Making Environmental Policy

by Fiorino, Daniel J.

• ISBN13: 9780520089181
• ISBN10: 0520089189
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-04-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Who speaks for the trees, the water, the soil, and the air in American government today? Which agencies confront environmental problems, and how do they set priorities? How are the opposing claims of interest groups evaluated? Why do certain issues capture the public's attention? InMaking Environmental Policy, Daniel Fiorino combines the hands-on experience of an insider with the analytic rigor of a scholar to provide the fullest, most readable introduction to federal environmental policymaking yet published. A committed environmental advocate, he takes readers from theory to practice, demonstrating how laws and institutions address environmental needs and balance them against other political pressures. Drawing on the academic literature and his own familiarity with current trends and controversies, Fiorino offers a lucid view of the institutional and analytic aspects of environmental policymaking. A chapter on analytic methods describes policymakers' attempts to apply objective standards to complex environmental decisions. The book also examines how the law, the courts, political tensions, and international environmental agencies have shaped environmental issues. Fiorino grounds his discussion with references to numerous specific cases, including radon, global warming, lead, and hazardous wastes. Timely and necessary, this is an invaluable handbook for students, activists, and anyone wanting to unravel contemporary American environmental politics.

Table of Contents

Figures	ix	(1)
Tables	x	(1)
Preface	xi	(4)
Acknowledgments	xv	(2)
Abbreviations	xvii
1. Challenges	1	(21)
Institutional Challenges in Environmental Policy	3	(6)
Models of Public Policy	9	(8)
An Overview	17	(5)
2. Institutions I	22	(39)
The Statutory Framework	23	(13)
EPA as the Focus for Policy Making	36	(12)
The Regulatory Decision Process	48	(11)
Laws, Agencies, and Rule Making	59	(2)
3. Institutions II	61	(39)
Congress and Legislative Oversight	63	(6)
The White House and the Executive Branch	69	(11)
The Courts and Judicial Review	80	(4)
Intergovernmental Participants in Policy Making	84	(8)
Nongovernmental Influences on Policy	92	(4)
Citizen Participation as an Institutional Challenge	96	(1)
Institutional Analysis and Environmental Policy	97	(3)
4. Analyses	100	(34)
Risk Analysis and the Environment	101	(15)
Economic Analysis and the Environment	116	(12)
Issues in the Use of Risk Analysis and Economic Analysis	128	(4)
Analysis and the Environment	132	(2)
5. Problems	134	(33)
Some Characteristics of Environmental Problems	135	(6)
Defining Environmental Problems	141	(10)
Setting the Policy Agenda	151	(14)
Connections and Observations	165	(2)
6. Strategies	167	(35)
Policy Instruments	169	(19)
Strategies	188	(8)
A Strategy for Lead	196	(4)
Strategies and Policy Instruments	200	(2)
7. Prospects	202	(25)
The Environment, the Economy, and Democracy	204	(2)
Challenges and Trends in Environmental Policy	206	(14)
Visions of the Future	220	(4)
Rationality and Environmental Policy	224	(3)
Notes	227	(26)
Glossary	253	(4)
Selected Bibliography	257	(6)
Index	263