10.2190/J4T7-8X59-2NRH-BYEN J4T78X592NRHBYEN 331 Correlation of Resource Importance and Legal Inertia 331 337 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 J4T78X592NRHBYEN.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=J4T78X592NRHBYEN 4 Miguel A. Santos This article provides an analytical framework for discussing the problems and prospects of achieving environmental stability through developments in environmental law. It constructs a legal-scientific model for the interactions of developments in the law and environmental stability in a mathematical sense. The model suggests that in stable human-environment systems, evolution would lead to systems with environmental laws affecting stability which are difficult to change. In other words, these types of laws should have high inertia and local stability.