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2023 | Book

US Environmental Policy in Action

Authors: Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Table of Contents

About this book

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, partisanship and polarization, and escalating debates about federal/state relations. 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 and Biden administrations. Providing real-life examples of how environmental policy works rather than solely discussing how congressional action produces environmental laws, this third edition of US Environmental Policy in Action offers a practical approach to understanding contemporary American environmental policy.

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Environmental Policy in Practice

Abstract

In 2022, the US, for the first time in decades, passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which is predicted to make significant strides to combatting global climate change. The US continues to confront a host of environmental issues that range from protecting the gray wolf in Wyoming and Montana, preventing drinking water contamination to endeavoring to preserve biodiversity and combating climate change. Although the environmental problems we confront are more complex than those in Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, the choices they present are no less stark. The following pages demonstrate how addressing challenges through the lens of environmental policy in the US.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 2. The Development and Context of American Environmental Policy

Abstract

The scale and scope of environmental issues can often seem overwhelming and the ability of an individual to affect them can seem remote. However, there are examples of individuals past and present who influence environmental movements, including Rachel Carson and Greta Thunberg.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 3. The Messy Process of Making Environmental Policy

Abstract

In the third decade of the twenty-first century, there is much debate among citizens and lawmakers as to what the government should do about myriad environmental challenges, and especially climate change.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 4. Official Actors in the Policy Process

Abstract

This chapter explains how official actors within our three branches of the federal government (Congress, the President, and the US Supreme Court) impact US environmental policymaking.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 5. Unofficial Actors in the Policy Process

Abstract

We consume products in our everyday lives. As consumers, we might not consider the broader effects that products have on the environment and our own health. Founded in 1995, Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) was created to reduce toxic exposure for people who menstruate. Detox the Box is just one of WVE’s campaigns to reduce toxic chemicals in period care products.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 6. Translating Vague Statutes into Rules and Regulations

Abstract

If you were walking down the street one afternoon and a news reporter asked for your candid thoughts on environmental rulemaking, you would probably respond with a blank stare or you might say the act of rulemaking included a bureaucrat sitting behind a computer all day, filling out forms.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 7. Implementing Environmental Policy and Regulations: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Abstract

Given the widely held negative perceptions about government bureaucrats, you might cringe at the outset of a story about a government regulator at a state environmental agency.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 8. Is It Working? Evaluating Environmental Policy

Abstract

Shalanda Baker has been committed to developing, implementing, and evaluating environmental policy during her entire career in the public and private sector.

With Jeffrey J. Cook

Chapter 9. The Intersection of Natural Resource and Energy Policy

Abstract

The American West’s picturesque landscapes and vast blue skies are unforgettable. The grandeur of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park or the “Big Sky Country” of Montana are memorable. To promote westward expansion and to protect the splendor of the West, President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt set aside much of these lands as federal public lands—meaning the government owns and manages them.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 10. The Politics and Policies of Food

Abstract

Across the US, people face food insecurity every day because they do not know where or when they will get their next meal. Compounding factors of geographic location, income, and access to transportation impact a person’s ability to find food.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Chapter 11. Environmental Policy in Action: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

Our approach to environmental policy goes beyond discussions of the politics of making policy decisions to emphasize how those decisions are implemented. Understanding environmental policy requires moving beyond the creation of it and exploring the day-to-day realities of implementing policy. It is this approach that necessitates moving beyond the role of politicians and political institutions and examining the work of regulators, activists, and members of the regulated community. The efforts of all of these actors—official and unofficial—constitute environmental policy in action and these efforts signal what we want and what we do not want when it comes to the role of government in environmental matters.

Sara R. Rinfret, Michelle C. Pautz

Backmatter

Title: US Environmental Policy in Action
Authors: Sara R. Rinfret
Michelle C. Pautz
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-17503-9
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-17502-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17503-9