This lecture presents three cases: Bates v. Dow, a lawsuit brought by peanut growers against the producers of a pesticide that degraded their soil; the Alar case, in which environmental organizations and the media successfully pressured EPA to ban a carcinogenic pesticide used on apples; and the Texas Cattlemen's Association's lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey for her coverage of Mad Cow Disease. Using these three cases, Professor Wargo discusses the legal concepts of preemption and defamation.

The lecture reviews water law in the United States, and highlights challenges inherent in regulating water quality. Aging water infrastructure, pesticide and herbicide application, and surface water runoff all pose challenges in maintaining a clean drinking water supply. The lecture covers pesticide management through the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

The lecture charts the evolution of pesticide regulation in the United States. The evolution of the management and regulation of pesticides reflects changes in scientific understanding of pesticides as well as changes in human values. As technology allowed for testing of pesticides at smaller and smaller concentrations, restrictions on pesticide use grew. The government's growing understanding of cumulative risk also has led to changes in pesticide testing and regulation.

The change from smaller, more diverse farms to larger single-crop farms in the U.S. has led to greater reliance on pesticides for pest management. Other changes as the U.S. food system becomes more commercialized include: increased use of additives, higher food prices, more water and energy consumption for agriculture, and more pesticide residues entering food through processing. Pesticides have also been used to combat insect-borne diseases, like malaria.

This lecture covers site restoration law by looking at the U.S. Navy's use of the island of Vieques as weapons testing ground. Vieques residents are filing a civil suit against the U.S. government, which raises issues of burden of proof, scientific certainty with respect to exposure amounts and health impacts, and how the government protects citizens from environmental hazards.

The military's use of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques as a training site is discussed to highlight the challenges involved in identifying and restoring hazardous sites. Political opposition is faced while attempting to get a site recognized as hazardous, deciding how to compensate those affected, and determining an appropriate level of environmental restoration. The recurring theme of government secrecy and its effect on efforts to protect the environment is also covered during this lecture, as the US military is reluctant to allow researchers to examine testing grounds.

During this session, Professor Wargo stresses the importance of considering the persistence of pollutants in the environment. He continues the discussion of the Atomic Energy Commission's (AEC) risk management strategies in the wake of nuclear experiments from 1945-1963, and also introduces risk reduction strategies attempted after the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl. These strategies underestimated the persistence of radionuclides in the environment. All of these approaches took place in secret, and these proceedings were only declassified in the 1990s.

The United States government employed a variety of approaches to protect citizens from danger, including public education, nuclear weapons testing, and gathering data about the effects of nuclear testing. The U.S. government's testing of nuclear weapons at the Bikini Atoll is used as an example of government approaches. Nuclear testing led to ecological devastation, leading the U.S. government to move Bikinians to another island. The case highlights the far-reaching environmental, economic, and health consequences of nuclear weapons testing.

To illustrate the linkages among national security, secrecy, and environmental quality, Professor Wargo describes the Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear tests in the 1950s. The Atomic Energy Commission collected data on the spread of radionuclides from the nuclear tests, and discovered that the radionuclides were circulating around the world. This process of discovery raised issues regarding ways to manage risks to the population while both continuing the nuclear tests and keeping them secret for national security reasons.

The United States' fragmented, piecemeal approach to environmental law is presented through the cases that led to the creation of major environmental statutes such as the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The variety of federal agencies and levels of government that participate in creating and implementing regulation contribute to the fragmentation of American environmental law. Environmental law seeks to balance the costs of environmental degradation with the economic benefits that companies reap.