Environmental Policy and Politics

Catalog description

Understanding the complex adaptive systems of environmental impairment and protection is an interdisciplinary effort that converges in the study of environmental policy. This course examines environmental politics and its underlying ethical considerations with an emphasis on the American political system. Students will receive a broad introduction to key concepts, actors, stakeholders, and issues related to environmental policymaking. Course material focuses on the role of government organizations- at the federal, state, and local level- institutional processes, and nongovernmental entities. Throughout the semester, we will discuss substantive environmental policy issues, such as water and air pollution, waste and biodiversity; land us, climate change, and population. At the conclusion of the semester, students should have an understanding of the historical, cultural, institutional, and ideological forces shaping environmental policy and regulations in the United States.