About Ecology Law Quarterly

Established in 1971, Ecology Law Quarterly is among the oldest and most prestigious journals publishing environmental law scholarship.

Publishing four issues a year, ELQ provides a forum for preeminent scholarship on groundbreaking environmental law topics, including renewable energy, environmental justice, and international environmental law. In 2008, ELQ launched Ecology Law Currents, an online companion journal designed to publish pieces on a more frequent basis than the print journal.

Staffed by Berkeley Law students, ELQ is a community of dedicated and like-minded individuals. True to our environmental roots, the ELQ staff embarks on two outdoor adventures each year: Yosemite in the fall, Tahoe in the spring. In addition, ELQ strives to support the student body through writing awards, public interest summer fellowships, and a diversity scholarship.

History

Ecology Law Quarterly began when a handful of San Francisco attorneys suggested to the Boalt Environmental Law Society that they publish a journal dedicated to environmental law. Soon after this, William Chamberlain was elected as the first Editor-in-Chief of ELQ, devoting most of his efforts to fundraising. Launching the journal was no easy task: when Chamberlain approached then-Dean Edward Halbach, the Dean expressed his doubts as to whether environmental law was a big enough field to support an entire journal.

Still, the Dean provided $35 for official stationery, and with this start, Chamberlain was able to cobble together enough funds to publish ELQ’s first issue in the winter of 1971. The first issue, with a foreword from Senator Alan Cranston, was published as a joint venture with California Law Review.

Since then, ELQ has received a number of awards and recognitions. In 1990, ELQ was the only academic journal to receive a place on the United Nations Environmental Programme’s Global 500 Roll of Honour for Environmental Achievement, one of the most prestigious awards in the international environmental field. And year after year, ELQ continues to be one of the most­ cited environmental law journals in the country.