Akron Law Announcements

You have the opportunity to pick up 3 credits of a very interesting course during the Intersession between spring semester and the beginning of Summer I:

Space still available in a fun 2-week biodiversity/climate/energy course this May

Professor Robbins is offering a fun (low-intensity) 3-unit course this May 13-25 that will provide the basics of biodiversity law, the impact of climate change on biodiversity (not covering emissions regulation, which is too complex for a mini-course), and the impact of biodiversity law on the development of renewable energy and hydraulic fracturing. The course is offered M-F 1pm to 5pm for those two weeks, with an 8-hour take-home exam on Saturday the 25^th (no more material than a 3-hour exam, just more time to think it through, with word-limits so you don’t feel like you have to race to write the most in all 8 hours). Due to the daily class timing, reading will be constrained to about a 1-1 ratio (hours reading per hours class time, which is traditionally 3-1), and thus far lighter than usual for a 3-unit course. Professor Robbins will cover the readings in a classroom setting (lecture/discussion) in the first half of each day, provide a short break, and then engage the class in practical group exercises for the remainder of the time. Weather permitting, the latter portion will take place outside. The course offers a pleasant, brief, and informative (must-know material in this changing world) way to earn 3 units.

Here is the listed course description:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Renewable Energy: Emerging Legal Issues
Professor Kalyani Robbins

What do lawmakers, real estate developers, energy companies, urban planners, land managers, and industrial regulated parties all have in common? They all face a major turning point in our relationship with the planet – changes in the climate, sea level rise, rapidly evolving biodiversity needs, and a boom in renewable energy and natural gas extraction, both of which face conflicts with endangered species protection – a turning point that is beginning to alter the options available to each within their respective fields. This course will cover biodiversity law, climate change law, and the emerging relationship between the two. We will then proceed to review the various areas of renewable energy (which, of course, is a favored avenue toward climate mitigation), as well as the newly revamped hydraulic fracturing technology, all through the lens of conflicts with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that are hindering development in these areas. We will discuss ways in which the move toward renewable energy might be accomplished without butting heads with the rather fierce ESA. The text for the course is The Law of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management (Foundation Press University Casebook Series, Third Edition, 2013, John Copeland Nagle, J.B. Ruhl & Kalyani Robbins, eds.).