Course Schedule* |
|
Class |
Topics |
Readings |
Assignments |
1/16 |
No Class - Martin Luther King Day |
|
|
1/23 |
Introduction
 |
Introductions |
 |
Review
syllabus & assignments |
 |
What is an
environmentalist? |
 |
Is the environment
any different than other social policies? |
 |
How much progress
has been made? |
 |
Reforming the
environmental governance system |
|
L: Ch. 1,
2
RES 1
R: Ch. 1
|
|
1/23 |
Value
Conflicts
 |
Politics reflects value conflicts |
 |
Tampering with nature |
 |
Pragmatic reformers vs. radical environmentalists |
|
L: Ch. 1, 2
R: Ch 1 |
|
1/30 |
Conflicting
Uses and Policy Goals
 |
Preservation vs. multiple use |
 |
Tradeoffs
among competing values |
 |
Anti-environmental backlash - wise use and property rights |
|
L: Ch. 7,
8, 13
R: Ch. 9
|
|
2/6
|
Federalism and the
Environment
 |
Actors and institutions |
 |
Governing is choosing but who chooses? |
 |
Devolution and changing state and local capacity |
|
L: Ch. 5,
6, 13 RES
2, 3, & 4, 15, 16
R: Ch. 2, 3, 9 |
Memo #1: ANWR |
2/13
2/20 |
Policy
Process
 |
Stages of the policy process |
 |
Problem framing |
 |
Agenda setting and focusing/ trigger events |
 |
Role of the media |
 |
Advocacy coalition framework (ACF) |
|
L: Ch. 3 RES
5, 6, 7, & 8
R: Ch 2, 3 |
Guest Speaker: Sarah Gilliam, Coordinator of the
Stop Titan Network (2/20)
Memo #2: Yucca Mountain
(2/20)
|
2/27
|
Role of Science in
the Policy Process
 |
Science & Politics |
 |
Stages where it is most involved |
 |
Scientific vs. time and place information |
 |
Transcience problems |
 |
Can science be used to guide decision making? |
 |
Ecosystem & adaptive |
|
RES
9, 10, 11, & 12, 13, 14, 17
|
Paper/project proposal
with abstract and bibliography
Memo #3: Human Activity
& Global Warming |
3/5 |
Common Pool Resource (CPR)
Problems
 |
Tragedy of the commons |
 |
Property rights |
 |
Approaches to managing CPRs |
|
L: Ch. 9, 12
RES 23, 24, 25
R: Ch. 6 |
CPR simulation in class
Memo #4: Commercial
Fishing |
3/12 |
No
Class - Fall Break
|
|
|
3/19
3/26
|
Rationales for Government Intervention
 | What govt does & why it does it? |
 | Public goods vs. private goods |
 | Market failures |
 | Externalities |
 | Monopolies |
 | Information asymmetries |
|
L: Review previous cases
RES
18, 19, 20,
R: Ch. 8
|
Memo #5: Nuclear Power
(3/26)
|
3/26
4/2
4/9
|
Choosing
Policy Instruments
 | Command
and control regulation |
 |
Markets and
trading systems |
 |
Education, information, and labeling |
 |
Grants |
 |
Direct action
(restoration) |
 |
Land
acquisition |
 |
Tax policy |
|
L: Ch. 10,
12, 14
RES
28, 29, 30, 31, 32
R: Ch. 5, 6, 7 |
Memo #6: Global Warming (4/9)
|
4/16 |
Evaluating
Environmental Policies & Programs
 |
NEPA |
 |
Evaluative criteria |
 |
Institutional performance vs. environmental
outcomes |
 |
Monitoring & performance measurement
|
|
L: Ch. 4,
16
RES
26, 27, 37
R: Ch. 4, 5 |
Book Review Assignment (4/16)
|
4/23 |
Reforming the
Environmental Governance System
 |
Rethinking our approach to environmental
governance |
 |
Performance-based management |
 |
Obstacles to change and reform |
|
L: Ch. 18
RES
33, 34, 35, 36 |
Draft paper due to your discussant for the
mini-conference |
4/30
|
Mini Conference - paper/project
presentations
 |
Distribute take home final exam |
 |
Spots and peer evaluations |
|
5/7 |
Take Home Exam is Due at
6:30 PM |
5/7 |
Final Paper is due at
6:30 PM |
|
RES =
Reading is on
electronic reserve in the library
or can be downloaded from the readings
web page; L =
Layzer, The Environmental Case: Translating Values
into Policy;
R = Environmental Politics and Policy
(Highly Recommended)
|
*Subject to Change |