Science Advocacy and the Legal System: Is Life Cycle Assessment Unconstitutional?

摘要

This chapter addresses the role of environmental science when climate policy is challenged in the United States legal system. We focus on a recent court case contesting the use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies in California's state climate policy: Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Goldstene (2011). This case illustrates the importance of communicating environmental science within the legal system, a task that requires interdisciplinary collaboration between lawyers and scientists, as well as attention to principles of rhetoric. Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU) also demonstrates the potential for climate policy litigation to call into question basic principles in environmental science, especially those related to climate science.