On Wednesday, we welcomed William Buzbee, the Edward and Carole Walter Professor Chair and Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, to present our Spring 2023 Distinguished Lecture. Professor Buzbee presented “Fears, Faith, and Facts in Environmental Law” to a packed audience in the Rotunda. During his lecture, he identified the kinds of fear and faith that catalyze environmental regulatory action, as well as the disparate fears and faith that foment legal constraints to check regulatory abuses. Considering the volatility of environmental law’s most pressing challenges—including climate change, political vacillations, and changing dynamics on the U.S. Supreme Court—Professor Buzbee discussed how greater attention to the documentation of statutorily significant facts and science can help surmount the growing conflicts between the different sources of fear and faith. It was a fascinating discussion, and we are grateful to Professor Buzbee for talking to FSU Law students and others interested in his scholarship. If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch a recording online. Many thanks to our FSU Law Center for Environmental, Energy, and Land Use Law for organizing this thought-provoking event.

Published on March 3, 2023