American Politics and the Environment, Second Edition

by Byron W. Daynes, Glen Sussman, Jonathan P. West

Overview

Changing our environmental policy has been at the forefront of many political discussions. But how can we make this change come about? In American Politics and the Environment, Second Edition, Byron W. Daynes, Glen Sussman and Jonathan P. West argue it is critical that we must understand the politics of environmental decision making and how political actors operate within political institutions. Blending behavioral and institutional approaches, each chapter combines discussion of an institution along with sidebars focusing on a particular environmental topic as well as a personal profile of a key decision maker. A central focus of this second edition is the emergence of global climate change as a key issue. Although the scientific community can provide research findings to policy makers, politics can create conflicts, tensions, and delays in the crafting of effective and necessary environmental policy responses. Daynes, Sussman, and West help us understand the role of politics in the policy making process and why institutional players such as the president, Congress, and interest groups succeed or fail in responding to important environmental challenges.

This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to Knowledge Unlatched—an initiative that provides libraries and institutions with a centralized platform to support OA collections and from leading publishing houses and OA initiatives. Learn more at the Knowledge Unlatched website at: https://www.knowledgeunlatched.org/, and access the book online at the SUNY Open Access Repository at http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12648/7128.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781438459332
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Byron W. Daynes is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Brigham Young University. Glen Sussman is Professor of Political Science at Old Dominion University. Together, they are the authors of White House Politics and the Environment: Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush. Jonathan P. West is Professor and Chair of Political Science at the University of Miami and the coauthor (with James S. Bowman) of Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Responsibilities.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables ix

Chapter 1 The American Political Setting and the Environment 1

Chapter 2 American Federalism and Environmental Politics 21

Personal Profile: Mary Nichols and CARB: Environmental Champions 28

Case Study: The Dynamics of Implementation and Enforcement I: Mountaintop Removal in West Virginia 33

Case Study: The Dynamics of Implementation and Enforcement II: Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise in South Florida 39

Chapter 3 Public Opinion, Interest Groups, and the Environment 47

Case Study: Climate Change and Public Opinion 50

Personal Profile: Robert F Kennedy Jr. 56

Case Study: Interest Group Activism and the Place of Wolves in the Rocky Mountain Regions 65

Chapter 4 Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Environment 71

Personal Profile: Senator Susan Collins: Environmental Defender 81

Case Study: Cap and Trade: Failure to Pass a Climate Bill 85

Chapter 5 The Environmental Presidency 99

Personal Profile: FDR and the "Golden Age" 99

Case Study: Leaving a Legacy: Barack Obama and Climate Change 104

Chapter 6 Executive Agencies and the Environment 123

Personal Profile: Steven Chu: The Scientist in Charge 127

Case Study: EPA Regulations of Carbon Emissions 131

Chapter 7 The Environmental Court 149

Personal Profile: The Environment: Friend and Supporter versus a "Slash-and-Burn" Opponent 159

Case Study: The Court and '"Those Dam Fish": TVA v. Hill (1978) 164

Case Study: Climate Crisis is Real, Mr. Limbaugh, REAL! 166

Chapter 8 The Global Environment 171

Guest Essay: Solidarity Norms and International Climate Change Cooperation, by Christina Slentz 182

Case Study: Biodiversity and Endangered Species 199

Chapter 9 American Politics and the Environment: Conclusion 205

Notes 225

Index 249