Environmental Choices

DescriptionWithin a federal system, government agencies and regulatory policies can be fractured -- even at odds with each other. National actors share power with their counterparts in states and localities, as do presidents with Congressional leaders, and bureaucrats with judges. Understanding the broad economic and political contexts of environmental policymaking illuminates the motivations behind policy choices of various interested parties, from the National Park Service and the EPA to environmental activists and members of Congress. Rothenberg utilizes basic economic ideas to provide, not only a fresh look at how the U.S. deals with environmental ills, but a way of thinking about policy making in general. Table of ContentsTables and FiguresPrefaceEnvironmental Policy in Context: Economic Demand, Political SupplyThe Economic Context: Environmental Quality as a Normal GoodThe Political Context: Constitutional Foundations and their Political Implications Outline of AnalysisKey TermsEnvironmental Action, Environmental Caution: The Case for Government Intervention Traditional Justification: The Tragedy of the CommonsPublic GoodsExternalitiesThe Right to Know: Informational RationalesDo the Right Thing: The Moral ImperativeSeveral Notes of Caution: The Case Against Government Intervention Grounds for Action and CautionKey TermsA Brief History of U.S. Environmental PolicyThe Evolution of EnvironmentalismBefore "Environmentalism": The Nineteenth CenturyBeginnings of Environmentalism: 1870-1920 Increasing Supply and Fluctuating Demand: 1920-1960The Environmental Movement and the EPA: 1960-1980 Contemporary Environmentalism: 1980-PresentEnvironmental Policy Evolution: Growth and FragmentationKey Terms National Political Influences on Environmental PolicyThe Demand Side: Organized Interests and Environmental Politics The Supply Side: Formal Political Institutions and the EnvironmentLinking Demand and Supply: Implications for Public PolicyKey TermsDeveloping and Enforcing Environmental PolicyMandates for Implementation Enforcement: Deterrence, Cooperation, InformationPolitical Impacts on ImplementationCredibilityThe Perils and Pitfalls of ImplementationKey TermsNational or Local Control: Conflicts over Environmental FederalismThe Case for Policy DevolutionThe Case for Policy CentralizationFederalism and Environmental PolicyFalling ShortCase StudiesFederalism in Theory and PracticeKey TermsLand Use Agencies: Government as LandlordThe Land Use Agencies Conclusions: Government as StewardKey TermsThe EPA: Government as RegulatorEnvironmental Regulation Circa 1970Growth and FragmentationThe EPA's Many ResponsibilitiesGeneral Trends: Rationalization and ComplianceRegulation, Fragmentation, and Contemporary Environmental PolicyKey TermsThe Costs of Environmental ProgressSuccesses and FalluresThe High Cost of Progress: Proximate and Fundamental CausesFuture TrendsSustaining Environmental QualityFinal ThoughtsKey TermsNotesReferencesIndex