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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

4.8
stars
2,884 ratings

About the Course

Environmental law may be the one institution standing between us and planetary exhaustion. It is also an institution that needs to be reconciled with human liberty and economic aspirations. This course considers these issues and provides a tour though existing legal regimes governing pollution, water law, endangered species, toxic substances, environmental impact analyses, and environmental risk. Note: The Environmental Law & Policy Course will close for new learner enrollment on February 22, 2019. Learners who have already enrolled will continue to see it on their Coursera Dashboard as long as they remain enrolled in the course. If you are currently enrolled in this course, please see the announcement sent on February 19, 2019, for additional details....

Top reviews

FA

Aug 10, 2020

Really great class. Covers all the main topics of environmental law. The Professor is very interesting, informative, and clear. A great introductory class for environmental topics in the legal realm.

MS

Jun 2, 2020

Really great class. Covers all the main topics of environmental law. The Professor is very interesting, informative, and clear. A great introductory class for environmental topics in the legal realm.

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26 - 50 of 779 Reviews for Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy

By Diana C

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Apr 7, 2019

I do not have any connection in my nature of job and education to the law, but I found this course incredible informative, and it opened my eyes to the subject. It requires more attention to the material from non-professionals like me, but It all will be rewarded with a raised awareness to such law. Donald Hornstein is the best lecturer ever. The videos were informative, funny and bring interest to the subject. Thank you for developing this course and for allowing people from outside understand what is environmental law.

By Melissa J W

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Oct 27, 2020

Although today in 2020, some of the topic have certainly changed, this was an enjoyable and challenging course. Instructor Donald Hornstein made me feel welcome, and excited about the topics. His enthusiasm was addictive, so I looked forward to each lecture. I also very much appreciated the clarity of his teaching, and the cases he chose to have us learn from, and the well-written briefs. There were more than a few typos in the transcripts, but overall an excellent course. I will look for more from Mr. Hornstein.

By Robert W

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Aug 29, 2015

Excellent course!!!!! Not only was the professor's teaching style fun and engaging, he made environmental law exciting!!! I learned so very much. Although my current degree is in Environmental Management and I'm a Healthcare Sustainability Specialist for an International regulated medical waste disposal firm, the course inspired me so much, i'm actually considering going to Law School to specialize in Environmental Law!!!

Thank you so very much Prof. Bornstein & UNC staff for offering this amazing course!!!

By Kelsey G B

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Aug 28, 2015

Prof. Horstein was a great lecturer - he had a very structured approach and spoke to his audience, not just "at" his audience. I enjoyed the mini-quizes inside of the videos, and felt his lectures were the perfect length. I learned quite a bit in this course! I'm a trainee lawyer in the UK and have a Masters in international policy (political science) so this was a very good way for me to see if I'm genuinely interested in environmental law - which I am. Thanks!

By Karolyn B

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Sep 26, 2015

Law does not have a reputation for being light reading, an interesting field full of personality and humor. Professor Hornstein defies that stereotype. I learned a great deal from this course, and actually looked forward to the lectures because of his good nature and lighthearted presentation of the material. For anyone who wants a basic introduction but may be hesitant about taking a law class, I highly recommend this one.

By Daniel T

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Oct 7, 2020

This is an outstanding course, and Professor Hornstein is an exceptional instructor. I am PhD environmental scientist with over 25 years' experience in academia and industry. What I learned in this course was the legal, economic and philosophical underpinnings of my career and my avocations. I am grateful to Professor Hornstein for sharing his depth of knowledge, his keen insight, and his advocacy for the environment.

By Margerie S

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Jun 2, 2020

Really great class. Covers all the main topics of environmental law. The Professor is very interesting, informative, and clear. A great introductory class for environmental topics in the legal realm.

By William T K

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Jan 12, 2021

While unfortunately dated at this point, Professor Hornstein's introduction course does an excellent job of outlining the principles underlying environmental law, both in the United States and internationally. Everyone with the ability to do so owes it to themselves, their community, and their planet to become familiar with the subject matter of this course, which is becoming more urgently relevant day by day.

By VELPULA S C

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Jun 12, 2020

Very informative ; But cases are only from the United nations of America,it will be better if the cases are given from other countries(World).Because,Environmental pollution is in the entire world in the present world. The government in USA has very good laws but it is not the same in other countries. we can learn from the cases.

By Kristin W

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Jun 19, 2018

The title is pretty misleading. I was hoping to get into environmental policies a lot more. The course was mostly very specific for law school students though.

By Priya M

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Sep 14, 2020

I have paid for this course and can’t get my certificate

By Yi W

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Apr 20, 2023

This is the best course that I have had on Coursera and I learned a lot from the professor. I especially like the design of the course in that each week’s model builds on the previous week’s cases and knowledge, which makes it much easier to comprehend. Also, the case examples the professor selected are also very helpful and relevant for me to understand the evolution of environmental law in the US and globally. One of the best things in the course is that I can tell that the professor is so passionate about the subject he teaches and cares deeply about the environmental issues around the world, plus, he is also a very humorous person, which you will discover during the course. In sum, I highly recommend the course!!!

By Rachel P

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Jun 8, 2021

As someone who has never taken a law class or endeavored into law in any way so far, I have learned SO MUCH in this course! I am very thankful that Professor Hornstein taught the class in a way that was accessible for layfolks like myself. I found the course to be fun and challenging at the right level to get me to really think and consider legal thought as it relates to conflict resolutions. I had so many answers about this field/topic before I began and they were almost all answered in the course. I feel more confident in my abilities to understand the various aspects of environmental law and policy. I definitely recommend!

By Nidhi S

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Dec 17, 2020

The course is very lucid and highlights the multidisciplinary approach towards environmental law. I am extremely elated to share that enrolling in this course had been very fruitful since it has definitely changed my thought process and has added immensely to my knowledge of environmental law. I congratulate the University of North Carolina to have given us this opportunity of e-learning. I am also grateful to Prof. Donald who has explained every topic so well making it interesting with various case laws and totally comprehendible. The weekly quizzes were a great method of self-assessment. Thank You once again!

By ARVIND S

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Mar 5, 2022

For non-law students like me (and probably for law students as well), the course came out as a refreshing change from the usual courses on offer.

It explains in simple parlance how water, air and GHG pollutants etc. need to be controlled and the statutes in place to help federal, state as well as multinational agencies do so. Interpretation of laws by the courts is explained in simple ways that students could easily comprehend.

The readings and quizzes rank way up there and buttress the lectures leading to better undestanding.

Thanks Professor for a useful and contemporary course well taught.

By Piyush S

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Oct 30, 2022

This course has been amazingly informative in relation with the past and recent trends in environmental law and policy and it gave me a basic understanding of how environmental law operates in the US. I'm an aspiring law student myself and I wanted to get acquainted with the field (hence my taking up this course) but this course was beyond that for me. It made me develop an interest in environmental law, one that I'd like to grow and nurture as I move forward with my legal journey. Thanks a lot for this opportunity!

By Hashan R

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Dec 17, 2022

Professor Hornstein's teaching method in this course is second to none! Hands down the best law course I had the fortune of learning. Many aspects of environmental law and policy has been touched upon in this course. Professor Hornstein was fun to listen to, thought provoking, and inspiring. It is designed in such a way, even if you come from a non-legal background, you'll get the hang of it. Kudos to everyone at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for putting up an AMAZING course! Thank you!

By Kashvi A

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Jul 15, 2021

Professor Hornstein managed to create an entertaining yet meaningful course on Environmental Law and Policy, with the conceptual and fact-based explanations making it easy for anyone to understand. I also really appreciated the structure and organisation of the course. One pointer is that this course focuses mainly on cases and statutes in the United States, with few being from other countries or on the global scale. Nevertheless, you still learn a lot about environmental law in general.

By Natalia G G

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Dec 22, 2018

It was really interesting, I liked the approach very much and the way the Professor explained everything. Our legislation in Colombia is basically a copy of the US legislation, so it is very important for me to understand why our environmental law is how it is, and in this aspect this course was so helpful. I would like it to be updated, since the reference of the GHG and the International Agreements have changed and the US has taken a different position with the Trump's Administration.

By Mallory C

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Jan 11, 2016

Absolutely love the professor. He is very clear and articulate. You also don't really need to do the readings if you're very good at listening. Or you don't need to watch the lectures if you're super good at law and policy and don't need any clarifications. He makes it fun and interesting. I also learned quite a lot. Love all the examples he gives. Great class I would definitely recommend for people trying to get a little introduction and background to environmental law.

By Anna C

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May 23, 2023

The course is designed in such a way that is very easy to understand for the learners.. the material is not too overwhelming and the course divided into parts that allows for just the right amount of pacing but also allows easy retention of the topics covered. It will satisfy both an auditory and visual learner. Thank you to our professor and the University of North Carolina Hill for putting this course out for anyone to access! more power to you and your team!

By Lucía P C

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Sep 11, 2020

It's an outstanding course! Professor Hornstein is an excellent teacher, even if just an introduction to environmental law, we get to study a lot of important topics in more than a simple introductory way. Also, the readings recommended every week are very pertinent to learn not only theory, but what happens in the practice of environmental law. I wish the would update this course, adding another module, as it has passed some time since it was recorded.

By Octrina N L

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Feb 20, 2021

I love how the professor bring the course alive. Very suitable for beginner and definitely an interesting way of presentation. It also helps that the text for all the videos are broken down per few minutes to help focus to both audio and visual learners. Each course also doesn't take that long and reading assignment is reasonable and actually adding onto the existing story so it doesn't feel like a burden reading them. I want more of this.

By Emmanuel B

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Jul 23, 2022

Le Cours intitulé "Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy" est très intéressant. Il permet d'avoir un regard sur des sujets de préocuupations environnementales et la manière dont la loi et les jurisprudences les abordent.

En tant que francophone, j'ai bien appris du Common Law. J'ai eu une idée sur les régulations environnementales aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique.

Les vidéos sont clairs et les cas sont bien choisis et adaptés aux thènes.