The Environmental Policy Paradox

Reviews / Votes

Praise for the Seventh Edition

The extensively updated new edition of Zachary Smith's environmental policy textbook is remarkable. Using an overarching theme, paradox, Smith skillfully ties together the whole narrative, from the "big picture" of the eco-system and social-dominant paradigm, to an introduction to the environmental policy process and its institutional framework, and substantive policy chapters covering everything from air pollution to international environmental management. The new discussion questions will prove popular with introductory students.

E. Gene Frankland, Ball State University

The new edition of Zachary Smith's The Environmental Policy Paradox is a masterful compilation of social, economic, legal, and political matters pertaining to environmental policy: important statutes and policies, movement history, deliberations on current issues like the Keystone XL pipeline and the Paris agreement, and more local issues like land use management. Reading this book, students have the perfect blend of environmental law, policy, politics, and history. They will be well-served to pursue a degree or career in environmental policy, law, or politics.

Jaclyn Rhoads, Pinelands Preservation Alliance

This text has served as the anchor for all my environmental policy courses for many years now: Zachary Smith's use of the idea of paradox is particularly effective when examining environmental policy and politics. The text serves as a solid foundation for examining environmental theory and the policy process both in the U.S. and around the world.

Stephen F. Robar, University of Pittsburgh

I rely on Zachary Smith's The Environmental Policy Paradox for my course, and have done so for nearly fifteen years: It lays down the key concepts necessary to begin any conversation about environmental politics. The text is extraordinarily well-written and clear, the lessons are cogent, and each issue is given expert treatment from one of the most important environmental authorities living today. The new edition does not disappoint.

Peter Jacques, University of Central Florida

The world of environmental policy-making is extremely complex, and students are often stunned by that complexity. In this new edition, Zachary Smith admirably renders the subject much easier to understand, and his questions at the end of each chapter help students navigate their own values and apply their issue-based knowledge. His capstone discussion, on whether democracy effectively deals with environmental problems, is perhaps the most important and evocative question of them all.

John Freemuth, Boise State University

Zachary Smith's concise and insightful analysis of environmental policy covers a lot of ground in this new edition, but does so in a way that is enlightening and informative, providing the reader with a balanced and nuanced understanding of the environmental challenges we face today.

Daniel Craig McCool, University of Utah