Environmental Policy Processes Fall 2005

| Overview: Challenges and Goals | Requirements |
| General Guidelines for Assignments | Other Sites |
|Assignment Descriptions and Due Dates | Syllabus |

Overview: Challenges and Goals

During the past 30 years we have witnessed a combination of stagnation and some change for environmental policy and regulation in the US and internationally. Frequently we hear about proposed legislation which could result in profound restructuring of the laws that have guided environmental regulation for decades. And yet at the federal level, with several major environmental statutes up for reauthorization, little has happened for years on some fronts. At the same time, the current Administration is making changes almost weekly whose implications will be felt for some time. It is an exciting period, a time of opportunity, but also of great challenge.

This course undertakes to examine environmental policy processes in the United States with some attention to the global community. The intent is to provide an introduction to the statutes and players and institutions that shape environmental decision making. You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Please feel free to bring other articles and readings to share with the class,  we continue to be on the lookout for readings on new developments. Also you will be asked to do a combination of readings from newspapers, journals and books in an effort to acquaint youself with the history of the field and its current developments. This class is fortunate in that it is made up of individuals with many different backgrounds and levels of experience with environmental areas. It is our hope that you will all learn (as we always do) from hearing the wide range of viewpoints and questions and suppositions and thoughts which will be voiced.

Environmental topics can not be arranged neatly into self-contained fields or questions or problems or issues. It is often impossible to say where one topic ends and the next begins. Because of this you will be asked to skip around in the text and perhaps in a couple of cases to review pages you have read earlier. If you are new to the environmental arena you may be surprised at the difference in your response to the same reading over time.

Academic Goals:

• to understand the multiple values, sources of information, standards and decision frameworks at work in the environmental policy process
• to develop skills, language and models for communicating with and about diverse stakeholder groups (and even diverse classmates) in writing and speaking
• to understand the objectives, methods, roles and options of the public, private and non-profit sectors, and the ways that these interact when confronting environmental decisions
  

  Specific Skills:

• Ability to think, speak and write systematically about constraints and trade-offs (legal, environmental, technological, moral/ethical, economic, etc)
• Ability to analyze stakeholder interests, motivations, power and responsibilities
• Ability to choose appropriate tools and frameworks which acknowledge the characteristics of specific issues
• Ability to identify the questions, information requirements and trust requirements of diverse groups.

Requirements

As stated above you are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings. For two out of four identified sessions (10/20, 10/25, 11/15, 11/29) you will be expected to submit questions for discussion via email to the instructors 48 hours before class time.  In addition you will be asked to write 6 weekly position pieces, 2-3 page (double-spaced) concise statements responding to questions about the readings.  Late assignments will not be accepted, paper copies are due at the start of class on the due date. Grades are based on class participation and contributions (25%), written work (75%).

Other Sites:

 

Visit the Program on the Environment web site for information about environmental programs, courses, and news at UW.

Our outside links page will connect you to government agencies, think tanks, scientific research groups, NGOs, and other sources of information on environmental issues.

This book may be of interest for those thinking about individual environmental choices:

Brower, M. and W. Leon, 1999. The consumer's guide to effective environmental choices: Practical advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists. New York: Random House, Inc.

Assignment Descriptions and Due Dates

          Guidelines for Writing Assignments

 

Assignment 1              October 6
Assignment 2              October 13
Assignment 3              November 1
Assignment 4              November 8
Assignment 5              November 17
Assignment 6              December 1

Syllabus

Instructors:
Alison Cullen
alison@u.washington.edu
Parrington 209B

Matt Steuerwalt
mattonhudson@comcast.net
Parrington 209B

Office Hours:
Tues/Thurs 12-1pm
and by appointment

Course Schedule:
Tues/Thurs 10:30- 11:50am
Parrington 108