The Environmental Case: Translating Values Into Policy

Through its 15 carefully constructed cases, the book gives readers a first-hand look at some of the most interesting landmark and illuminating new controversies in U.S. environmental policy making. In her new section "New Issues, New Politics," Layzer adds two brand new cases: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster: The High Cost of Offshore Oil; and Fracking Wars: Local and State Responses to Unconventional Shale Gas Development. Lazyer provides maps, tables, figures, questions to consider, recommended readings, and useful websites to help students think critically about environmental policy and to facilitate further research.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: A Policymaking Framework: Defining Problems and Portraying Solutions in U.S. Environmental Politics Two Critical Features of U.S. Environmental Policymaking Major Actors in Environmental Policymaking The Environmental Policymaking Process Case Selection Getting the Most Out of the Cases Notes Part 1: Regulating Polluters Chapter 2: The Nation Tackles Air and Water Pollution: The Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 3: Love Canal: Hazardous Waste and the Politics of Fear Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 4: Ecosystem-Based Management in the Chesapeake Bay Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 5: Market-Based Solutions: Acid Rain and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Part 2: History, Changing Values, and Natural Resource Management Chapter 6: Oil Versus Wilderness in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 7: Federal Grazing Policy: Some Things Never Change Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 8: Jobs Versus the Environment: Saving the Northern Spotted Owl Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 9: Playground or Paradise? Snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 10: Crisis and Recovery in the New England Fisheries Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 11: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster: The High Cost of Offshore Oil Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Part 3: New Issues, New Politics Chapter 12: Climate Change: The Challenges of International Environmental Policymaking Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 13: Cape Wind: If Not Here, Where? If Not Now, When? Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 14: Fracking Wars: Local and State Responses to Unconventional Shale Gas Development Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 15: Making Tradeoffs: Urban Sprawl and the Evolving System of Growth Management in Portland, Oregon Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 16: Hurricane Katrina Hits New Orleans: Disaster, Restoration, and Resilience Background The Case Outcomes Conclusions Questions to Consider Notes Chapter 17: Conclusions: Politics, Values, and Environmental Policy Change The Strength of the Status Quo Legislative Policy Change Administrative Policy Change Acknowledging the Role of Values Notes

About the Author :
Judith A. Layzer was professor of environmental policy in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) until her death in 2015. She earned a Ph.D. in political science at MIT. After four years at Middlebury College in Vermont she returned to MIT, where she taught courses in science and politics in environmental policymaking, ecosystem-based management, food systems and the environment, urban sustainability, energy and environmental politics, and public policy. Layzer’s research focused on several aspects of U.S. environmental politics, including the roles of science, values, and storytelling in environmental politics, as well as on the effectiveness of different approaches to environmental planning and management. A recent project asked: Do urban sustainability initiatives significantly reduce cities’ ecological footprints? And which aspects of “green cities” are most effective at reducing cities’ environmental impacts? In addition to The Environmental Case, Layzer was the author of Natural Experiments: Ecosystem-Based Management and the Environment (2008) and Open for Business: Conservatives’ Opposition to Environmental Regulation (2012). Layzer was an athlete as well as a scholar. In addition to having finished five Boston marathons, she shared nine national championship titles and one world championship trophy with her teammates on Lady Godiva, formerly Boston’s premier women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. Judith A. Layzer 1961–2015

Review :
"This book has an excellent thematic framework and fine coverage of U.S. environmental politics over time. The case studies are superb and a great teaching resource. The Environmental Case is a wonderful resource of high and consistent quality." "Layzer’s analysis is objective and thorough, providing valuable context and content for students to better understand environmental problems. Her reliance on a rich variety of data and sources provides students with a springboard for further analysis and research."  "The book’s primary strength lies in how well the author is able to link academic theory and discussion to real-life cases. The cases offer a thorough and interesting perspective on current environmental issues.  [Students] often say in class that they enjoy reading the cases and find them very thorough and clear. They have specifically mentioned the level of detail and that it is helpful to them."