Analyzes how combinations of instruments at different levels of government, or smart mixes, can effectively regulate transboundary environmental harm.

How the success and popularity of recycling has diverted attention from the steep environmental costs of manufacturing the goods we consume and discard. Recycling is widely celebrated as an environmental success story. The accomplishments of the recycling movement can be seen in municipal practice, a thriving private recycling industry, and widespread public support and participation. In the United States, more people recycle than vote. But, as Samantha MacBride points out in this book, the goals of recycling—saving the earth (and trees), conserving resources, and greening the economy—are still far from being realized. The vast majority of solid wastes are still burned or buried. MacBride argues that, since the emergence of the recycling movement in 1970, manufacturers of products that end up in waste have successfully prevented the implementation of more onerous, yet far more effective, forms of sustainable waste policy. Recycling as we know it today generates the illusion of progress while allowing industry to maintain the status quo and place responsibility on consumers and local government. MacBride offers a series of case studies in recycling that pose provocative questions about whether the current ways we deal with waste are really the best ways to bring about real sustainability and environmental justice. She does not aim to debunk or discourage recycling but to help us think beyond recycling as it is today.

Non-indigenous species (NIS) are common in the United States landscape. While some are beneficial, others are harmful and can cause significant economic, environmental, and health damage. This study, requested by the U.S. House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, examined State and Federal policies related to these harmful NIS. The report is presented in 10 chapters. Chapter 1 identifies the issues and options related to the topic and a summary of the findings from the individual chapters that follow. Chapters 2 "The Consequences of NIS" and 3 "The Changing Numbers, Causes, and Rates of Introductions" examine basic aspects of NIS, their effects, how many there are, and how they get here. Technologies to deal with harmful NIS, including decision-making methods and techniques for preventing and managing problem species, are covered in chapters 4 "The Application of Decisionmaking Methods" and 5 "Technologies for Preventing and Managing Problems." Chapters 6, "A Primer on Federal Policy," 7 "State and Local Approaches from a National Perspective," and 8 "Two Case Studies: Non-Indigenous Species in Hawaii and Florida" assess what various institutions at the Federal, State, and local levels do, or fail to do, about NIS. Chapters 9 and 10 place NIS in a broader context by examining their relationships to genetically engineered organisms, to international law to other prominent environmental issues, and to choices regarding the future of the nation's biological resources. Appendixes include: lists of boxes, figures, and tables in the document; list of authors, workshop participants, reviewers, and survey respondents for the study; and list of references by chapter. Additional sections contain an index to common and scientific names of species, and a general index. (MDH)