ABSTRACT
One of the most common pieces missing from discussion of law in general and environmental law in particular is the piece that discusses expectations and behaviors of those subject to the law in any given culture. A discussion of legal cultures certainly must include the perspective and expectations of the person for whom and against whom the laws are legislated and implemented. Social scientific studies demonstrate—in all cultures—direct correlations between a citizenry’s compliance with sources of law and its belief in, and support of, that law. Supporters and critics of comparative law projects alike admit that too often comparative law texts are academic abstractions written for an audience of academics. When the world’s cultures first began to realize some of the harms of industrialization, questions had to be asked and answered in all industrial cultures to distinguish the services, processes, and products that we felt that we needed, despite pollution and its harmful impact on air, water, and earth.
