Environmental Politics and Policy

by Walter A. Rosenbaum

Overview

Walter A. Rosenbaum’s classic Environmental Politics and Policy, Twelfth Edition, provides definitive coverage of environmental politics and policy, lively case material, and a balanced assessment of current environmental issues. The newly streamlined first half of the book sets needed context and describes the policy process, while the second half covers specific environmental issues such as air and water, toxic and hazardous substances, energy, and global policymaking on issues like climate change and trans-boundary politics. The Twelfth Edition includes updated case studies and a look at the transition in environmental policies between the Trump and Biden administrations, offering students a current and relevant look at the continuing challenge of reconciling sound science with practical politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071844519
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	10/19/2022
Edition description:	Twelfth Edition
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,073,792
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Walter A. Rosenbaum is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Florida and director emeritus of the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service. His recent activities include an analysis of the EPA’s capacity for climate change regulation, prepared for the Brookings Institution; an examination of the data requirements for a new Federal Environmental Legacy Act; preparation of an energy policy text for CQ Press; and an analysis of U.S.energy governance for MIT Press. He has also served as a staff member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and an adjunct professor in the School of Public Health, Tulane University Medical College. In addition to his teaching and research, he has been a consultant to the EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the South Florida Ecosystem (Everglades) Restoration Project. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for Environmental Studies and Sciences.

Table of Contents

Figures, Tables, Boxes, and Maps
Preface
About the Author
Chapter 1: After Earth Day
“Frack, Baby, Frack”
America’s Environmental Legacy
The Evolution of U.S. Environmentalism
Ongoing Challenges: Present and Future
Plan for the Book
Conclusion
Chapter 2: Making Policy: The Process
Protecting the Bee: The Pathways of Policy
The Policy Cycle
Constitutional Constraints
Incrementalism
Interest Group Politics
The Environmental Movement: Confronting the Challenge of Change
Environmentalism and Its Critics
The Public and Environmentalism
The Special Place of Science in Policymaking
Conclusion
Chapter 3: Making Policy: Governmental Institutions and Politics
The Water War Called WOTUS
The Presidency
Congress: Too Much Check, Too Little Balance
The Bureaucracy: Power Through Implementation
The Courts: The Role of Appraisal
The Political Environment of Environmental Policymaking
Conclusion
Chapter 4: Common Policy Challenges: Risk Assessment and Environmental Justice
A Toxic Nightmare From Toyland?
Risk Assessment and the Limits of Science
Risk Assessment Reconsidered: The Precautionary Principle
Risk and Discrimination: The Problem of Environmental Justice
Conclusion
Chapter 5: More Choice: The Battle Over Regulatory Economics
The Benefit–Cost Debate
Regulation Strategies: Command and Control Versus the Marketplace
Conclusion
Chapter 6: Command and Control in Action: Air and Water Pollution Regulation
The Politics of Command-and-Control Regulation
Regulating Air Quality
Current Controversies in Air-Quality Regulation
Regulating Water Quality
Drinking Water
Conclusion
Chapter 7: A Regulatory Thicket: Toxic and Hazardous Substances
Toxic and Expensive: The Stringfellow Waste Site
The Growth of Federal Toxics Regulation
Federal Law: Toxics Regulation From the Cradle to the Grave?
Conclusion
Chapter 8: Energy: America’s Energy Politics in Transformation
The Foundation: A Fossil Fuel Nation
Petroleum: A Revived Economy
Natural Gas and the Gas “Boom”
Coal: The Promise and Perils of Abundance
Fossil Fuel Alternatives: Nuclear Power and Renewable Energy
Conclusion
Chapter 9: 635 Million Acres of Politics: The Contested Resources of Public Lands
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Public Land Politics at a Boil
The Department in the Middle
The Public Lands
Conflicts Over Multiple Use
The Fate of the Forests
How Much Wilderness Is Enough?
Conclusion
Chapter 10: The Politics and Policy of Global Climate Change: A New Era of Climate Policy
Science and Climate Warming
The Domestic Politics of Climate Change
The Difficult Quest for an International Climate Agreement
Deadlock Over Domestic Climate Emission Controls
The Uncertain Future of U.S. Climate Policy
Conclusion
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

More than an update of the earlier edition--in light of the global changes in the environment over the past four years, Rosenbaum has made substantial revisions and formed new conclusions concerning the environmental crisis. He summarizes major trends in environmental politics over the past 20 years, examines problems of policy implementation, and presents the challenges of the coming decade. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Environmental Politics and Policy is the most engaging book for teaching U.S. Environmental Policy, and the best way to teach the process of making policy.”

Ninian R. Stein

[The text] provides a good overview of domestic environmental policymaking at the federal level. The book fits nicely into my style/format of teaching the course.”

Robert Holahan

Environmental Politics and Policy is well written and accessible for students. The new material on the impact and fallout from the BP oil spill, the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, as well as further discussion of the legacy of evolving governance after the Kyoto Protocol updates the book well. The historical narrative of evolving environmental policy is also useful. Rosenbaum’s book has been a useful guide into this critical domain over a number of editions, and students will continue to consult it with benefit for their studies.

Richard Kotter

?“Tony Rosenbaum has created a real gem of a text in Environmental Politics and Policy. Over the years, I have come to rely heavily on the text in both my undergraduate and graduate courses. The writing is clear and very accessible even to policy novices, and students find the case study examples particularly useful and engaging. I suggest to my students that the text is scalable–you could skim it and still gain a breadth of understanding about the American policymaking process, or you could slow down and really dig into the details to develop a robust understanding of our complex and dynamic system. This is a text worth spending time with to mine its wealth of information.

Damian C. Adams

I highly recommend Environmental Politics and Policy. I’ve assigned multiple editions in undergraduate and graduate courses in political science, environmental studies, and policy analysis. With each new edition comes thoroughly and thoughtfully updated coverage of critical issues. Timely discussion is devoted to the increasing partisan polarization in Congress and the implications for the environmental agendas of forward-thinking leaders, proponents of alternative energy, and climate change activists.

Bradley Clark

One of the biggest strengths of Environmental Politics and Policy is it manages to fit in plenty of historical examples, statistics, and examples, while seeming to “tell a story.” While relevant data and statistics are provided to substantiate the topics presented and to provide context for them, it does not descend into a boring, dry recount of facts and figures. It manages to clearly explain the topics, while not losing the students’ interest. For example, in the opening chapter, the author manages to slip in facts on fracking and the various constituencies involved, while explaining a localized, current controversy in a way that makes it seem as though he is explaining the plot of a recent movie. I think it is very accessible for students because the way the problems are explained is provided in a humanized and informal way.

Leda Barnett