Environmental Politics

As citizens address the issues of climate change, earth-friendly technologies, and jumpstarting a green economy, environmental politics has gained a prominent position on the American political landscape. U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics: A Documentary History shows readers the many ways throughout American history in which environmental concerns have intersected with issues of energy production and consumption, government regulation, private property rights, economic growth, and lifestyle choices. The primary sources featured in the book illuminate essential events and environmental controversies that have roiled the waters of American politics and policymaking from the colonial era to the twenty-first century. The volume opens with a narrative overview which develops the major environmental themes discussed in the chapters and documents that follow. Each chapter leads with a comprehensive narrative that provides background information necessary for understanding the significance of the primary documents. The wide-ranging document collections include over 150 full and excerpted speeches, writings by conservationists, federal and state legislation, court opinions, testimonies, policy briefs, and more. The documents are preceded by context-setting headnotes which provide information on the key players and events. Some of the topics covered include: Population growth and territorial expansion Toxins and waste disposal Air pollution and climate change Wilderness and species protection Energy production Conservation and environmental justice Land and water use Urban development and public health Mining and logging A timeline listing major events from the colonial era to the present provides an overview of U.S. environmental history, while illustrations and an index further supplement this title. U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics is well-suited for collections at academic, community college, and public libraries. Key Features Thematic, primary source documents Chronological chapters from colonial era to the present Addresses current concerns about climate change and energy conservation Tracks the rise of regulatory agencies

The authors argue legislative gridlock over environmental issues has increased the significance of alternative pathways for policymaking, including appropriations politics, executive-branch action, action by the courts, collaborative 'next-generation' approaches, & policymaking at the state level.

A change in the way humans relate to nature could be the starting point for a new politics, which will also affect relations among humans. A new approach would help to radically transform the production system, not because it is unjust in the usually considered social terms, but because it endangers nature and humanity. So far, the citizens' grassroots organizations have failed to win broad consensus and political power in the representative institutions. When the time comes to transform the single environmental issue into an electoral platform, environmentalists lose unity and effectiveness since they lack a common political vision and an ensuing strategy. On the other hand European politics is rapidly transforming because the challenge brought by so-called populist movements. We need to transform activists' shared emotions and attitudes into political ideologies and platforms. Moreover, a new educational process and a new science politics are necessary to reform environmental policy.

Daniel Press brings his considerable experience to light in this excellent book, and it should be a required read for every scholar and student of environmental studies and science. He convincingly leverages an evidence based approach by digging into the data on toxic release, acid rain, non-point source water pollution, and industrial recycling to challenge the conventional wisdom that environmental regulation in the United States has been settled and is successful. Issuing a clarion call to those who care about environmental values, he urges us to redirect our action and discourse and to rethink how we can be more effective, with his specific recommendations for policy and regulatory reform.' - Toddi A. Steelman, University of Saskatchewan, Canada 'Those of us who work on environmental policy should never let the grind of our day-to-day challenges turn us away from the ultimate question of whether we are leaving a better environment to the next generation. Daniel Press looks at the current state of environmental regulation and probes just this question. It s worth a read for anyone who cares about the decisions we must make - and the processes we now use to get to those decisions - that will shape the world for years to come.' - John Laird, California Secretary for Natural Resources 'InAmerican Environmental PolicyDaniel Press guides the reader through not only the motivations and concepts that have been employed to set land, water, and air pollution policies, but also a dive into the details of both the environmental science and the legal and regulatory science that determines the success or failure of these actions. This book is instrumental for all those interested in both the why and the how - and the how much - of the legacy of Rachel Carson and the past five decades of environmental management.' - Daniel Kammen, University of California, Berkeley, US 'Daniel Press's new book is an excellent one. By focusing on implementation - what happens after policy has been adopted - Press demonstrates the weaknesses of pollution control policy in the United States. Case studies of acid rain, nonpoint source water pollution, and paper recycling illuminate 'regulatory failure,' the structural problems of American regulatory approaches. He concludes with recommendations to move us ahead, a path forward that focuses on performance, information, incentives, and source reduction. Strongly recommended.' - Christopher McGrory Klyza, Middlebury College, US More than 40 years after the United States launched bold efforts to curb pollution and waste, American environmental management has stalled. Drawing extensively on recent environmental science, engineering, regulatory agency data and trade information, American Environmental Policyexplores how environmental management in the US has fallen short of its early promise and reputation. Arguing that policies need to be redesigned for the 21st century, this book offers examples and principles of effective environmental policy reforms. It concludes with suggestions for how new policies should be designed, as well as examples of successful regulatory innovations already in practice around the world. Environmental policy scholars, students and science and environment journalists interested in evaluating environmental policy over time will find this to book of value. The approaches discussed in this book will also be useful for environmental and natural resource agency officials.

Conceptual, empirical, and theoretical analyses of the effectiveness of market-based policy instruments in achieving environmental goals. Economists argue that such market-based policy instruments as environmental taxes and emission trading systems are the best way to target the negative effects of pollution. Yet there is no agreement about whether the use of these instruments is sufficient, whether they are deployed efficiently, and which factors influence their effectiveness. Nor is it clear if such policies have had any significant effect on the urgent matter of climate change mitigation. This volume offers conceptual, empirical, and theoretical analyses of the effectiveness of these policy instruments in achieving environmental goals. Taken together, the chapters not only identify shortcomings of existing policy making, but also point to ways in which more effective policy design can help solve one of the most pressing problems of our time. The contributors consider such topics as theoretical approaches to address the failure of the free market to protect the environment, the influence of people's trust in their government on their willingness to accept higher environmental taxes, political determinants of fossil fuel pricing, a game theoretic approach to understanding domestic political constraints on international environmental agreements, and intergenerational equity and carbon taxation. Contributors Elisa Belfiori, Frank J. Convery, Peter Egger, Denny Ellerman, Dominic Hauck, Philipp Hieronymi, Andrea Kollmann, Sonja Köke, Andreas Lange, Antony Millner, Francesco Nicolli, Sergey Nigai, Johannes Reichl, David Schüller, Jon Strand, Cees van Beers, Francesco Vona

The Handbook of Global Climate and Environment Policy presents an authoritative and comprehensive overview of global policy on climate and the environment. It combines the strengths of an interdisciplinary team of experts from around the world to explore current debates and the latest thinking in the search for global environmental solutions. Explores the environmental challenges we currently face, and the concepts and approaches to solving these Questions the role of global actors, institutions and processes, and considers the links between global climate and environment policy, and that of the global economy Highlights the connections between social science research and global policy Brings together authoritative coverage of recent research by internationally-renowned experts from around the world, including from North America, Europe, and Asia Provides an essential resource guide for students and researchers from across a wide range of related disciplines - from politics and international relations, to environmental sciences and sociology - and for global policy practitioners