James Salzman

Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law

  • B.A. Yale College, 1985
  • J.D. Harvard Law School, 1989
  • M.Sc. Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 1990

James Salzman is the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at the UCLA School of Law and at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara. He formerly held distinguished chairs at Duke University Law and Environment Schools. In twelve books and more than 100 articles and book chapters, his broad-ranging scholarship has addressed topics spanning drinking water, policy instrument design, and creating markets for ecosystem services. One of the most read environmental law professors in the world, his work has been translated into six languages with over 115,000 article downloads.

A dedicated classroom teacher and colleague, Salzman was twice selected as Professor of the Year by students. He frequently appears as a media commentator and has delivered lectures on every continent. He has served as a visiting law professor at Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale as well as at universities in Australia, China, Israel, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden.

An honors graduate of Yale College and Harvard University, Salzman was the first Harvard graduate to earn joint degrees in law and engineering and was named a Sheldon Fellow upon graduation. He has both government and private sector work experience. Prior to entering academia, he worked in Paris in the Environment Directorate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and in London as the European Environmental Manager for Johnson Wax. His honors include election as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, as well as appointments as a McMaster Fellow and Fulbright Senior Scholar in Australia, a Gilbert White Fellow at Resources for the Future, and a Bellagio Fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation, among others.

A national survey of environmental law professors has voted his work among the top articles of the year on seven separate occasions. He has published five casebooks, including International Environmental Law and Policy (with D. Zaelke and D. Hunter, 6th ed. 2021), the leading casebook in the field with adoptions at over 250 schools. His articles have appeared in leading law reviews and scientific journals. Active in the fields of practice and policy, he has served as a Member of the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee and the National Drinking Water Advisory Committees, government-appointed bodies providing high-level counsel to the EPA Administrator, as well as advising non-profits and foreign governments on environmental markets.

He has written two bestselling books, Drinking Water: A History and Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives. Mine! was featured in The New Yorker, New York Times, and named as one of the top five non-fiction books of the year by the Financial Times.

View Professor Salzman's CV.

Bibliography

  • Books
    • International Environmental Law and Policy (with David Hunter and Durwood Zaelke). 6th ed. Foundation Press (2021). Prior editions: 5th, 2015; 4th, 2011; 3rd, 2007; 2nd, 2002; 1st, 1998.
    • Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control our Lives (with Michael Heller). Doubleday Books (March 2021).
    • Green Growth That Works: Natural Capital Policy and Finance Mechanisms Around the World (edited by Lisa Ann Mandle, Zhiyun Ouyang, James Edwin Salzman, and Gretchen Cara Daily). Island Press (2019). Book Info
    • Environmental Law and Policy (with Barton Thompson). 5th ed. Foundation Press (2019). Concepts and Insights series. Prior editions: 4th, 2013; 3rd, 2010; 2nd, 2007; 1st, 2003. Translated into Chinese (2017).
    • Drinking Water: A History. 2nd ed. Overlook Press (2017). Paperback edition: 2013; 1st, 2012.
    • Natural Resources Law and Policy (with Josh Eagle and Barton H. Thompson Jr.). Foundation Press (2017). Concepts and Insights Series.
    • Natural Resources Law and Policy (with James R. Rasband, Mark Squillace and Sam Kalen). 3rd ed. Foundation Press (2016). University Casebook Series.
    • The Practice and Policy of Environmental Law (with J. B. Ruhl, John Copeland Nagle, and Alexandra Klass). 4th ed. Foundation Press (2016). Previous editions: 3rd, 2014; 2nd, 2010; 1st, 2008.
    • Policy Maker's Guide to Designing Payments for Ecosystem Services. Asian Development Bank (2009).
    • Extended Producer Responsibility Programs and International Trade Law. OECD (1997).
    • Environmental Labelling in OECD Countries. 2nd ed. OECD (1991).
  • Articles And Chapters
    • Rights of Nature: Fact and Fiction, Drake Law Review (forthcoming). Full Text
    • The Additionality Double Standard, 48 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 117. Full Text
    • The Greens' Dilemma: Building Tomorrow's Climate Infrastructure Today (with J. B. Ruhl), 73 Emory L.J. 1. Full Text
    • The Past Present & Future of the Safe Water Drinking Act, UCLA School of Law Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper No. 24-5 (revised 2022). Full Text
    • Teachers Manual for The Past Present & Future of the Safe Water Drinking Act, UCLA School of Law Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper No. 24-5 (revised 2022). Full Text
    • Reconsidering NEPA (with Brigham Daniels and Andrew P. Follett), 96 Indiana Law Journal 865 (2021).
    • The Past, Present and Future of the Safe Drinking Water Act, UCLA School of Law Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper No. 19-37 (Oct. 3, 2019).  SSRN | EScholarship
    • Teacher's Manual for The Past, Present and Future of the Safe Drinking Water Act, UCLA School of Law Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper No. 19-38 (Oct. 8, 2019). EScholarship | SSRN
    • Payments for Ecosystem Services: Past, Present and Future (with Genevieve Bennett, Nathaniel Carroll, Allie Goldstein, and Michael Jenkins), 6 Texas A&M Law Review 199 (2018). Full Text
    • United States Environmental Law (with Barton H. Thompson Jr.), in Oxford Handbook of Comparative Environmental Law, (edited by J. Vinuales and E. Lees, Oxford Univ. Press, forthcoming).
    • Introduction to the Symposium on Climate Change Localism, 112 AJIL Unbound 266 (2018). Full Text
    • The Global Status and Trends of Payments for Ecosystem Services (with Genevieve Bennett, Nathaniel Carroll, Allie Goldstein & Michael Jenkins), 1 Nature Sustainability 136 (2018). Full Text
    • Presidential Exit (with J.B. Ruhl), 67 Duke Law Journal 1730 (2018). Full Text
    • Regulating Business Innovation as Policy Disruption: From the Model T to Airbnb (with Eric Biber, Sarah E. Light, and J.B. Ruhl), 70 Vanderbilt Law Review 1561 (2017). Full Text
    • The Production Function of the Regulatory State: How Much Do Agency Budgets Matter? (with J.B. Ruhl and J. Nash), 102 Minnesota Law Review 695 (2017). Full Text
    • Mineral Estate Conservation Easements: a New Policy Instrument to Address Hydraulic Fracturing and Resource Extraction (with R. Jackson and J. Owley), 47 Environmental Law Reporter 10112 (2017). Full Text
    • Beyond Zero-Sum Environmentalism (with J.B. Ruhl et al), 47 Environmental Law Reporter 10328 (2017). Full Text
    • Rethinking NAFTA: Deepening the Commitment to Sustainable Development (with Daniel Esty), in A Path Forward for NAFTA, (edited by C. Fred Bergsten and Monica de Bolle, Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2017).
    • Strategies for Zero Sum Challenges, UCLA School of Law Paper Series, Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper No. 17-10 (Feb. 7, 2017). Full Text
    • The Collision of Aspiration and Reality in Payments for Ecosystem Services, in Transformational Change in Environmental and Natural Resource Management: Guidelines for Policy, (edited by M. Young and C. Esau, Routledge, 2016).
    • Regulatory Exit (with J.B. Ruhl), 68 Vanderbilt Law Review 1295 (2015). Full Text
    • The Most Important Current Research Questions in Urban Ecosystem Services (with Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Robert Garcia, Keith Hirokawa, Kay Jowers, Jeffrey LeJava, Margaret Peloso & Lydia Olander), 25 Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum 1 (2015). Full Text
    • The Next Generation of Trade and Environment Conflicts: The Rise of Green Industrial Policy (with M. Wu), 108 Northwestern Law Review 401 (2014). Reprinted in Environmental and Energy Law (edited by J. Viñuales, 2017). Full Text
    • Turning the World Upside Down: How Frames of Reference Shape Environmental Law (with Martin Doyle), 44 Environmental Law 1 (2014).
    • Teaching Policy Instrument Choice in Environmental Law: The Five P’s, 23 Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum 363 (2013). Full Text
    • Climate Change Meets the Law of the Horse (with J.B. Ruhl), 62 Duke Law Journal 975 (2013). Full Text
    • Endangered Species Protection in a Changing Climate (with C. Parmesan), in Adapting to Climate Change (edited by C. Bauer and L. Gunderson, 2012).
    • Population (with A. Ehrlich), in Acting as if Tomorrow Matters: Accelerating the Transition to Sustainability , (edited by John Dernbach, Environmental Law Institute, 2012).
    • The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Role in International Law, 43 George Washington International Law Review 255 (2012). Full Text
    • Gaming the Past: The Theory and Practice of Historic Baselines in the Administrative State (with J.B. Ruhl), 64 Vanderbilt Law Review 1 (2011). Reprinted in Land Use & Environmental Law Review (2011). Full Text
    • Just What is the Emperor Wearing? The Secret Lives of Ecosystem Services, 28 Pace Environmental Law Review 591 (2011). The Eleventh Annual Gilbert and Sara Kerlin Lecture. Full Text
    • The Curious Case of Greening in Carbon Markets (with William Boyd), 41 Environmental Law 73 (2011). Full Text
    • Climate Change, Dead Zones, and Massive Problems in the Administrative State: A Guide for Whittling Away (with J.B. Ruhl), 98 California Law Review 59 (2010). Full Text
    • Pursuing Geoengineering for Atmospheric Restoration (with Robert Jackson), 26 Issues in Science and Technology 67 (2010). Full Text
    • Massive Problems in the Administrative State: Strategies for Whittling Away (with J.B. Ruhl), 98 California Law Review 59 (2010). Reprinted in Land Use & Environmental Law Review (2011).
    • Conclusion: The Path to a Brighter Future (with Tun Lin & Timothy Swanson), in Economic Growth and Environmental Regulation: The People's Republic of China's Path To a Brighter Future (edited by Tun Lin & Timothy Swanson, 2010).
    • Recurrent Issues in Environmental Governance, in Economic Growth and Environmental Regulation: The People's Republic of China's Path To a Brighter Future (edited by Tun Lin & Timothy Swanson, 2010).
    • Who’s Number One? The Most Significant Cases in Environmental Law (with J.B. Ruhl), 26 Environmental Forum 36 (Nov./Dec. 2009). Reprinted as "New Kids on the Block – A Survey of Practitioner Views on Important Cases in Environmental and Natural Resources Law," 25 Natural Resources & Environment 45 (Summer 2010). Full Text
    • Regulating Climate: What Role for the Clean Air Act? (with Brigham Daniels), 39 Environmental Law Reporter 10837 (2009). Full Text
    • Implementing the New Ecosystem Services Mandate of the Section 404 Compensatory Mitigation Program – A Catalyst for Advancing Science and Policy (with J.B. Ruhl, et. al.), 38 Stetson Law Review 251 (2009). Full Text
    • Is It Safe to Drink the Water?, 19 Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum 1 (2009). Full Text
    • Corn Futures: Consumer Politics, Health, and Climate Change (with J. Purdy), 38 Environmental Law Reporter Review 10851 (2008). Full Text
    • Cross-Cutting Issues in the Sectoral Case Studies, in Economic Growth and Environmental Regulation: China’s Path to a Brighter Future (edited by Tim Swanson, 2008).
    • Making Sense of Information for Environmental Protection (with D. Kysar), 86 Texas Law Review 1347 (2008). Full Text
    • The Importance of Population Stabilization to Sustainability (with A. Ehrlich), in Agenda for Sustainable America (Edited by John Dernbach, 2008).
    • The Law and Policy Beginnings of Ecosystem Services (with J.B. Ruhl), 22 Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law 157 (2007). Full Text
    • Negligence in the Air: The Duty of Care in Climate Change Litigation (with David Hunter), 155 Pennsylvania Law Review 101 (2007). Full Text
    • Ecosystem Services and the Public Trust Doctrine: Working Change From Within (with J.B. Ruhl), 15 Southeastern Environmental Law Journal 223 (2007). Full Text
    • A Field of Green? The Past and Future of Ecosystem Services, 21 Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law 133 (2006). Full Text
    • In Defense of Regulatory Peer Review (with J.B. Ruhl), 84 Washington Univ. Law Review 1 (2006). Reprinted in 38 Environmental Law Reporter 10553 (2008). Full Text
    • Thirst: A Short History of Drinking Water, 18 Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities 94 (2006). Full Text
    • Decentralized Administrative Law in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 68 Law and Contemporary Problems 191 (2005). Full Text
    • Creating Markets for Ecosystem Services: Notes From the Field, 80 NYU Law Review 870 (2005). Reprinted in The Institute of Chartered Financial Analyst of India Journal for Environmental Law (2006). Full Text
    • "No Net Loss:” Instrument Choice in Wetland Protection (with J.B. Ruhl), in Moving to Markets in Environmental Regulation: Twenty Years of Experience, (edited by J. Freeman and C. Kolstad, Oxford Univ. Press, 2005). Full Text
    • The Perils of Payments for Ecosystem Services, 1 International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development 5 (2005).
    • Science in the Public Process of Ecosystem Management: Lessons from Hawaii, Southeast Asia, Africa and the US Mainland, 76 Journal of Environmental Management 19 (2005).
    • Labor Rights, Globalization and Institutions: The Role and Influence of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in Social Issues, Globalization and International Institutions: Labour Rights and the EU, ILO, OECD and WTO (edited by Virginia Leary and Daniel Warner, 2005).
    • The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Guidelines and Corporate Codes of Conduct, in The Auto Pact: Investment, Jobs and the WTO (edited by Maureen Irish, 2004).
    • Mozart and the Red Queen: The Problem of Regulatory Accretion in the Administrative State (with J.B. Ruhl), 91 Georgetown Law Journal 757 (2003). Full Text
    • Environmental Tribalism, 87 Minnesota Law Review 1099 (2003). Full Text
    • Regulatory Traffic Jams (with J.B. Ruhl), 2 Wyoming Law Review 1 (2002).
    • Environmental Law, in The Rehnquist Court: Judicial Activism on the Right, (edited by Herman Schwartz, Hill and Wang, 2002).
    • Paying to Protect Watershed Services: Wetland Banking in the United States (with J.B. Ruhl), in Selling Forest Environmental Services: Market-based Mechanisms for Conservation, (edited by Stefano Pagiola, Joshua Bishop, and Natasha Landel-Mills, Routledge, 2002).
    • The OECD and Promotion of Global Labor Rights, in Ford Foundation's Project on International Organizations and the Social Aspects of Trade Liberalization (2002).
    • The Importance of Population Growth to Sustainability (with A. Ehrlich), in Sustainable Development in the United States Ten Years After the Earth Summit: An Assessment and Recommendations (2002). Reprinted in 32 Environmental Law Reporter 10559 (2002).
    • Changes in Pollution and the Implications for Policy (with D. Rejeski), in New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures , (edited by Paul Stern, National Research Council, 2002).
    • Seattle’s Legal Legacy and Environmental Reviews of Trade Agreements, 31 Environmental Law 501 (2001).
    • Executive Order 13,141 and the Environmental Review of Trade Agreements, 95 American Journal of International Law 366 (2001).
    • Environmental Apples for Oranges, 31 Environmental Law Review 11438 (2001).
    • Currencies and the Commodification of Environmental Law (with J.B. Ruhl), 53 Stanford Law Review 607 (2001). Reprinted in 33 Land Use & Environmental Law Review (2002). Full Text
    • Groundwater Ecosystem Services (with D. Culver), 20 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 479 (2001).
    • Wetland Value Indicators For Scoring Mitigation Trades (with L. Wainger and D. King), 20 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 413 (2001).
    • Protecting Natural Capital Through Ecosystem Service Districts (with G. Heal, et. al.), 20 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 333 (2001). Full Text
    • Protecting Ecosystem Services -- Science, Economics, and Policy (with G. Daily and B. Thompson), 20 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 309 (2001).
    • Labor Rights, Globalization and Institutions: The Role and Influence of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 21 Michigan Journal of International Law 769 (2001). Full Text
    • Earth in the Judicial Balance, The Nation (Sept. 2000).
    • Environmental Protection Beyond the Smokestack: Addressing the Impacts of the Service Economy, 7 Corporate Environmental Strategy 21 (2001).
    • Facing the Challenges of a Service Economy, 4 Environmental Science & Technology 512 (1999).
    • Beyond the Smokestack: Environmental Protection in the Service Economy, 47 UCLA Law Review 411 (1999). Reprinted in 30 Environmental Law Reporter 10856 (Oct. 2000); and 32 Land Use & Environmental Law Review 337 (2001). Full Text
    • Integrating Ecosystem Services into Environmental Law, in Managing Human Dominated Ecosystems, (1999).
    • Product and Raw Material Eco-labels: The Case for a Trilateral Approach, in Partners or Competitors? The Prospects for US-European Cooperation on Asian Trade, (Rowman and Littlefield, 1999).
    • Extended Producer Responsibility Programs and International Trade Law, in Extended Producer Responsibility Programs, (OECD, 1997).
    • Eco-Labeling and International Trade: Getting Beyond the Conflict, in The Future of the Environment at The WTO, (National Wildlife Federation, 1997).
    • Valuing Ecosystem Services, 24 Ecology Law Quarterly 887 (1997).
    • Sustainable Consumption and the Law, 27 Environmental Law 1243 (1997).
    • The Tuna/Dolphin Dispute Versus Free Trade in the Americas, in Conference Proceedings of the Second Annual Free Trade in the Hemisphere Conference, (UNAM, 1996).
    • Cleaner Products and Green Marketing, in The Industry of Uruguay within the Framework of Sustainable Development, (Uruguay Ministry of Environment, 1995). Conference Proceedings.
    • Greener Product Policy in Practice, in Green Goods, (Swedish Ministry of the Environment, 1995).
    • Setting Environmental Goals, in Environmental Management, (Croner Publications, 1994).
    • Trade Implications of Environmental Labelling Programs, in Life-Cycle Management and Trade, (OECD, 1993).
    • Information Exchange Among National Eco-labelling Programmes, in Global Environmental Labelling: Invitational Expert Seminar, (UNEP, 1991). Conference Proceedings.
    • Evolution and Application of Critical Habitat Under the Endangered Species Act, 14 Harvard Environmental Law Review 311 (1990).
    • The Greening of Energy Policy in the 1990s (with E. Weiss), 63 St. John's Law Review 691 (1990). Reprinted in Public Utilities Law Anthology (1990).
    • Scientists As Advocates, Conservation Biology (1989). Reprinted in Environment (edited by P. Raven, Saunders Publishing, 1993); and Readings from Conservation Biology: The Social Dimension (edited by D. Ehrenfeld, Blackwell Science, 1995).
  • Policy Reports
    • American Idols (with J.B. Ruhl), The Environmental Forum 40 (May/June 2019). Full Text
    • Ensuring Safe Drinking Water In Los Angeles County’s Small Water Systems, Pritzker Policy Brief No. 11 (Dec. 2018). Full Text
    • Legal Risks and Timeline Associated with Increasing Surface Water Storage in California (with Julia Forgie), Pritzker Brief No. 8 (June 2017). Full Text
  • Blogs, Book Reviews, And Commentary
    • John Nagle's Scholarship on the Meanings of Pollution: From Smog and Cell Phone Towers to Campaign Finance and Pornography (J.B. Ruhl), 97 Notre Dame Law Review Reflections 69 (2022).
    • Response to Putting a Price on Ecosystem Services, XXXIII Issues in Science and Technology (Winter 2017). Full Text
    • The Overlooked Part of Trump’s Executive Order on Climate Change, LegalPlanet (April 2017). Full Text
    • The Past, Present and Future of Payments for Ecosystem Services – Biodiversity, LegalPlanet (Sept. 25, 2016).
    • The Past, Present and Future of Payments for Ecosystem Services – Water, LegalPlanet (Sept. 14, 2016).
    • Understanding Climate Skepticism: Four Hypotheses to Explain the Endurance of Climate Skeptics, LegalPlanet (April 4, 2016). Full Text
    • The Rise of “Cli-Fi”: What the Humanities Can Teach us About Climate Change Narratives, LegalPlanet (April 1, 2016). Full Text
    • Lessons From Flint, LegalPlanet (March 1, 2016). Full Text
    • Biology and the Law, 66 BioScience 999 (Oct. 2016). Review of Environmental Law for Biologists, by Tristan Kimbrell. Full Text
    • TPP or not TPP? Understanding the Environmental Debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement, LegalPlanet (Dec. 3, 2015). Full Text
    • What do you know about Interior: Test your knowledge, LegalPlanet (Oct. 29, 2015). Full Text
    • Japan Removes Whaling from ICJ Jurisdiction, LegalPlanet (Oct. 27, 2015). Full Text
    • The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), LegalPlanet (Sept. 24, 2015). Full Text
    • Can We Trust the Science? The Challenge of Irreproducible Results, LegalPlanet (Aug. 31, 2015). Full Text
    • How Safe is Our Drinking Water?, Slate.com (Jan. 16, 2014).
    • Why Rivers No Longer Burn, Slate.com (Dec. 10, 2012).
    • Our water system withstood Hurricane Sandy, but the threats aren’t over, Washington Post (Nov. 9, 2012). Reprinted in Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) and St. Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN).
    • Ecosystem Services in Decision Making: Time to Deliver (with G. Daily et al.), 7 Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 21 (Feb. 2009). Full Text
    • Bank Failure, The Environmental Forum (Jan./Feb. 2009).
    • Ecosystem Services, State of Food and Agriculture (2006-2007). (UN FAO)
    • The Effects of Wetland Mitigation Banking on People (with J.B. Ruhl), 28 National Wetlands Newsletter 1 (Mar.-April, 2006). Full Text
    • What Paying for Ecosystem Services Means, PERC Reports (July 2005).
    • A “Must Read” on Ecosystem Services, 19 Conservation Biology 582 (2004).
    • What Comes Naturally Should Not Come Free of Charge, Canberra Times (Feb. 27, 2002).
    • A Welcome Addition to the ESA Literature, 16 Conservation Biology (Jan. 18, 2002). Review of The Endangered Species Act, by The Stanford Environmental Law Society (2001). Full Text
    • Environmental Challenges of the New Economy, Sustainability Monthly Review (June 2000).
    • Making Sense of the Law: Readers on Environmental Law, 48 Bioscience 1042 (1998).
    • Ecosystem Services and the Law, 12 Conservation Biology 1 (1998).
    • No Middle Way on the Environment (with P. Ehrlich and G. Daily), The Atlantic Monthly (Dec. 1997).
    • Informing the Green Consumer: The Debate Over the Use and Abuse of Environmental Labels, Journal of Industrial Ecology (April 1997).
    • Green Labels for Consumers, OECD Observer (April 1991).

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