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Course Schedule*

  

Class

Topics

Readings

Assignments

8/27

Introduction

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Introductions

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Review syllabus & assignments

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What is an environmentalist?

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Is the environment any different than other social policies?

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How much progress has been made?

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Reforming the environmental governance system

 

L: Ch. 1, 2

RES 1

R: Ch. 1

9/3 No Class - Labor Day    

9/10

Value Conflicts

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Politics reflects value conflicts

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Tampering with nature

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Pragmatic reformers vs. radical environmentalists

 

L: Ch. 8

R: Ch 1, 2

Memo #1: Environmentalists

9/17

Conflicting Uses and Policy Goals

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Preservation vs. multiple use

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Tradeoffs among competing values

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Anti-environmental backlash - wise use and property rights

 

L: Ch. 6, 13

R: Ch. 2

Memo #2: ANWR

9/24

 

Federalism and the Environment

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Actors and institutions

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Governing is choosing but who chooses?

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Devolution and changing state and local capacity

 

L: Ch. 7, 9, 17

RES 2, 3, & 4

R: Ch. 3, 8, 9

Memo #3: Yucca Mountain

 

10/1

10/15

Policy Process

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Stages of the policy process

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Problem framing

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Agenda setting and focusing/ trigger events

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Role of the media

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Advocacy coalition framework (ACF)

 

L: Ch. 3, 4

RES 5, 6, 7, & 8

R: Ch 2

Memo #4: Watershed Simulation

10/8

No Class - Fall Break

 

 

 

10/15

10/22

Role of Science in the Policy Process

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Stages where it is most involved

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Scientific vs. time and place information

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Transcience problems

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Can science be used to guide decision making?

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Ecosystem & adaptive

 

RES 9, 10, 11, & 12

R: Ch. 4

 

L: Ch. 15

RES 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

 

Paper/project proposal with abstract and bibliography

 

Memo #5: Precautionary principle

10/22

10/29

 

Rationales for Government Intervention
bulletWhat govt does & why it does it?
bulletPublic goods vs. private goods
bulletMarket failures
bulletExternalities
bulletMonopolies
bulletInformation asymmetries

 

L: 5

RES 18, 19, 20, 21

R: Ch. 8

Memo #6: Nuclear Power (10/29)

11/5

Common Pool Resource (CPR) Problems

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Tragedy of the commons

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Property rights

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Approaches to managing CPRs

 

L: Ch. 10

RES 22, 23, 24, 25

R: Ch. 9

CPR simulation in class

11/12

Choosing Policy Instruments
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Command and control regulation

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Markets and trading systems

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Education, information, and labeling

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Grants

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Direct action (restoration)

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Land acquisition

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Tax policy

 

L: Ch. 11, 12, 14, 16

RES 28, 29, 30, 31, 32

R: Ch. 6, 7, 10

Memo #7: Global Warming

 

11/19

Evaluating Environmental Policies & Programs

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NEPA

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Evaluative criteria

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Institutional performance vs. environmental outcomes

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Monitoring & performance measurement

 

L: Ch. 5

RES 26, 27, 37

R: Ch. 4, 5

Memo #8: Navy OLF DEIS

Distribute Take Home Final about 11/19

11/26

Reforming the Environmental Governance System

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Rethinking our approach to environmental governance

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Performance-based management

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Obstacles to change and reform

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Spots and peer evaluations

 

L: Ch. 18

RES 33, 34, 35, 36

 

12/3

Paper/project presentations

12/5 Take Home Exam is Due at 5:00 PM
12/10 Final Paper is due at 5:00 PM

  

RES = Reading is on electronic reserve in the library or can be downloaded from the readings web pageL = Layzer, The Environmental Case: Translating Values into Policy; R = Environmental Politics and Policy (Highly Recommended)

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