protection of public resources -- Protection of the global environment -- Appendixes: Glossary; List of acronyms. This textbook is founded on the conviction that a "second generation" approach to environmental law is necessary because of the dramatic changes that have occurred in our understanding of environmental problems and society's responses to them. This text seeks to broaden students' vision by inviting them to explore how law relates to the larger problems society seeks to solve through collective action. That transformation is reflected in the book's title, which emphasizes the value of approaching environmental law through a regulatory policy focus that explores the full range of forces that shape the way law affects human behavior. By focusing on regulation, viewed expansively as embracing all forms of collective action to protect the environment, this text seeks to enhance undertanding of the way law affects the behavior of institutions and individuals. -Pref.