Associate Dean Salkin Authors 'Climate Change and Sustainable Development Law in a Nutshell'

ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  Albany Law School Associate Dean Patricia Salkin is the author of the just-published book "Climate Change and Sustainable Development Law in a Nutshell" (West 2010), which explores international, federal, state and local laws and policies regarding sustainable development and climate change.

The book, co-authored with John R. Nolon, the James D. Hopkins Professor of Law at Pace University School of Law, also explains how the U.S. legal system can be used to foster greenhouse gas reduction, energy conservation and sustainable patterns of growth. Climate justice issues are addressed as well.

"Relatively simple changes in local land use regulations, and in the business models of local governments, can cultivate more energy efficient and climate friendly policies and decisions," explained Associate Dean Salkin.

There are approximately 40,000 local governments in the United States.

"This book is designed as a roadmap to demonstrate how existing law can be used to produce significant results at the state and local levels without having to rely on actions at the federal level or waiting for international treaties," said Associate Dean Salkin.

Associate Dean Salkin, who is also director of Albany Law School's Government Law Center (GLC) and the Raymond and Ella Smith Distinguished Professor of Law, has published numerous articles addressing the local government role in climate change and global warming mitigation. Her work focuses on the intersection of land use planning and regulation, sustainable development law and green development law which combine to provide a foundation for adaptation and other climate change mitigation strategies.  

Associate Dean Salkin is a nationally recognized expert on land use law and zoning and maintains a blog titled Law of the Land. She is the author of the five-volume leading land use treatise, American Law of Zoning, 5^th ed., and the four-volume New York Zoning Law and Practice, 4^th ed. Since joining Albany Law School in 1990, Associate Dean Salkin has taught courses in land use law, housing law and policy, New York State administrative law, current legal issues in government and government ethics. This spring she will be teaching a new course, introduction to Chinese law.

The GOVERNMENT LAW CENTER of Albany Law School is the first and most comprehensive government law program at any ABA-approved law school in the country. The GLC also serves as a legal and policy research resource for all levels of government. The GLC conducts educational programs and research on a wide range of topics both on its own initiative and at the request of government agencies and other organizations. Visit www.albanylaw.edu/glc.

ALBANY LAW SCHOOL is a small, independent private school in the heart of New York state's capital since 1851. As the oldest law school in New York and the oldest independent law school in the nation, the institution offers students an innovative, rigorous curriculum taught by a committed faculty. Several nationally recognized programs—including the Government Law Center and the Albany Law Clinic & Justice Center—provide opportunities for students to apply classroom learning. Students have access to New York's highest court, federal courts and the state legislature, as well as a thriving technology-based economy. With more than 9,000 alumni practicing in every state in the country, as well as several continents, the employment rate for graduates has been well above the national average for law schools for more than 25 years. Visit www.albanylaw.edu.

SOURCE Albany Law School