Paper short abstract:

I will share some thoughts on why I think the history of environmental law has been largely neglected, and then try to demonstrate why developing the historiography of environmental law is important today, given the environmental and democratic crises we face.

Paper long abstract:

As part of our double panel on environmental, history, and law, I will share some thoughts on why the history of environmental law has been largely neglected (especially by legal historians; environmental historians seem to take the subject a little more seriously). After examining six explanations, some partly overlapping and some admittedly speculative, I will try to demonstrate why developing the historiography of environmental law is important today, given not only the environmental crisis we face but also the crisis of democracy that threatens environmental law itself.