Enviornmental Law_W5_DQ1&2

Discussion Question 1: 

Review of ToSCA

Read the Toxic Substance Control Act (ToSCA).

Based on your readings for the week, answer the following questions:

• Identify the chief tenets of ToSCA and the legislative history behind it.
• What is the concept of “unreasonable risk?”
• Should the economic risks of EPA actions be considered when determining “unreasonable risk,” or should the only consideration be health and safety factors?

Discussion Question 2:

 Standing for Inanimate Objects and Nonhuman Animals

Read the summary of Christopher Stone’s legal argument regarding whether trees or other natural objects should have standing or legal recognition in court to sue in their own right: Perkins, J. (1976). Christopher Stone and the Evolution of Environmental Justice Retrieved from

Based on the above information, answer the following:

• Should endangered species be assigned an attorney to represent them in legal proceedings, which may affect their habitat? Why?
• Should nonhuman entities be allowed to assert their own legal right to exist, or are courts just for people?
• What is the difference between an endangered fish or bird suing to protect its interests and a nonhuman entity, such as a corporation or a ship, suing in its own name to protect its own interest?