As the information revolution continues to accelerate, the environment remains high on public and political agendas around the world. These two topics are rarely connected, but information - its collection, processing, accessibility and verification - is crucial in dealing with environmental challenges such as climate change, unsustainable consumption, biodiversity conservation and waste management. The information society (encompassing entities such as the internet, satellites, interactive television and surveillance cameras) changes the conditions and resources which are involved in environmental governance: old modes and concepts are increasingly being replaced by new, informational ones. Arthur P. J. Mol explores how the information revolution is changing the way we deal with environmental issues; to what extent and where these transformations have (and have not) taken place; and what the consequences are for democracy and power relations. This book will appeal to scholars and students of environmental studies and politics, political sociology, geography and communications studies.

Although Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal is remembered in large part because of the aid and assistance it brought to millions of unemployed and indigent Americans, surprisingly little has been written about federal relief for unemployment. The great experiment of the Federal Emergency Relief Act had implications that went beyond its immediate purpose: it challenged directly the deep-seated conviction that the relief of poverty was a local responsibility, and in doing so highlighted the deficiencies of local self-government. In reviewing the experiment of the F.E.R.A. and the New Deal, Professor Brock's book raises important questions about American attitudes toward welfare, local government, and national responsibility.

Twenty-five years ago, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so contaminated that it caught fire, air pollution in some cities was thick enough to taste, and environmental laws focused on the obvious enemy: large American factories with belching smokestacks and pipes gushing wastes. Federal legislation has succeeded in providing cleaner air and water, but we now confront a different set of environmental problems--less visible and more subtle. This important book offers thought-provoking ideas on how America can respond to changing public health and ecological risks and create sound environmental policy for the future. The innovative thinkers of the Next Generation Project of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy--experts from business, government, nongovernmental organizations, and academia--propose reforms that balance environmental efforts with other public needs and issues. They call for new foundations for environmental law and policy, adoption of a more diverse set of policy tools and strategies (economic incentives, ecolabels), and new connections between critical sectors (agriculture, energy, transportation, service providers) and environmental policy. Future progress must involve not only officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental protection departments, say the authors, but also decision-makers as diverse as mayors, farmers, energy company executives, and delivery route planners. To be effective, next-generation policy-making will view environmental challenges comprehensively, connect academic theory with practical policy, and bridge the gaps that have caused recent policy debates to break down in rancor. This book begins the process of accomplishing these challenging goals.

This new reference shows readers the many ways throughout American history in which environmental concerns have intersected with issues of energy production and consumption, government regulation, private property rights, economic growth, and lifestyle choices.

The focus of this book is on changes in the human situation wrought by unprecedented changes in science-based technology and expanding populations. Increasing scientific information concerning these changes and their consequences is beginning to alter people's perceptions, thus providing a rational basis for a worldwide environmental movement. This movement - complex and differentiated - works through political and educational means to establish new social priorities consistent with scientific findings and the sustainability of life on Earth. The success of this effort would signify a new phase of social development. The thesis of this book is that human-made changes in the condition of the Earth, accompanied by the changing attitudes and values implicit in the environmental movement, constitute an historical discontinuity. The present era represents a transition between the assumptions and conditions that have hitherto characterized the modern world, and those of the post-modern world that is emerging. Science and technology, so vividly symbolized in the view from outer space, are fundamentally changing our traditional beliefs about human opportunities and limitations - and these changes are slowly being reflected in international policies and laws. If humanity today succeeds in establishing a sustainable relationship to Earth, a higher level of civilisation will have been achieved. This thought-provoking view will interest students and professionals in the science and politics of the environment.

Preface by John Stossel. Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-274) and index. Preface -- Introduction : What price environmentalism? : media skepticism : environmental issues in the polling booth : the "unholy trinity" : environmental backlash and the 103rd Congress : increasing public dissatisfaction : outline -- chapter 1. From conservation to preservation : the environmental movement: moving beyond its roots : the wilderness idea : no more oil : saving endangered species -- chapter 2. Modern environmentalism : Earth Day 1970: from conservation to activism : the green war on waste : the campaign against chemicals : environmentalists go to court -- chapter 3. International environmentalism : sustainable development : the greening of trade : global warming: visions of apocalypse : population : wildlife conservation -- chapter 4. Making environmental policy : environmentalists and the Clinton Administration : building environmental coalitions : politicizing science : green classrooms -- chapter 5. Following the money : new revenue streams : foundation funding : corporate funding : government tax funding : guidelines for environmental giving -- chapter 6. Environmental movements: into the 21st century : grassroots radicals : deep ecology and radical preservationism : property rights activists and the wise-use movement : environmental justice movement : free market environmentalism : at the crossroads -- Appendices : Conservation International Foundation : Defenders of Wildlife : Environmental Action Foundation : Environmental Defense Fund : Environmental Law Institute : Friends of the Earth : Greenpeace, Inc. : Izaak Walton League of America : League of Conservation Voters : National Audubon Society : National Wildlife Federation : Natural Resources Defense Council : Nature Conservancy : Resources for the Future : Sierra Club : Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund : Wilderness Society : World Resources Institute : World Wildlife Fund/Conservation Foundation : Worldwatch Institute : Zero Population Growth : Environmental Grantmakers Association.

In this best-selling collection of essays, a team of distinguished contributors seeks to explain the most important developments in environmental policy and politics since the 1960s, and to analyze the central issues that face us in the new century. Environmental Policy focuses on underlying trends, institutional frameworks and shortcomings, and policy dilemmas that citizens and lawmakers face in attempting to resolve environmental controversies. This new fourth edition has been thoroughly revised to include the latest data, research, and policy initiatives in the field. Readers interested in President Clinton's environmental record, or those wondering how the "Republican Revolution" and attempts to downsize the federal government will affect environmental policy will find helpful new insights in this new edition. Two new chapters focus on climate change and the "new era" in natural resource policies. The theme of sustainable development -- the reconciliation of environmental goals with economic necessities -- receives attention throughout.