Valdosta State University Department of Political Science Master of Public Administration Program Environmental Policy Spring 2015 online

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1 Valdosta State University Department of Political Science Master of Public Administration Program Environmental Policy Spring 2015 online Course Basics: Instructor: Dr. Luke Fowler Office: West Hall Office Hours: Monday through Thursday, 10:00-11:00, or by appointment Text: Rosenbaum, W. Environmental Politics and Policy. CQ Press. Previous editions are accepted as long as they are no more than five (5) years old. All other reading are available through Odium Library either on-line, in-person, or through inter-library loan. The instructor will make an effort to post hard to find readings on BlazeView in advance, but students are expected to locate all other readings. Course Description: An examination of environmental politics and policy in the US and US involvement in global environmental issues. Using historical and current case topics, students will gain a greater understanding of challenges facing public administrators in managing environmental concerns. Course Goals: 1. Understand the approach and purpose of environmental policy and administration. 2. Understand the major concepts, issues, and challenges relative to environmental policy. 3. Analyze the causes and effects of issues and challenges effecting environmental policy and administration. 4. Determine how government action or inaction effects the natural environment. Valdosta State University complies fully with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students requesting classroom accommodations or modifications because of a documented disability must contact the Access Office for Students with Disabilities located in room 1115 Nevins Hall. The phone numbers are (voice) and (TTY). Learn more on the VSU website at: You may also reach them via at access@valdosta.edu. Also, please discuss this with your instructor(s) at the start of each class. Course Requirements: Students are expected to regularly participate and complete all assignments. Students are expected to have access to a computer in which they can access Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Adobe Acrobat files. Additionally, they should have access to and to the course website. All communication should be through D2L/BlazeView or through official Valdosta.edu addresses. Participation: Online work is generally conducted asynchronously and does not require students to be online at scheduled times. There may be occasional synchronous class activities which will be scheduled with advance notice. In addition, group work will require students to schedule meetings for their groups based on the availability of each student. Each student is expected to be engaged in all class activities. Magnitude of participation in discussion and activities does not imply quality; however, the two indicators are often correlated positively. Students are expected to be well prepared and share insightful comments, criticism, and perspective with the class.

2 Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of class. All assignments should be typed, printed, and turned in on time. Late and/or incomplete assignments will be accepted, but with severe penalty. All files will be made available in Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, or Adobe Acrobat format. All assignments should include a header including name, assignment, and date. All assignments are due Sunday at midnight, unless otherwise stated. Discussion Leader and Participation: Each week discussion boards through BlazeView will be utilized for discussions of the readings. There will be two roles for students to play each week: leader and participant. Discussion leaders will be required to outline notes on the readings for classmates and lead the discussion. Students will be required to sign up as discussion leaders for individual weeks during the first week of class; no more than 2 students will be allowed to discussion leaders during any given week. The outline of notes should cover the important aspects of the readings that week, and should be the starting point of the discussion. These notes should be posted no later than Monday at 5pm on the given week. Discussion leaders will, then, help to facilitate and move the discussion forward throughout the week, by replying to posts of the other discussion participants. The expectation of adequate discussion facilitation will be that the discussion leader makes at least five comments in addition to the posting of the reading notes. All students not serving as discussion leaders will be expected to be discussion participants that week. Discussion participants should focus their comments to analysis, application, and insight into the readings. Discussion participants should NOT simply summarize the readings in their posts. The expectation of adequate participation each week is that each discussion participant make at least two comments. Discussion boards close Sunday at 5pm. Case Studies: All students will be required to write two case studies. Both case studies should be 2 to 3 pages each. The cases for analysis will be made available through BlazeView. The cases should focus on analyzing the issues in the case and applying the course material. Students will be expected to submit their case studies in the dropbox through BlazeView on the appropriate due date. Additionally, a discussion board will be available the week the case is due. Students are expected to post at least one comment concerning the case and their opinion. Book Review: All students will be required to write a 5 to 8 page book review. The list of approved books is below. Students will be required to sign up for a book the first week of class; no more than 2 students will be allowed to review any book. The book review should include a brief summary, but focus more on the students analysis of the text and its implications for public service. Students will be expected to submit their book reviews to the dropbox on the BlazeView on the appropriate due date. Additionally, a discussion board will be available the week the book review is due. Students will be expected to post at least comment concerning how their book relates to the course, its importance to understanding public administration, and any important lessons learned. Students should try to use the most recent edition of all books. All books should be available through Odium Library, either in-person, on-line, or through interlibrary loan. 1. Antonetta. Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir. Counterpoint. 2. Bullard. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality. Westview. 3. Callicott. Thinking like a Planet: The Land Ethic and the Earth Ethic. Oxford. 4. Caradonna. Sustainability: A History. Oxford University Press. 5. Carson. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin. 6. Emison and Morris. True Green: Executive Effectiveness in the US Environmental Protection Agency. Lexington. 7. Emison and Morris. Speaking Green with a Southern Accent. Lexington. 8. Harrington, Morgenstern, and Sterner. Choosing Environmental Policy: Comparing Instruments and Outcomes in the United States and Europe. Resources for the Future. 9. Hernan. This Borrowed Earth: Lessons from the Fifteen Worst Environmental Disasters around the World. Palgrave Macmillan Trade. 10. McKibben. American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau. Library of America. 11. McKibben. The End of Nature. Random House. 12. Muller. Physics for Future Presidents. Norton. 13. O Leary. Managing for the Environment: Understanding the Legal, Organizational, and Policy Challenges. Jossey- Bass. 14. Rabe. Greenhouse Governance: Addressing Climate Change in America. Brookings Institution.

3 15. Repetto and Speth. Punctuated Equilibrium and the Dynamics of U.S. Environmental Policy. Yale University Press. 16. Shellenberger and Nordhaus. Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility. Houghton Mfflin. 17. Smith. Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster. Routledge. 18. Steinberg and VanDeveer. Comparative Environmental Politics: Theory, Practice, and Prospects. MIT University Press. 19. Vig and Kraft. Environmental Policy: New Directions for the 21 st Century. CQ Press. 20. Wilson. The Future of Life. Vintage. Final Exam: The final exam will be open book, and made available through BlazeView. Any material covered in class may be included in the final exam. The final exam will be essay format. Students will be expected to submit their final exams to the dropbox on the BlazeView on the appropriate due date. Discussion Leader: 15 Discussion Participation: 15 Case Study 1: 15 Case Study 2: 15 Book Review: 20 Final Exam 20 Total: 100 Evaluation/Grading: Percentage of Possible Points Above 90% Requirements Grading Rubric: Original work that provides well thought out content based on course material; work enhances the quality of substantive content, and is both detailed and development 70% to 90% Original work that provides relevant content with some reference to course material; work somewhat enhances quality of substantive content, but lacks detail or development 50% to 70% Original work that is not particularly well thought out, is not relevant to course material, lacks important details, and/or fails to add to the content of the course; work lacks significant detail and does not enhance substantive content Below 50% Work is unoriginal, not relevant, or inappropriate; work does not provide any substantive content or distracts from the substantive content of others. Course Schedule: Week of Topic(s) Learning Outcomes Readings Jan 12 Introduction Student will understand the basic course requirements, and concepts related to environmental policy. Jan 19 History of Environmental Movement Students will become familiar with the history of the modern environmental movement in the United States. Syllabus Rosenbaum, Ch 1 Ruckelshaus (1984). Environmental Protection: A Brief History of the Environmental Movement in America and the Implications Abroad. Dunlap and Mertig. The Evolution of the US Environmental Movement from 1970 to 1990: An Overview. Environmental Law 15: Shellenberger and Nordhaus (2009). The Death of Environmentalism Geopolitics, History, and International Relations 1:

4 Jan 26 State of Environment Today Students will become familiar with the contemporary state of the environment in the United States, and relative issues and challenges. Feb 2 Public Opinion trends of public opinion on the environment in the US. EPA (2008). Report on the Environment. Mazur and Welch (1999). The Geography of American Environmentalism. Environmental Science & Policy 2(4): Daniels, Krosnick, Tichy, Tompson (2013). Public Opinion on Environmental Policy in the United States, in Handbook of US Environmental Policy edited by Kraft and Kamieniecki, Oxford University Press. DUE February 8 by midnight: CASE STUDY 1 Feb 9 Feb 16 Feb 23 Policy Process and Institutions Common Policy Challenges Regulatory Economics Student will understand the process and institutions of policymaking as it related to environmental policy. common policy concepts, issues, and challenges that arise in environmental policy. basic concepts, issues, and challenges related to regulatory economics, as it applies to environmental policy. Mar 2 Federalism inter-governmental relationships that effect environmental policy and administration in a federal system. Rosenbaum, Chs 2 and 3 Rosenbaum, Ch 4 Morgan (2012). Environmental Impact Assessment: The State of the Art. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 30(1). Hardin (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 161(3859): Rosenbaum, Ch 5 Lanoie, Laurent-Lucchetti, Johnstone, and Ambec (2011). Environmental Policy, Innovation, and Performance: New Insights into the Porter Hypothesis. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 20(3): Ryan (2012). The Costs of Environmental Regulation in a Concentrated Industry. Econometrica 80(3): Fowler. Measuring Organization: Performance in Environmental Agencies. International Journal of Organizational Theory & Behavior 16(3): Hays, Esler, and Hays (1996). Environmental Commitment among the States: Integrating Alternative Approaches to State Environmental Policy. Publius 26(2): Crotty (1987). The New Federalism Game: Primacy Implementation of Environmental Policy. Publius 17(2):53-67.

5 Mar 9 Planning key concepts, issues, and challenges associated with environmental planning. Robertson and Hull (2003). Public Ecology: An Environmental Science and Policy for Global Society. Environmental Science & Policy 6(5): Heink and Kowarik (2010). What are Indicators? On the Definition of Indicators in Ecology and Environmental Planning. Ecological Indicators 10(3): Brody and Highfield (2005). Does Planning Work? Testing the Implementation of Local Environmental Planning in Florida. Journal of the American Planning Association 71(2): DUE March 15 by midnight: BOOK REVIEW Mar 16 Air and Water policymaking related to air and water. Mar 23 SPRING BREAK Rosenbaum, Ch 6 EPA (2011). The Benefits of Costs of the CAA from 1990 to 2020: Summary Report. Second Prospective Study. Fowler (2014). Assessing the Structure of Policy Outcomes: the Case of the US CAA and CWA. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management. Mar 30 Toxic and Hazardous Substance; Public Lands policymaking related to toxic waste, and managing public lands. Apr 6 Energy policymaking related to energy. Apr 13 Sustainability policymaking related to sustainable development. Rosenbaum, Ch 7-9 Rosenbaum, Ch 8 Carley and Browne (2013). Innovative US Energy Policy: A Review of States Policy Experiences. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment 2(5): Hirsch (April 2007). Peaking of World Oil Production: Recent Forecasts. World Oil Online. Wackernagel and Yount (1998). The Ecological Footprint: An Indicator of Progress toward Regional Sustainability. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 51(1): Hopwood, Mellor, and O Brien. Sustainable Development: Mapping Different Approaches. Sustainable Development 13(1): Dinda (2004). Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Survey. Ecological Economics 49(4):

6 Apr 20 Climate Change policymaking related to climate change. Rosenbaum, Ch 10 Gupta (2010). A History of International Climate Change Policy. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 1(5): Kotchen, Boyle, and Leiserowitz (2013). Willingness-to-Pay and Policy-Instrument Choice for Climate-Change Policy in the United States. Energy Policy 55: DUE April 26 by midnight: CASE STUDY 2 Apr 27 International Perspectives international issues and challenges related to environmental policymaking and administration. Kelemen (2010). Globalizing European Union Environmental Policy. Journal of European Public Policy 17(3): Berkhout, et al (2010). Sustainability Experiments in Asia: Innovations Shaping Alternative Development Pathways? Environmental Science & Policy 13(4): Raustiala (1997). States, NGOS, and International Environmental Institutions. International Studies Quarterly 41(4): May 4 DUE May 6 by 5pm: FINAL EXAM