Donald Smith

Don Smith

Associate Professor of the Practice of Law

  • Faculty
  • Sturm College of Law
  • Rocky Mountain Collective on Race, Place & Law
  • Environmental & Natural Resources Law Program

Specialization(s)

Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Environmental Law

Professional Biography

Don C. Smith is the former Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law JD and Graduate Programs at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He specializes in environmental law, with particular emphasis on environmental law and policy of the European Union.

Mr. Smith formerly worked as a water policy advisor for Kansas Gov. John W. Carlin. After leaving Gov. Carlin’s office he served as the governor’s appointee to the Kansas Water Commission.

He practiced natural resources law before joining the legal publishing arm of McGraw-Hill, where he was an associate publisher. He has also served as a publisher for an Anglo-Dutch publishing company, Reed-Elsevier, where he was responsible for a series of publications (e.g., “The Air Pollution Consultant” and “The Hazardous Waste Consultant”) about U.S. environmental regulations. He has also had extensive experience working on publications involving European Union environmental and energy policy.

He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, the Colorado Bar Association, the International Bar Association (IBA), and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation.

He serves as editor-in-editor of the Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law, a peer-reviewed publication affiliated with the Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law Section of the IBA. He formerly served on the editorial advisory board for the Manual of European Environmental Policy, published by the Institute of European Environmental Policy in London.

Mr. Smith and Judge David Edward, who served on the Court of Justice of the European Union from 1992-2004, have collaborated on a “first of its kind” web-based oral history involving the life and career of Judge Edward. The oral history includes nearly 15 hours of streaming video and audio as well as the full-text of nearly 100 articles written by Judge Edward, who is widely recognized as one of the most influential judges ever to sit on the Court of Justice.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the April 1951 signing of the Treaty of Paris, which established the European Coal and Steel Community, he produced a documentary Jean Monnet: Father of Europe. The documentary features the life and career of Mr. Monnet, whose ideas established the underpinnings of today’s European Union. The documentary was filmed in Europe.

In addition to his environmental classes, Smith also teaches a course called “Holocaust Seminar.” Smith is the son of Donald Croston Smith who, at 19 years old, was a member of the 82nd US Airborne Division that liberated the Wöbbelin concentration camp on May 2, 1945. He witnessed the great burials on May 7, 1945 in Ludwiglust, when some of the victims of the camp were buried between the palace and the town church. These events are the subject of an exhibit at the Mahn- und Gedenkstätten Museum in Wöbbelin, Germany. At the museum's request, Smith recorded a video tribute to his father and the liberation of the camp. Smith also penned an editorial piece, with Sturm College of Law alumna Rachael Kamlet, on the role lawyers played in the Holocaust, published by The Colorado Sun on May 1, 2021.

Mr. Smith began teaching at the Sturm College of Law in the spring of 2002.

Additional Information:
Judge David Edward Oral History 
Jean Monnet Father of Europe Documentary

View CV

Degree(s)

  • LLM, European Union Law, University of Leicester Faculty of Law, 2001
  • JD, Washburn University School of Law, 1979
  • BS, Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas, 1976

Licensure / Accreditations

  • License to practice law, Kansas

Featured Publications

 

  • Unconventional Gas Development 2.0: Reducing the 'Environmental Footprint' Through New Technologies, Innovation in Energy Law and Technology: Dynamic Solutions for Energy Transitions (Donald Zillman, Martha Rogenkamp, Leroy Paddock, and Lee Godden editors), Oxford University Press, 2018, pp 224-243.
  • Social License to Operate: Hydraulic Fracturing-Related Challenges Facing the Oil & Gas Industry, co-authored with Jessica Marie Richards , 1(2) Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal 81 (2015).
  • Energy and the Environment: An International Perspective (chapter) in International Law & Policy for the 21st Century 2nd Ed. (V. Nanda and George “Rock” Pring, editors) 2011.
  • The Miraculous Dawn of the European Union, 60 Years Ago Today, Forbes.com, April 18, 2011.
  • Políticas de energía y cambio climático de los Estados Unidos al inicio de la administración Obama: Legislación, regulación o ambas, ” (“Energy and Climate Change Policies in the United States at the beginning of the Obama Administration: Legislation, Regulation, or Both) 19 Revista de Derecho Ambiental 257 (2009).
  • Obama: Prospects for Alternative Energy, Renewable Energy Focus, January/February 2009, at 88.
  • Utilities: The Challenge of Integration, Renewable Energy Focus, January/February 2009, at 32.
  • WGA to Tackle US Transmission?, Renewable Energy Focus, March/April 2009, at 28.
  • Opinion: Udall to Battle it out for Senate, Renewable Energy Focus, September/October 2007, at 20.
  • Commentary: Landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision puts U.S. on likely path to regulating greenhouse gas emissions, Utilities Policy 15 (2007) 215-222.
  • US public getting the message?, Renewable Energy Focus, July/August 2007, at 18.
  • Commentary: US Court changes the GHG landscape: To what extent could a recent US Supreme Court ruling affect environmental policy?, Refocus: The International Renewable Energy Magazine, May/June 2007, at 12.
  • Commentary: Election to force US energy policy shift?, Refocus: The International Renewable Energy Magazine, March/April 2007, at 26.
  • Hydrogen’s Silver Bullet?, Refocus: The International Renewable Energy Magazine, January/February 2007, at 26.
  • California Solar Initiative: Increasing the Uptake of Solar Technologies in the U.S., Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, March/April 2006, at 54.
  • Gulf Wind: Harnessing Offshore Wind Off the Coast of Texas, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, January/February 2006, at 33.
  • State Power: The Growing Uptake of RE Portfolio Standards in the U.S., Refocus: The International Renewable Energy Magazine, September/October 2006, at 49.
  • Judge David Edward Oral History, University of Denver Sturm College of Law (public release August 2006); with Edward, D http://www.law.du.edu/david_edward/.
  • 60 Years After V-E Day: Peace led to European Union, Perspective Section, THE DENVER POST, May 8, 2005.
  • Commentary: European Greens Face 'Good News' and 'Bad News', The Electricy Daily, MAY 31, 2005.
  • Commentary: Kyoto Enters Into Force Amid Embarrassing European Union Disagreement on Emissions Targets, The Electricy Daily, Feb. 19, 2005.
  • Enabling Renewable Energy: An Interview With Dan E. Arvizu, New Director of NREL, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, May/June 2005, at 62.
  • RE Gains? The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, September/October 2005, at 45.
  • Solar Thermal Added Value: Renewable Energy Credits Derived From Solar Water Heating, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, May/June 2005, at 44.
  • Teaching EU Law & Policy in an Online Setting, Hogan, J European Union Studies Association 9th Biennial Conference, April 1 2005, available at http://aei.pitt.edu/archive/00003091/01/2005_03_18_EUSA_Paper_Submitted.pdf (last checked Feb. 15, 2006).
  • Commentary: How Blair Will Back Nukes, The Electricy Daily, April 19, 2004.
  • Commentary: Is the European Union Getting the Wobbles on Kyoto?, The Electricy Daily, March 15, 2004.
  • Commentary: The 'Other' Terror Commission Reports on Threat from EMP Attack, The Electricy Daily, Aug. 19, 2004.
  • Commentary: The U.S. Presidential Election: Will Energy Policy Tip the Balance, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, July/August 2004, at 20.
  • Commentary: US Climate Change Legislation, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, March/April 2004, at 16.
  • Green Fuels: DynaMotive seeks to change fuels equation, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, July/August 2004, at 20.
  • Greening the Piste, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, November/December 2004, at 28.
  • Interview: Colorado Coalition for New Energy Technologies, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, March/April 2004, at 54.
  • Ties to EU Worth Preserving, Bruegger, D., THE DENVER POST op-ed page, July 9, 2004.
  • Commentary: Climate for Change? SEC asked to require climate change risk warnings, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, November/December 2004, at 18.
  • Commentary: EU Emissions Trading Scheme Could be Dicey, The Electricy Daily, JUNE 28, 2004.
  • Renewable Energy at the heart of national security: Interview with Admiral Richard H. Truly, Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, January/February 2003, at 54.
  • Socially responsible investment: Interview with Carsten Henningsen, Chairman of Progressive Investment, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, March/April 2003, at 54.
  • The Hydrogen Economy: The next great economic revolution? Interview with Jeremy Rifkin, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, May/June 2003, at 66.
  • UK White Paper Classic Tony Blair 'Fudge, co-authored with Georgia, P., The Electricy Daily, March, 3, 2003.
  • US energy policies for a sustainable future: interview with Dr. Howard Geller, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, July/August 2003, at 60.
  • WTO and the Environment, Book Review 31 DENVER JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND POLICY 521, Summer 2003.
  • Building Green: The University of Denver College of Law, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, November/December 2003, at 62.
  • Commentary: Renewable Energy Potential Capacity in the U.S.: The Role of Renewables in the U.S. Energy Mix, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, May/June 2003, at 14.
  • Commentary: World Peace and the US: Mid-term Election and U.S. Energy Policy, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, March/April 2003, at 20.
  • GHG reduction in the US: The Chicago Climate Exchange, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, September/October 2003, at 52.
  • Litigation Next Tactic to Force CO2 Cuts?, The Electricy Daily, July 21, 2003.
  • Poles Apart? EU-US Views of Energy Policy, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, September/October 2003, at 22.
  • Power Cuts: Risks and alternatives to the current transmission system, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, November/December 2003, at 22.
  • Why Johannesburg Summit Can't Work, The Electricy Daily, August 26, 2002.
  • Yankees Gone Home, The Electricy Daily, Nov.12, 2002.
  • Book Review, Spring 2002, 'Ahead of the Curve: Cases of Innovation in' (2002).
  • Book Review, Spring 2002, 'Cool Companies: How the Best Businesses Boost Profits and Productivity by Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions', 8 Corporate Environmental Strategy: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY 105 (2002).
  • Book Review, Summer 2002, 'Environmental Policy in the European Union: Actors, Institutions, and Processes', 9 Corporate Environmental Strategy: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY 318 (2002).
  • Environmental Management, 9 Corporate Environmental Strategy: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY 103 (2002).
  • Renewables: A US Congressman’s View, Refocus: The International Renewable Energy Magazine, March/April 2002.
  • America's 'Achilles Heel'?, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, July/August 2002, at 24.
  • Canada's Reaction to Climate Change: Worrying about the US, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, May/June 2002, at 68.
  • Financing Renewables, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, November/December 2002, at 60.
  • Getting the Wished For, The Electricy Daily, June 24, 2002.
  • How EdF Harms all of Europe, The Electricy Daily, March 25, 2002.
  • Media Coverage of the Ozone-Layer Issue, in Canan, P PROTECTING THE OZONE LAYER: THE UNITED NATIONS HISTORY 290-322 (S.O. Anderson and K. Madhava Sarma, editors, Earthscan) 2002.
  • Science Considers Global Climate Change: No Longer Any Reasonable Disagreement, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, November/December 2002, at 50.
  • Sustainable Development Policy Implementation in the European Union, and Fergusson, M AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT NEWSLETTER, June 2002, pp. 12-15, available at http://www.abanet.org/environ/committees/climatechange/newsletter/june02/smith.html.
  • The European Union's Commitment to Sustainable Development: Is the Commitment Symbolic or Substantive in the Context of Transport Policy?, 13 Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 241-331 (summer 2002).
  • The National Renewable Energy Laboratory: The First 25 Years and the Future, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, September/October 2002, at 54.
  • Bush must take European Union seriously, The Denver Business Journal, June 25, 2001, available at http://denver.bcentral.com/denver/stories/2001/06/25/editorial3.html (last checked Feb. 15, 2006).
  • Bush u-turn on renewables?, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, September 2001.
  • Climate Change: EU and US Perspectives on Policy and Implications for Business, Environmental Business Journal, Vol. 13 No. 7/8 October 2001.
  • Delivering Kyoto: Could Europe do it, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, November/December 2001.
  • European Union Vital for Colorado, The Denver Business Journal, April 23, 2001, available at http://denver.bcentral.com/denver/stories/2001/04/23/editorial3.html.
  • Viewpoint: Europe strikes out on its own, Refocus: The International Renwable Energy Magazine, June 2001.
  • Web Reviews, Autumn 2001,, 8 Corporate Environmental Strategy INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY 385 (2001).
  • Executive Briefing: Ken Collins, MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Environment Committee, 6 Corporate Environmental Strategy 85 (1999).
  • Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life: New Theories of Recovery, in Abortion, Policy, and the Law 178-194 (J.D. Butler and D.F. Walbert eds., Facts on File Publishing Company) 1986.
  • Human Genetics and the Law, McInerney, J., THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER October 1985, at 396.