US Environmental Policy in Action provides a comprehensive look at the creation, implementation, and evaluation of environmental policy, which is of particular importance in our current era of congressional gridlock, increasing partisan rhetoric, and escalating debates about federal/state relations. Now in its second edition, this volume includes updated case studies, two new chapters on food policy and natural resource policy, and revised public opinion data. With a continued focus on the front lines of environmental policy, Rinfret and Pautz take into account the major changes in the practice of US environmental policy during the Trump administration. Providing real-life examples of how environmental policy works rather than solely discussing how congressional action produces environmental laws, US Environmental Policy in Action offers a practical approach to understanding contemporary American environmental policy.

Prior to the Nixon administration, environmental policy in the United States was rudimentary at best. Since then, it has evolved into one of the primary concerns of governmental policy from the federal to the local level. As scientific expertise on the environment rapidly developed, Americans became more aware of the growing environmental crisis that surrounded them. Practical solutions for mitigating various aspects of the crisis - air pollution, water pollution, chemical waste dumping, strip mining, and later global warming - became politically popular, and the government responded by gradually erecting a vast regulatory apparatus to address the issue. Today, politicians regard environmental policy as one of the most pressing issues they face. The Obama administration has identified the renewable energy sector as a key driver of economic growth, and Congress is in the process of passing a bill to reduce global warming that will be one of the most important environmental policy acts in decades. The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Environmental Policy will be a state-of-the-art work on all aspects of environmental policy in America. Over the past half century, America has been the world's leading emitter of global warming gases. However, environmental policy is not simply a national issue. It is a global issue, and the explosive growth of Asian countries like China and India mean that policy will have to be coordinated at the international level. The book will therefore focus not only on the U.S., but on the increasing importance of global policies and issues on American regulatory efforts. This is a topic that will only grow in importance in the coming years, and this will serve as an authoritative guide to any scholar interested in the issue.

An updated investigation of alternate pathways for American environmental policymaking made necessary by legislative gridlock. The “golden era” of American environmental lawmaking in the 1960s and 1970s saw twenty-two pieces of major environmental legislation (including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act) passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed into law by presidents of both parties. But since then partisanship, the dramatic movement of Republicans to the right, and political brinksmanship have led to legislative gridlock on environmental issues. In this book, Christopher Klyza and David Sousa argue that the longstanding legislative stalemate at the national level has forced environmental policymaking onto other pathways. Klyza and Sousa identify and analyze five alternative policy paths, which they illustrate with case studies from 1990 to the present: “appropriations politics” in Congress; executive authority; the role of the courts; “next-generation” collaborative experiments; and policymaking at the state and local levels. This updated edition features a new chapter discussing environmental policy developments from 2006 to 2012, including intensifying partisanship on the environment, the failure of Congress to pass climate legislation, the ramifications of Massachusetts v. EPA, and other Obama administration executive actions (some of which have reversed Bush administration executive actions). Yet, they argue, despite legislative gridlock, the legacy of 1960s and 1970s policies has created an enduring “green state” rooted in statutes, bureaucratic routines, and public expectations.

A comprehensive analysis of diverse areas of scholarly research on U.S. environmental policy and politics, this Handbook looks at the key ideas, theoretical frameworks, empirical findings and methodological approaches to the topic. Leading environmental policy scholars emphasize areas of emerging research and opportunities for future enquiry.

Guide to U.S. Environmental Policy provides the analytical connections showing readers how issues and actions are translated into public policies and persistent institutions for resolving or managing environmental conflict in the U.S. The guide highlights a complex decision-making cycle that requires the cooperation of government, business, and an informed citizenry to achieve a comprehensive approach to environmental protection. The book’s topical, operational, and relational essays address development of U.S. environmental policies, the federal agencies and public and private organizations that frame and administer environmental policies, and the challenges of balancing conservation and preservation against economic development, the ongoing debates related to turning environmental concerns into environmental management, and the role of the U.S. in international organizations that facilitate global environmental governance. Key Features: 30 essays by leading conservationists and scholars in the field investigate the fundamental political, social, and economic processes and forces driving policy decisions about the protection and future of the environment. Essential themes traced through the chapters include natural resource allocation and preservation, human health, rights of indigenous peoples, benefits of recycling, economic and other policy areas impacted by responses to green concerns, international cooperation, and immediate and long-term costs associated with environmental policy. The essays explore the impact made by key environmental policymakers, presidents, and politicians, as well as the topical issues that have influenced U.S. environmental public policy from the colonial period to the present day. A summary of regulatory agencies for environmental policy, a selected bibliography, and a thorough index are included. This must-have reference for political science and public policy students who seek to understand the forces that U.S. environmental policy is suitable for academic, public, high school, government, and professional libraries.

Covering global threats such as climate change, population growth, and loss of biodiversity, as well as national, state, and local problems of environmental pollution, energy use, and natural resource use and conservation, Environmental Policy and Politics provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. policymaking processes, the legislative and administrative settings for policy decisions, the role of interest groups and public opinion in environmental politics, and the public policies that result. It helps readers understand modern environmental policy and its implications, including the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to problem-solving. New to the Seventh Edition Each chapter includes the latest information about environmental challenges and governmental responses to them, with extensive citation of sources and websites that allow students to find the most recent studies and reports. Each chapter covers key political and policy decisions through early 2017, including presidential appointments, budgetary decisions, major legislative initiatives, and congressional actions. Each chapter introduction includes new statements about learning objectives to facilitate student understanding of key concepts and their applications, arguments advanced over environmental challenges and policies, and the goals and methods of environmental policy analysis. Chapters compare decisions about major environmental, energy, and natural resource policies among the presidential administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, to the extent possible. Each chapter’s case studies have been changed or updated to include the latest developments and examples that should improve their appeal to students. These include controversies over the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and new fuel economy standards, new policies on toxic chemicals, the role of environmental and energy policies in the 2016 elections, changes in the nation’s reliance on energy resources, standards for evaluating environmental and resource policies, and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Summaries of scientific studies, government reports, and policy analyses have been updated throughout the text to reflect the most current research and information in the field. All chapters include revised discussion questions and new suggested readings. The writing and flow of material have been improved throughout to make the chapters more accessible and useful to students.

All serious environmental threats are now international in scope and more than one thousand international environmental agreements already exist. Yet the prospects for international cooperation leading to the management of impacts on the planet remain grim. The Global Environment meets the need for an authoritative assessment of the state of international environmental institutions, laws and policies at the end of the 20th century. The book examines disagreements over the meaning of sustainable development, problems inherent in implementing environmental policies and the conflict over the exclusion of developing countries from the Kyoto Protocol. It discusses the profound trade-offs that may be required, the role of international financial interests in promoting incompatible forms of development and analyses international environmental institutions, law and policy and sustainable development.

Covering global threats such as climate change, population growth, and loss of biodiversity, as well as national, state, and local problems of environmental pollution, energy use, and natural resource use and conservation, Environmental Policy and Politics provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. policy-making processes, the legislative and administrative settings for policy decisions, the role of interest groups and public opinion in environmental politics, and the public policies that result. It helps readers understand modern environmental policy and its implications, including the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to problem solving.

An NRC committee was established to work with a Russian counterpart group in conducting a workshop in Moscow on the effectiveness of Russian environmental NGOs in environmental decision-making and prepared proceedings of this workshop, highlighting the successes and difficulties faced by NGOs in Russia and the United States.