Today on Free Range, Mike Livermore speaks with his colleague Jonathan Cannon, who retired from UVA Law in May 2021 after over two decades of teaching at the law school. Prior to joining UVA Law, Cannon served as general counsel to the EPA, and his 1998 memo, which has come to be known as “the Cannon memo,” was influential in opening a path for EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. He is currently writing a book about the significance of “place.”

Cannon begins by explaining what the concept of place means to him, and how it has shaped both his professional and personal experiences throughout his life (1:12 – 6:00). The conversation then examines American environmental policy generally, how environmental concerns are framed in the public sphere, and what influences shape how individuals experience their environment (6:05 – 12:20). Shifting to more theoretical ideas, Cannon and Livermore discuss normative approaches to the environment and how conflicting views of place might be reconciled. This part of the conversation also examines the role ethics and aesthetics play in establishing normative views of the environment (12:35 – 26:25). Moving to one of the main talking points within the environmental movement, Cannon examines the tension that exists between the desire to protect landscapes and the destruction of landscapes that inevitably occurs as a result of human development (26:30 – 32:16). This leads to a more philosophical consideration of the function of sensory experiences in determining how individuals relate to “places,” with both Cannon and Livermore describing the ways their individual personal experiences, as children and adults, informed their understanding of what makes “place” significant (32:23 – 47:12). To conclude the conversation, Cannon and Livermore discuss the problematic history of the ideal of natural beauty in American culture. This contested history has taken on increased significance for Cannon personally as, after moving into the house where he currently lives, he and his wife uncovered a ledger of people who had previously been enslaved on the property. Cannon talks about how this discovery has altered his relationship to the place, and what steps he has taken in its aftermath (47:20 – 58:40). Finally, Cannon explains how shared experiences of place may encourage consensus at the local level (59:02 – 1:02:47).

Professor Michael Livermore is the Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. He is also the Director of the Program in Law, Communities and the Environment (PLACE), an interdisciplinary program based at UVA Law that examines the intersection of legal, environmental, and social concerns.