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Course Schedule*

  

Class

Topics

Readings

Assignments

1/16 No Class - Martin Luther King Day    
1/23

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

1/23

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. 1, 2

R: Ch 1

 

1/30

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. 7, 8, 13

R: Ch. 9

 

2/6

 

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. 5, 6, 13

RES 2, 3, & 4, 15, 16

R: Ch. 2, 3, 9

Memo #1: ANWR

 

2/13

2/20

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

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

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Science & Politics

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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, 13, 14, 17

 

Paper/project proposal with abstract and bibliography

 

Memo #3: Human Activity & Global Warming

3/5

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. 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
bulletWhat govt does & why it does it?
bulletPublic goods vs. private goods
bulletMarket failures
bulletExternalities
bulletMonopolies
bulletInformation 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
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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. 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

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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. 4, 16

RES 26, 27, 37

R: Ch. 4, 5

Book Review Assignment (4/16)

 

 

4/23

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

 

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
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Distribute take home final exam

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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 pageL = Layzer, The Environmental Case: Translating Values into Policy; R = Environmental Politics and Policy (Highly Recommended)

*Subject to Change

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