1 option

American Environmental History and Policy : A Troubled Journey to Reform.

De Gruyter Bristol University Press/Policy Press Complete eBook-Package 2026 Available online

Format:: Book
Author/Creator:: T. Manheim, Frank.
Language:: English
Genre:: Electronic books.
Physical Description:: 1 online resource (317 pages)
Edition:: 1st ed.
Place of Publication:: Bristol : Bristol University Press, 2026.
Summary:: This timely book explores the rocky trajectory of US environmental history and policy from pre-European settlement to the present.It includes underreported aspects of early history, and the first in-depth synthesis of the framing and outcomes of the groundbreaking environmental laws of the 1970s.
Contents:: Front Cover; American Environmental History and Policy: A Troubled Journey to Reform; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; List of Figures and Tables; About the Author; Acknowledgments; Preface; 1 An Introduction; 2 North American Indians and Land Use before European Colonization; The arrival of Indigenous populations to the American continent; The transformation of concepts of American Indian populations and impacts on the land; Fire and evolving agriculture: mound builders and town dwellers; The Pacific coast and eastern North America; Land use, social organization, and warfare; Indian influence on colonial government and the constitution; 3 Colonial History up to 1829; Colonization; Governance and land use; Boston: disease and early environmental regulations; The Constitution and the slavery issue; Natural science and land use: James Madison and Thomas Jefferson; 4 The 19th Century; Land distribution; Andrew Jackson and the spoils system; Milestones of environmental history; The critical role of American engineers; Boston's sanitation and water supply history; Engineering effectiveness and reliability; The Gilded Age; The reform movement; 5 The 20th Century up to 1969; New federal appointment and law-making systems; Federal health developments; Other science and technology agencies; Engineering, infrastructure, and changes after the Second World War; Postwar changes: the decline in the prestige of engineering and construction; The environmental movement; Environmental organizations; Ecology; Postwar environmental problems; Rachel Carson's Silent Spring; 6 The Environmental Revolution of the 1970s; Collision: the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969; Federal officials performed, but demand for reform grew; The federal government response.; The National Environmental Policy Act; The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970; Subsequent environmental laws; The Endangered Species Act of 1973; The Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976; The Superfund law; Outcomes of the environmental revolution; The reduction of pollutants; Pesticides; The National Environmental Policy Act; Environmentalist reactions; Economic impacts of the environmental laws; Other developments in the 1970s; Litigiousness; A retrospective review of law making in the United States; 7 Other Developments in the 1970s and 1980s, and the Reagan Countermovement; President Gerald Ford and the offshore oil and gas industry; The James E. (Jimmy) Carter Administration; Reagan: early history and governorship; Reagan biographies; The first Reagan administration; Reagan's Environmental Protection Agency; James Gaius Watt and the Department of the Interior; Politics: tax cuts and changes in national political relationships; The George H. W. Bush presidency; 8 Global Climate Change: George H. W. Bush to Bill Clinton-Al Gore; Problems in arguing the climate change issue; The Clinton-Gore administration; The tragic legacy of a gifted political and environmental leader: Al Gore; 9 George W. Bush and Barack Obama; The George W. Bush Administration; The power of election strategy; Bush's background, campaign, and administration; The Barack H. Obama administration; Obama's background; The Obama presidency; 10 Upheaval: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Trump 2.0; Trump's background; An underrated master of media manipulation; The first Trump presidency; Appointments; Administrative actions; Digression: problems with the National Environmental Policy Act; The COVID-19 pandemic.; Impeachment, the re-election campaign, and January 6; The Joe Biden presidency; The Biden administration's environmental policies; Late events; Underrecognized issues in the Biden administration climate change program; The election of 2024 and Donald J. Trump's second nonconsecutive term as president; The 2024 election; Environmental policy: consequences of the Trump administration; Enacting major legislation; Schedule F: conversion of civil service employees; Environmental policy and climate change; Regulations and enforcement: enter Elon Musk; 11 Comparisons between US and European Law Making and Renewable Energy Progress; The United States; Political evolution of environmental regulations; Environmental law; Federal land law; Environmental problems; State activities; Europe; Political evolution of environmental policy; Law making and policy; Environmental policies and principles; Swedish and Scandinavian environmental policy; Climate change policy and progress; Introduction; The growth of carbon dioxide emissions; Renewable energy; The role of nuclear power; 12 Policy Issues and Discussion; The information problem; Historical review; Sociopolitical problems and instability; Overreaction: a special problem in American society; Overreaction and flawed politics in American history; Environmental justice; Industry-environmental conflict and the origin of climate denial; Forestry conflicts; The timber wars and the Northern Spotted Owl battle; Petroleum industry-environmentalist conflict: the origin of climate change denial; Underexamined causes of discord; The alternative Danish approach; Sustainability; Why polarization is not compatible with climate change progress; Energy and sustainability; Literature highlights.; Regulation, constitutional doctrine, and reform; Unintended effects of the National Environmental Policy Act; Legal and Constitutional doctrines; Reform proposals; 13 Pathways to Progress; The Golden Age of federal agencies; The 1970s: Congress takes the lead in environmental regulation; Shots across the nation's bow; Approaches to change; Incremental change and moderation of politics; Popular reform movements and strong leaders; Campaign strategy; The role of academia; Alternatives to the all-or-nothing approach; A first step: recognizing the futility of polarization; The second step: environmentalists accept that hostility to American corporations has not benefited climate change policy; Reform of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978; Reforming the US environmental management system; Problems with the existing law framework; Pathways to reform; Afterword; The role of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency; White House Fact Sheets; Foreign policy; Environmental policies; Discussion; Notes; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11; Chapter 12; Chapter 13; References; Index of Acts and Proposed Acts; Index.
Notes:: Description based upon print version of record.; Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.
ISBN:: 1-5292-5073-0; 9781529250732
OCLC:: 1561170755

The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.

1 option

American Environmental History and Policy : A Troubled Journey to Reform.

Find

My Account

Guides