Conclusion

• Author: Jamie Benidickson
• Profession: Faculty of Law University of Ottawa
• Pages: 407-410

407

CONCLUSION

Not long ago, the agility of pre-robotic, pre-mutant and pre-digital car-

toon characters such as rabbits and roadrun ners was constantly be-

ing tested at the brink of disaster, notably in proximity to terrifying

cliffs. As they approached the edge of a daunting precipice, some of

these colourful creatures would attempt — with mixed and limited suc-

cess — to screech to a halt; others seemed capable of launchi ng them-

selves into the air and then, with an incredible reversal of spinning feet,

defying gravity to return to the safety of the ledge. An assessment of

the adequacy and prospects for the contemporar y environmental pro-

tection regime is likely to be inf‌luenced by metaphor: do we still have a

little traction to work with on t he ledge, or have we already gone over

the brink? Those readers whose imaginations requi re the stimulus of

further d rama and suspense, may factor in the de stabilizing effects of

climate change: anyone hoping to screech to a halt or return to the

safety of the ledge after overshooting the mark must now remember

that the ledge itself is crumbling.

In these ci rcumstances, to contemplate a future for environmental

law — even in general terms — is something of a cause for celebration.

It is also to ack nowledge defeat. This paradox derives f rom sharply di-

vergent perceptions of the eff‌icacy of law as a response to environ-

mental problems. For those who anticipated ecological apocalypse,

mere surv ival must constitute something of a success, while from t he

perspective of those who have championed one legal innovation after

another as the magic answer, the continuation of struggle against en-