RPOS 204 - Selected Topics
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND POLITICS
Earth Sciences Building (ES) 145, M-F 11:00 am – 12:20 pm
Instructor: Tim Lindberg
E-mail: tm75361@albany.edu
Office Location: Political Science Contact Office (HUM B16)
Office Hour:
Tuesday 10:00 am – 11:00 am
By appointment (e-mail me)
Goals of Course
This course is designed to provide you with an appreciation and understanding of the complexities of
environmental policy and the politics that surrounds it. While many people agree that we need to preserve,
conserve, and protect the environment, disagreements about how much protection is needed, for what, and who
should pay for it, keep a lot of major actions unfulfilled. The course will introduce a number of major
environmental challenges and various alternatives to dealing with those challenges. Then it will discuss why or
why not those alternatives have been pursued. Additionally you will have the opportunity to create a policy brief
on a particular environmental problem, analyzing the possible solutions and recommending to a policymaker
which alternative is best.
Course Structure
This course will meet every weekday (M-F) from Tuesday, July 5 through Friday, August 12. Most of the
work will involve short writing assignments, active participation, and daily reading assignments. I have set aside
Wednesdays to watch interesting documentaries on a number of the environmental topics we will be covering.
You are expected to show up on these days but no reading will be assigned.
The course will utilize the Blackboard system. You use your SUNY-Albany login information in order to
access the system off the MyUAlbany website. I will use Blackboard for the following:
1) Posting your grades and what, if any, assignments you are missing
2) E-mailing you information (have Blackboard forward e-mails to an external account)
3) Storing a small number of articles not included in the course reader.
Requirements
The breakdown of the grading for the course will be as follows:
1) Attendance – 15%
2) Participation – 25%
3) Short Responses – 35%
4) Policy Brief – 25%
1
The course will primarily rely on daily reading assignments and case studies. With this in mind, a heavy
proportion of the grade will be reliant on your attendance of the class, your active participation in discussions,
and periodic short writing responses. Late assignments will be assessed a penalty of one letter grade for every
class period they are late.
1) Attendance
Attendance will be recorded each day of the class. You are allowed to miss three unexcused class periods
without penalty. Starting with the 4th missed class, your letter grade for the attendance portion of the course will
drop two parts of a letter grade (i.e. A to B+, B+ to B-, etc). If you do have an excused absence please let me know
as soon as possible, especially if you know beforehand that you will be unable to attend class.
2) Participation
Participation will be based upon your cumulative effort over the length of the course to contribute to
discussions, provide interesting insight/questions, and to participate actively in any group/class activities that
occur. I understand that some people are more talkative than others, but please try to actively participate as
much as you can.
3) Writing Responses (1 page, single-spaced)
Writing responses should be approximately one page (single-spaced) in length and reflect upon the assigned
readings for the day they are due. While you are free to use them to analyze, question, or comment upon the
readings, you should not simply explain why you did or did not like them. Take time to think about the questions
brought forth by the readings, discuss aspects that confused or frustrated you, and even compare them to earlier
readings.
You will be required to complete a response every Monday and Thursday class, but can skip one of the days
without penalty, meaning you are responsible for a total of 10 response papers.
4) Policy Brief (4-6 pages, double-spaced)
The final piece of the grade will come from a short (4-6 page) Policy Brief that you will write and hand in the
last day of the course. The specific details and requirements of the Brief will be handed out in class separately.
Readings
There is one required textbook and one Course Reader, both of which can be purchased at Mary Jane
Books in Albany (or via maryjanebooks.com). If you purchase the text on-line elsewhere make sure it is the 7th
edition.
Vig, Norman and Michael Kraft. Environmental Policy: New Directions for the Twenty-First Century. 7th edition
(2009), CQ Press.
Note: Any readings with * will be located in the reader; readings with ^ are located on the Blackboard site
for the course.
2
Tuesday, July 5
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Monday, July 11
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Monday, July 18
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Monday, July 25
Tuesday
Wednesday
Course Overview
Introduction to Policy Process
Chapter 2 – Rosenbaum^
“Agenda Setting and Climate Change” - Pralle^
Environmental Policy - Introduction
Chapter 1 – Vig & Kraft
Environmental Policy – Introduction (cont.)
Chapter 3 Rosenbaum^
US Congress and Environmental Policy
Chapter 5 - Vig & Kraft
Presidency and Environmental Policy
Chapter 4 - Vig & Kraft
Courts and Environmental Policy
Chapter 6 – Vig and Kraft
Federalism and Environmental Policy
Chapter 2 Vig & Kraft
The Role of the EPA
Chapter 7 - Vig & Kraft
Chapter 3 – Smith*
Hazardous Waste / NIMBYism
Ch 8 – Smith*
Case: Love Canal (No reading)
Case: Clean Air/Clean Water
Ch 6 – Rosenbaum*
Film – Flow: For Love of Water
Drilling for Oil / Renewable Energy
Chapter 7 – Smith*
Case: Arctic Drilling
Chapter 6 – Layzer*
Land and Resource Management
Chapter 8 – Vig & Kraft
Case: Federal Grazing Policy
Chapter 7 – Layzer*
Sustainable Development
Chapter 16 - Conca and Dabelko*
Chapter 18 – Conca and Dabelko*
Film – The Unforeseen
3
Thursday
Friday
Monday, August 1
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Monday, August 8
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Environmental Justice
Chapter 2 - Sandler and Pezzullo*
Chapter 3 - Sandler and Pezzullo*
Case: The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative
Chapter 5 – Layzer*
Market Principles
Chapter 9 - Vig & Kraft
Case: Acid Rain and CAAA of 1990
Chapter 14 – Layzer*
Global Environmental Policy
Chapter 2 - Axelrod et. Al*
Chapter 4 - Axelrod et. Al*
Film – Sun Come Up
Climate Change
Chapter 12 - Vig & Kraft
Chapter 6 – Axelrod et. Al*
Case: Climate Change (No reading)
Developing World
Chapter 13 - Vig & Kraft
Chapter 14 - Vig & Kraft
Environmental Security
Chapter 15 – Vig & Kraft
Film – Life and Debt
Conclusions about Environmental Policy
Chapter 16 - Vig & Kraft
The Future of Environmental Policy (No reading)
4