Changes to the New Source Review program, delays in the vote to confirm
the next head of the Environmental Protection Authority and accusations
of administration-led efforts to undermine hard-won environmental
protections make a conference to be held at Syracuse University's
College of Law this week particularly relevant. "The Economic Dynamics
of Environmental Law and Static Efficiency," scheduled for October 10
and 11, will address issues fundamental to the future direction of
environmental policy.
The conference, cosponsored by the New York State Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems, will feature national and international leaders in areas
including environmental law; consumer behavior; constitutional law;
climatic change; and the long-term effects of acid rain. A full conference schedule is available at http://www.law.syr.edu/environmentalConference.asp.
David M. Driesen, associate professor at the College of Law and a
former senior project attorney with the National Resources Defense
Council, will lead the conference in its examination of theories such as
cost-benefit analysis, and economic dynamics while discussing the
long-term environmental outcomes of related policies. Other SU faculty members participating include L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science faculty members Charles Driscoll and H. Ezzat Khalifa; Maxwell School faculty members Peter Wilcoxen, David Popp, Bruce Dayton, Allan Mazur and Rosemary O'Leary; and College of Arts and Sciences faculty members Mark Ritchie and Geoffrey Seltzer.
Sessions for the two-day conference include "Does Emissions Trading
Encourage Innovation? Does It Matter?" and "Cost-Benefit Analysis: An
Appropriate Basis for Climate Change Policy?" The conference will also
look at what options exist for measuring the benefits of environmental
regulations and compare the importance of quantitative factors and
dynamic features, such as pollutant persistence and trends over time.
The cost is $75 for general registration and $10 for nonprofit organizations. The registration fee is waived for SU and ESF faculty, staff and students.
Call Chris Ramsdell at 443-9542 for more information.
