The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court
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- Create Date：2021-11-22 19:20:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Richard J Lazarus
- ISBN：0674260430
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Summary
Winner of the Julia Ward Howe Prize
"The gripping story of the most important environmental law case ever decided by the U。S。 Supreme Court。"
--Scott Turow
"There's no better book if you want to understand the past， present， and future of environmental litigation。"
--Elizabeth Kolbert， author of The Sixth Extinction
"In the tradition of A Civil Action， this book makes a compelling story of the court fight that paved the way for regulating the emissions now overheating the planet。 It offers a poignant reminder of how far we've come--and how far we still must go。"
--Bill McKibben， author of The End of Nature
"A riveting story， beautifully told。"
--Foreign Affairs
"Wonderful。。。The book is a master class in how the Supreme Court works and， more broadly， how major cases navigate through the legal system。"
--Science
On an unseasonably warm October morning， Joe Mendelson， an idealistic young lawyer working on a shoestring budget for an environmental organization no one had heard of， hand-delivered a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency asking it to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from new cars。 The Clean Air Act authorized the EPA to regulate "any air pollutant" that could reasonably be thought to endanger public health。 But could something as basic as carbon dioxide really be considered a harmful pollutant？ And even if the EPA had the authority to regulate emissions， could it be forced to do so？
The Rule of Five tells the dramatic story of how Mendelson and the band of environmental activists and lawyers who joined him carried his case all the way to the Supreme Court。 It reveals how accident， infighting， luck， superb lawyering， politics， and the arcane practices of the Supreme Court collided to produce a legal miracle。 The final ruling in Massachusetts v。 EPA， by a razor-thin 5-4 margin brilliantly crafted by Justice John Paul Stevens， was a landmark victory that paved the way to important environmental safeguards which the Trump administration fought hard to unravel and the Biden administration seeks to restore and expand。
"The gripping story of the most important environmental law case ever decided by the U。S。 Supreme Court。"
--Scott Turow
"There's no better book if you want to understand the past， present， and future of environmental litigation。"
--Elizabeth Kolbert， author of The Sixth Extinction
"In the tradition of A Civil Action， this book makes a compelling story of the court fight that paved the way for regulating the emissions now overheating the planet。 It offers a poignant reminder of how far we've come--and how far we still must go。"
--Bill McKibben， author of The End of Nature
"A riveting story， beautifully told。"
--Foreign Affairs
"Wonderful。。。The book is a master class in how the Supreme Court works and， more broadly， how major cases navigate through the legal system。"
--Science
On an unseasonably warm October morning， Joe Mendelson， an idealistic young lawyer working on a shoestring budget for an environmental organization no one had heard of， hand-delivered a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency asking it to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from new cars。 The Clean Air Act authorized the EPA to regulate "any air pollutant" that could reasonably be thought to endanger public health。 But could something as basic as carbon dioxide really be considered a harmful pollutant？ And even if the EPA had the authority to regulate emissions， could it be forced to do so？
The Rule of Five tells the dramatic story of how Mendelson and the band of environmental activists and lawyers who joined him carried his case all the way to the Supreme Court。 It reveals how accident， infighting， luck， superb lawyering， politics， and the arcane practices of the Supreme Court collided to produce a legal miracle。 The final ruling in Massachusetts v。 EPA， by a razor-thin 5-4 margin brilliantly crafted by Justice John Paul Stevens， was a landmark victory that paved the way to important environmental safeguards which the Trump administration fought hard to unravel and the Biden administration seeks to restore and expand。
Reviews
Hana Vizcarra
，
"The greatest economic threat by far to public health and welfare will come not from addressing climate change， but from failing to do so。" Great read for anyone interested in environmental law and climate change law or the workings of the Supreme Court and what it's like arguing before it。 Quick， engaging read that is not aimed at lawyers - a good read for non-lawyers interested in these topics。 "The greatest economic threat by far to public health and welfare will come not from addressing climate change， but from failing to do so。" Great read for anyone interested in environmental law and climate change law or the workings of the Supreme Court and what it's like arguing before it。 Quick， engaging read that is not aimed at lawyers - a good read for non-lawyers interested in these topics。 。。。more
Bill Sleeman
，
The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court by Professor Richard Lazarus is a truly interesting and well-researched work of legal and environmental history。 Lazarus does what few writers can do; make a set of complicated legal arguments an engaging read！ This is on par with Richard Kluger’s Simple Justice: The History of Brown v。 Board and Anthony Lewis’ re-telling of Gideon v。 Wainwright。 As a historian of the Supreme Court as well as a practitioner who has argued before t The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court by Professor Richard Lazarus is a truly interesting and well-researched work of legal and environmental history。 Lazarus does what few writers can do; make a set of complicated legal arguments an engaging read！ This is on par with Richard Kluger’s Simple Justice: The History of Brown v。 Board and Anthony Lewis’ re-telling of Gideon v。 Wainwright。 As a historian of the Supreme Court as well as a practitioner who has argued before the Supreme Court Lazarus is clearly someone who knows the Court well and understands the role it plays in shaping our lives。 He brings this knowledge and experience to bear in a carefully detailed analysis of both the case （Massachusetts v。 EPA） and the players。 This should be required reading for all would-be environmentalist and for anyone who wants to better understand how the Supreme Court of the United States operates。 。。。more
Al Menaster
，
This was quite good。 It follows a major environmental case resulting in a decision from the US Supremes。 Lots of inside information。
Russell Atkinson
，
This is the best book I've read this year， but then I'm a lawyer who even had a case go to the U。S。 Supreme Court。 （I won）。 The tiniest details from big strategy to word-by-word drafting of briefs and petitions are all set forth here。 It's fascinating to anyone who cares about the role of the Supreme Court， the internal politics of any large public interest group （in this case the "Carbon Dioxide Warriors"）， presidential betrayal （by both parties）， the personalities of the best and most influent This is the best book I've read this year， but then I'm a lawyer who even had a case go to the U。S。 Supreme Court。 （I won）。 The tiniest details from big strategy to word-by-word drafting of briefs and petitions are all set forth here。 It's fascinating to anyone who cares about the role of the Supreme Court， the internal politics of any large public interest group （in this case the "Carbon Dioxide Warriors"）， presidential betrayal （by both parties）， the personalities of the best and most influential lawyers in the country。The book chronicles how those environmentalists seeking EPA regulation of greenhouse gases met and overcame obstacles at every step， winning a stunning Supreme Court victory。 The environmentalists （"petitioners" in legal jargon） consisted of dozens of interest groups including various states， environmental groups like the Sierra Club， and some green industry companies。 Their opponents were the EPA itself （forced by presidential or vice-presidential pressure）， automotive and oil industry interest groups and others。The book is well-written and easily understood by laymen。 It's not about climate science。 That's well-settled， despite interest groups or individuals who don't want to admit it。 It's about what it takes to win a case in the Supreme Court。 There's also just the right amount of biography about the many lawyers who are a part of the story。 Make no mistake: the skill and experience of a lawyer is critical to winning a major case and there are many top notch lawyers in this one。 Unfortunately， they didn't always see eye-to-eye and some friendships were broken by the disagreements。 You might not think the verbiage of a legal brief is likely to be interesting reading， but you'd be wrong。 One small example that delighted me was when the final draft of the petitioners' brief was circulated to the dozens of interested parties， a last minute change was made to a quote from The Three Musketeers。 The original sentence in the brief quoted Cardinal Richelieu speaking in an arrogant and clearly unlawful fashion as a comparison to the EPA's conduct。 One of the reviewers allowed that the quote could remain， but insisted it needed to be attributed to Dumas， the author of the book， rather than Richelieu， the character， so as to avoid offending the Supreme Court justices who were Catholic。 Six of the current justices are now Catholic， by the way， and the other three are Jewish。 Whatever happened to WASPs being in power？ Anyway， a single word change could make a difference。 I remember how I agonized over every sentence when I wrote my appellate brief。 For me， this was a fascinating read。 。。。more
Dan Cotter
，
This book is a treasure， telling not only the story of the first win against the federal government by environmentalists but also a great book on the inside workings of the Court。 Highly recommend this。
Łukasz
，