Redefining Federalism: Listening to the States in Shaping "Our Federalism".

• Position: Brief Article - Book Review

REDEFINING FEDERALISM: LISTENING TO THE STATES IN SHAPING "OUR FEDERALISM"

Edited by Douglas T. Kendall. 2000 L Street NW, Suite 620, Washington, D.C. 20036: Environmental Law Institute, November 2004. (202) 939-3800. www.elistore.org. ISBN 1-58576-086-2. 176 pp. $39.95 Paperback.

Redefining Federalism highlights work performed by state and local leaders in environmental fields and uncovers a broader, state-driven conception of federalism. This book poses the following question: If federalism is about protecting the states, why not listen to the states?

In the last decade, the United States Supreme Court has reworked significant areas of constitutional law with the professed purpose of protecting the dignity and authority of the states, while frequently disregarding the states' views as to what federalism is all about. The Court, according to the states, is protecting federalism too much and too little. The Court is too protective when it strikes down...