The environmental policy paradox (1-download)

The policy-making process described in many public policy and American government texts shows just the tip of the iceberg. This book, designed for courses on environmental policy, environmental studies, and public policy, and as supplemental reading in American government, public administration and planning, and other courses, exposes the rest of the iceberg: the workings of government that are rarely visible but necessary for an appreciation of the formation of environmental policy. It examines environmental policy in the United States in air, water, land use, agriculture, energy, waste disposal, and other areas and, in so doing, provides an introduction to the policy-making process in the United States. A paradox is an apparently contradictory combination of opposing ideas. The paradox of environmental policy is that we often understand what the best short- and long-term solutions to environmental problems are, yet the task of implementing these solutions is either left undone or completed too late. Although this is a general characteristic of policy formation in the United States, it is particularly true of environmental policy. The explanation lies in the nature of the policy-making process. A few broad examples will illustrate the nature of the environmental policy paradox.