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How did New York City's climate politics change after Hurricane Sandy, and why? Prevailing accounts of extreme weather's impact on climate politics draw on survey data and characterize climate policy in vague terms. However, weather does not do the work of politics; the specifics of climate policy matter. I develop a relational sociological approach focused on mobilized actors, political economy, and event theory. Drawing on interviews and document analysis, I show how senior disaster officials, New York's Mayor Bloomberg and his Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, community groups and Occupy Sandy activists responded to Hurricane Sandy. Actors maintained outlooks and practices consistent with their position in the city's power relations. This selective continuity shifted New York's climate policy from decarbonization-focused tentative cosmopolitanism to adaptation-focused defensive parochialism. I term this convergent prioritization of adaptation a 'fortress of solitude' social logic. Only subsequent events explain New York's 2019 low-carbon legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Climate scientists have developed high-resolution climate models to project local effects of climate change. However, such high-resolution climate information is not widely incorporated into climate change adaptation plans. In this study we analyze high-resolution (1.24x1.24-mile grid) temperature data generated by a climate model for Los Angeles County (CA). The data include projected surface air temperature and the number of extreme heat days (daily maximum temperature exceeding 95 °F) between a baseline period (1981-2000) and a mid-21st-century period (2041-2060). The data assume that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions will continuously increase at the current level and no change in existing built environments. We find significant geographic heterogeneity in terms of climate change effects in Los Angeles County. Also, given the assumptions, we expect inland suburban areas where urban expansion has been occurring to have more severe extreme heat effects than central and coastal areas by mid-century. Takeaway for practice: Planners should engage with climate scientists to access and use high-resolution climate data. The use of high-resolution climate data needs to be mandated in plan-making in the era of climate change. Many regions may have different spatial patterns of extreme heat events and require tailored climate adaptation plans. In Los Angeles County, for example, continuing suburbanization in inland valley areas may need to be discouraged, whereas coastal areas with the least effects may consider denser, inclusive redevelopment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scalar tensions of nationalism manifest acutely in agriculture—particularly in the contemporary United States. This is paradoxical because farm policy calls for and enacts nativist governance that undermines the conditions of farming: from labor to water, topsoil, and pollinators, to export markets. At the heart of these scalar contradictions is the fraught, shifting terrain of agrarian populism. The intertwined origin of the U.S. Farm Bill, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Cooperative Agricultural Extension shows how early twentieth-century fraught agrarian populism drove farm policy but how it also carried a pivotal consensus of recognition about the ecological and economic dangers of overproduction. Drawing on archival research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Library Special Collections, discourse and policy analysis of U.S. Farm Bills, and qualitative research with farmer organizations, this article traces how racialized xenophobia accentuates the hypocrisy of U.S. agriculture's extreme dependency on migrant labor, as heightened borders also reveal their ecological farce in the face of intrinsically transnational climate change, soil erosion, and water constraints. The America First trade agenda decries imports while sidelining the crisis of commodity crop glut and the spatial fix of subsidizing exports as surplus disposal. Yet, even amidst the scalar contradictions of nativist agricultural governance and the fraught farm populism driving it, there existed a kernel of agrarian populism grounded in a collective honest recognition of the ecological, economic, rural, and social crises of overproduction—and that organized against it. This kernel catalyzed the origin of both the Farm Bill and the Farm Bureau but has been subsumed in and through both since. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between racism and environmental deregulation in President Trump's first year in office. We collected data on all environmental events, such as executive actions at the federal level or Trump's tweets. Likewise, we documented racist events targeting indigenous people, people of color, Muslims, and South Asians or Arabs. We found important differences in how these agendas unfolded: Environmental events were more likely to be concrete actions, whereas racist events were more likely to involve "noisy" rhetoric. The differing forms are not associated with particular levels of harm; rather, they suggest the unanticipated and complex ways in which racism intersects with environmental governance under neoliberal, authoritarian regimes. We argue that Trump's "spectacular racism," characterized by sensational visibility, helps obscure the profound deregulation underway. The white nation plays a critical role, as Trump uses spectacular racism to nurture his base, consolidate his power, and implement his agenda. Such an analysis expands how environmental racism is typically conceptualized. Key Words: environmental deregulation, spectacular racism, Trump, white nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the Juliana v U.S. case which involves American climate change policy and is considered the most important environmental case in the country. The violation made by the U.S. federal government to the plaintiffs’ fundamental constitutional rights to liberty, life, and property by substantially causing or contributing to a dangerous concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is mentioned.

State governments in the United States are well placed to identify opportunities for mitigation and the needs for adaptation to climate change. However, the cost of these efforts can have important implications for budgets that already face pressures from diverse areas such as unfunded pensions and growing health care costs. In this work, the current level of spending on climate-related activities at the state level are evaluated and policy recommendations are developed to improve financial management practices as they relate to climate risk. An examination of state budgets reveals that climate mitigation and adaptation activities represent less than 1% of spending in most states. The data collection highlights the obstacles to collecting accurate spending data and the lack of budgetary and accounting procedures in place. More importantly, the difficulty in benchmarking these activities poses challenges for the analysis of state-level policies as well as planning and modelling future climate-related spending. Other policy contexts, including public pensions and infrastructure, can provide guidance on budgetary and accounting tools that may help states prepare for and more efficiently manage climate-related expenditures. Key policy insights Climate change mitigation and adaptation will require substantial investments across many levels of government on a wide range of activities. Currently, US states are not clearly demarcating climate expenditures, hindering the identification of climate-related budgetary risks. In the absence of guidelines, these longer term fiscal outlays may remain chronically underfunded in favour of more near-term spending priorities. Establishing appropriate financial management and data collection practices is important for more sophisticated cost-effectiveness and policy analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a theoretical perspective, the effect of international climate policy on individual willingness to take up climate protection efforts is ambiguous. An effective international climate policy may motivate individuals to increase their voluntary efforts to mitigate global warming (crowding-in). However, if individuals perceive international climate policy to be effective, they may decide to scale back their own voluntary climate protection activities (crowding-out). Relying on data from representative household samples from Germany and the US, this article empirically explores the relation between individual perceptions of climate policy and their planned adoption of six climate protection activities. It also tests the effects of a ‘warm glow’ motivation and whether this effect varies with the perceived effectiveness of international climate policy. The econometric analyses provide suggestive evidence that higher perceived justification and effectiveness of international climate policy crowd in voluntary individual climate protection activities in the US and Germany. In both countries, these activities are also positively related to the warm glow indicator, confirming that feelings which go beyond pure altruism help explain individual voluntary climate protection efforts. For the German (but not the US) sample, the effect of warm glow is stronger when international climate policy is believed to be ineffective. Key policy insights More effective international climate policy is expected to spur additional voluntary climate protection activities by individuals. Enhancing people’s trust in the outcomes of international climate policy likely raises their engagement in voluntary actions. In some cases, policy failure may be somewhat compensated for by greater individual action, motivated by warm glow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife governance principles (WGPs) identify desirable governance characteristics for wildlife conservation in the United States (US). The types of institutional, ecological, and socio-cultural challenges that WGPs are designed to address also affect governance of public natural resources other than wildlife and in places other than the US. This raises the possibility that a similar set of governance principles might help natural resource professionals working in other resource contexts address the particular challenges they face. We describe the process by which we developed WGPs and offer seven practically oriented questions to help natural resource professionals ascertain whether a similar set of principles could improve governance in their context. In some contexts, minor modification of WGPs might be appropriate; in others, the process by which we developed WGPs could serve as a blueprint for formulating appropriate principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexibility and collaboration are a common prescription for complex, transboundary problems such as nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution. This paper examines the case of the United States Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program (CNPCP), under which all 28 coastal states must develop comprehensive NPS management programs. The CNPCP allows states to satisfy requirements using voluntary, non-regulatory measures, and grants considerable flexibility in terms of institutional coordination and public participation. Thus, it is unclear whether compliance – which is incentivized with Federal funds – should be associated with improved environmental outcomes. Using a remotely sensed land cover census of 800 coastal counties from 1996 to 2010, this paper tests whether compliant programs – and particular participation and coordination mechanisms – are associated with different rates of forest and wetlands conversion. Approved states are associated with decreased rates of forest and wetlands conversion, but minimal differences are found with respect to specific participation and coordination strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-level public opinion on the environment within the US is examined, using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) from 2000 to 2010. A Multilevel Regression and Post-Stratification (MRP) approach is taken to estimate three different survey items on environmental issues at the US state level. This allows for a comparable understanding of state-level public opinion on environmental issues, which is then connected to economic, environmental, and political conditions, and representation in policy making. The findings indicate the MRP technique is a sophisticated way to make accurate estimations of state-level public opinion, and those estimates provide further insight into the shaping of public opinion and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses aspects of the risk awareness and safety culture for environmental health in the U.S. He highlights the effort of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to prevent of minimize climate change through environmental protection. The author examines the contribution of several factors to environmental protection including technological advances, healthy and balanced diet and hygiene.

Numerous scholars have used political philosophy to characterise the US environmental justice (EJ) movement’s conception of justice. I build upon that work by identifying and critically evaluating the ideas of justice that manifest in mainstream (non-EJ) environmental politics. I do so through a comparative analysis of two groups of activists concerned with the threats posed by pesticides to human health in California. Mainstream agri-environmental activists’ narratives and practices evince libertarian and communitarian ideas of justice that support the neoliberalisation of an already compromised regulatory system, as they motivate and legitimise policies, practices, and discourses that undermine the state’s environmental protections and shift environmental responsibility to individuals. In contrast, California’s EJ activists, like the broader EJ movement, marshal a pluralist notion of justice as distribution, recognition, participation, and capabilities, which rejects the neoliberal project and explicitly criticises the social inequalities and relations of oppression that help produce environmental inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of growing environmental problems in the USA, an environmental legislative standstill has been prevalent in US politics for about 20 years. Several studies on lawmaking have argued that this legislative standstill has been caused by conflicts among elected officials, such as legislators and the president (institutional gridlock). This paper suggests a different view on the environmental legislative standstill in terms of bureaucratic politics. Using a case study on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding hazardous waste disposal and the Superfund, the current study contends that the EPA's collaborative efforts to resolve interest conflict expansion have led to legislative standstill. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the processes for determining water quality standards in the U.S. and the scientific and ethical implications they have for the health and well-being of indigenous people in the Columbia River Basin as of November 2012. Topics include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) establishment of surface water quality standards, the Clean Water Act, and water toxicity levels. Additional information is presented on salmon fishing in Oregon, ambient water quality criteria, and social ethics prescribed by Catholicism.

In the US, relatively little research has been done in recent years to inform the development and implementation of cumulative impact assessment (CIA) policy. Past studies have primarily focused on the requirements and practices of the National Environmental Policy Act, but little is known about the challenges and opportunities relating to CIA practices at the state level. By analysing data from a national survey of state environmental review programme administrators, this study identified the inability of state programmes to facilitate CIA practices as a major barrier to effective implementation, particularly reflected by the perceived lack of explicit procedures and data for conducting CIA. Important strategies for improvement included adopting detailed guidelines specifying what to include in an assessment and developing institutional mechanisms to encourage state agency co-ordination. Some differences in perception were observed across programmes due to the different types of state-level environmental review frameworks within which cumulative impacts are assessed. In addition, administrators from programmes without CIA requirements seemed to overestimate the cost and time needed to implement CIA. Changing their perception may contribute to the adoption of CIA procedures in these states. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the responsibilities of governments and international organizations (IO) in protecting nations against potential damage which may be brought by the collective goods problem related to environmental issues. Defined as the dilemma in providing something that could benefit all group members, there are three main principles that a nation can follow to deal with the said problem, namely dominance, reciprocity, and the identity principle. It also explores the decision of former U.S. President George W. Bush to not comply with the Kyoto Protocol environmental agreement in 2001 due to its alleged unrealistic goals.

Following the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, many states have adopted policies and procedures directing state agencies and local government units to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of development projects prior to their undertaking. In contrast to a rich literature on federal requirements, current understanding of state environmental review is narrowly focused and outdated. This paper seeks to provide information on the landscape of state environmental review policy frameworks. The paper identifies 37 states with formal environmental review requirements through a document review of state statutes, administrative rules and agency-prepared materials, and confirms this finding through a survey of state administrators. A two-tier classification is used to distinguish states based on the approach taken to address environmental review needs and the scope and depth of relevant policies and procedures implemented. This paper also provides a discussion of policy and programme attributes that may contribute to effective practice, and of the potential for adopting relevant legislation in states where environmental review is currently lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency''s Self-Policing Policy (more commonly referred to as the Audit Policy) waives or reduces penalties when companies voluntarily discover, disclose, and correct environmental violations. One goal of the Audit Policy is to encourage companies to conduct environmental audits in order to identify poor environmental performance. Thus, the regulatory flexibility associated with the Audit Policy should reduce subsequent chemical emissions. While several studies examine predictors of the Audit Policy, no studies examine if facilities that use the Policy decrease their chemical emissions as a result. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of the Audit Policy on changes in Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) emissions among a sample of 178 facilities operating in the chemical and allied product industry. The results of that analysis suggest that facilities that use the policy have similar subsequent emissions trends as facilities that do not use the policy. Moreover, the results also suggest that formal enforcement actions are the best predictor of TRI reductions. These findings persist despite other regulator and company controls. In terms of environmental policy, the results suggest that self-policing may not improve or deteriorate environmental performance in the chemical and allied products industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA), is required to promulgate National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQSs) for criteria air pollutants, including ozone. Each NAAQS includes a primary health-based standard and a secondary or welfare-based standard. This paper considers only the science used for revision of the primary standard for ozone in 2008. This paper summarizes deliberations of a small group of scientists who met in June 2007 to review the scientific information informing the EPA Administrator’s proposed revision of the 1997 standard. The Panel recognized that there is no scientific methodology that, in the absence of judgment, can define the precise numerical level, related averaging time, and statistical form of the NAAQS. The selection of these elements of the NAAQS involves policy judgments that should be informed by scientific information and analyses. Thus, the Panel members did not feel it appropriate to offer either their individual or collective judgment on the specific numerical level of the NAAQS for ozone. The Panel deliberations focused on the scientific data available on the health effects of exposure to ambient concentrations of ozone, controlled ozone exposure studies with human volunteers, long-term epidemiological studies, time- series epidemiological studies, human panel studies, and toxicological investigations. The deliberations also dealt with the issue of background levels of ozone of nonanthropogenic origin and issues involved with conducting formal risk assessments of the health impacts of current and prospective levels of ambient ozone. The scientific issues that were central to the EPA Administrator’s 2008 revision of the NAAQS for ozone will undoubtedly also be critical to the next review of the ozone standard. That review should begin very soon if it is to be completed within the 5-year cycle specified in the CAA. It is hoped that this Report will stimulate discussion of these scientific issues, conduct of additional research, and conduct of new analyses that will provide an improved scientific basis for the policy judgment that will have to be made by a future EPA Administrator in considering potential revision of the ozone standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is primarily focused toward measuring the particle size distribution and chemical analysis of particulate matter that originates from combustion sources typically found in Indian urban homes. Four such sources were selected: cigarette, incense stick, mosquito coil, and dhoop, the latter being actually a thick form of incense stick. Altogether, seven of the most popular brands available in the Indian market were tested. Particle size distribution in the smoke was measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer, using both long and nano forms of differential mobility analyzer (DMA), with readings averaged from four to six runs. The measurable particle size range of the nano DMA was 4.6 nm to 157.8 nm, whereas that of the long DMA was 15.7 nm to 637.8 nm. Therefore, readings obtained from the long and the nano DMA were compared for different brands as well as for different sources. An overlap was seen in the readings in the common range of measurement. The lowest value of peak concentration was seen for one brand of incense stick (0.9 × 106 cm−3), whereas the highest (7.1 × 106 cm−3) was seen for the dhoop. Generally, these sources showed a peak between 140 and 170 nm; however, 2 incense stick brands showed peaks at 79 nm and 89 nm. The dhoop showed results much different from the rest of the sources, with a mode at around 240 nm. Chemical analysis in terms of three heavy metals (cadmium, zinc, and lead) was performed using graphite tube atomizer and flame-atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Calculations were made to assess the expected cancer and noncancer risks, using published toxicity potentials for these three heavy metals. Our calculations revealed that all the sources showed lead concentrations much below the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV) level. One of the two mosquito coil brands (M2) showed cadmium concentrations two times higher than the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) reference exposure level (REL). The latter also showed the highest carcinogenic risks of 350 people per million population. The amount of zinc obtained from the sources, however, was found to be quite below the standard limits, implying no risk in terms of zinc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the implications that the 2008 election of U.S. President Barack Obama have for environmental protection and legislation within the nation. Sustainable development, renewable energy, and environmental accountability were all driving factors in his platform. The author contrasts Obama’s platform with that of his Republican opponent, John McCain. While Obama heavily favored fiscal appropriations to support biofuels and scientific research, McCain was a proponent of nuclear power and offshore drilling for oil. Alterations made in policies that had been instated by former U.S. President George W. Bush are discussed.

In this article the author examines an aspect of industrial pollution and environmental protection in the United States. He contends that corporate American has determined that prudent environmental regulation is an obstacle to economic competition in the global marketplace. As a result, industrial interests in the United States seek to damage and undermine organizations that advocate for sound environmental policies and oversight. Among other issues the article examines the machinery assembled by industry to combat environmental regulation.

Trichloroethane functions in cosmetics as a solvent. Although Trichloroethane has been reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used in cosmetic products, an industry survey found that it is not in current use in the cosmetic industry. Trichloroethane is considered a Class I ozone-depleting substance by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its use is prohibited in the United States, unless considered essential. The FDA has stated that Trichloroethane's use in cosmetics is considered nonessential. Trichloroethane is detected by gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and gas-liquid chromatography. In rats, Trichloroethane, whether inhaled or injected, is mostly expelled intact from the body through exhalation. A very small percentage is excreted in the urine. In humans, Trichloroethane is rapidly absorbed through the skin and eliminated in exhaled air and a very small percentage is excreted in urine. Inhaled Trichloroethane is eliminated in exhaled air. Acute oral LD50 values have been reported as follows: 12.3 g/kg in male rats; 10.3 g/kg in female rats; 11.24 g/kg in female mice; 5.66 g/kg in female rabbits; and 9.47 g/kg in male guinea pigs. Acute toxicity studies using other routes of exposure, including subcutaneous injection and inhalation, produced no evidence of significant toxicity, except at very high exposure levels. Continuous inhalation exposure of rabbits to 750 mg/m3 for 90 days did not produce any signs of toxicity. Continuous exposure of rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, and monkeys to 500 ppm Trichloroethane for 6 months did not produce any signs of toxicity. Other short-term and subchronic inhalation exposures confirmed acute and short-term exposure findings that the toxic effects of inhalation were a function of both concentration and time... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on environmental review practice in state departments of transportation in the US, the study examines the practices and effects of stakeholder involvement in scoping processes conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Based on a survey of environmental review staff in 46 of the 50 states, the study finds variation in approaches used by states and relatively high levels of perceived effectiveness. The findings include a number of internal and external factors that contribute to effectiveness and highlight the impacts of participation on the content and outcomes of scoping processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Receptor modeling is the application of data analysis methods to elicit information on the sources of air pollutants. Typically, it employs methods of solving the mixture resolution problem using chemical composition data for airborne particulate matter (PM) samples. In such cases, the outcome is the identification of the pollution source types and estimates of the contribution of each source type to the observed concentrations. Receptor modeling also involves efforts to identify the locations of the sources through the use of local meteorology or ensembles of air parcel back trajectories. Compositional data were collected in a number of monitoring programs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deployed a network of urban airborne PM samplers to provide PM2.5 composition data for urban centers across the United States. In addition, advanced monitoring methods were deployed at “supersites.” These data show the differences in composition in different part of the country and were also used to identify and apportion the particle sources. These results were used to (1)develop effective and efficient air quality management plans and (2) refine emission inventories for input into deterministic models to predict changes in air quality as the result of the implementation of various management plans. The apportionments also serve as exposure estimates for health effects models to identify those components of the PM that are most closely related to observed adverse health effects. Although current regulations target total airborne mass concentrations, such health effects results might result in targeting those sources that are most likely linked to adverse health effects and thus produce the maximum health benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the extent to which air quality regulations improve public health—sometimes referred to as accountability—is part of an emerging effort to assess the effectiveness of environmental regulatory policies. Air quality has improved substantially in the United States and Western Europe in recent decades, with far less visible pollution and decreasing concentrations of several major pollutants. In large part, these gains were achieved through increasingly stringent air quality regulations. The costs associated with compliance and, importantly, the need to ensure that the regulations are achieving the intended public health benefits underscore the importance of accountability research. To date, accountability research has emphasized measuring the effects of actions already taken to improve air quality. Such research may also contribute to estimating the burden of disease that might be avoided in the future if certain actions are taken. The Health Effects Institute (HEI) currently funds eight ongoing studies on accountability, which cover near-term interventions to improve air quality including (1) a ban on the sale of coal, (2) replacing old wood stoves with cleaner ones, (3) decreasing sulfur content in fuel, (4) measures to reduce traffic, and (5) longer term, wide-ranging actions or events (such as complex changes associated with the reunification of Germany). HEI is also funding the development of methods and research to assess regulations that are implemented incrementally over extended periods of time, such as Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, which reduces sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants in the eastern United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 1990s, American Indian Nations assumed regulatory primacy over certain portions of federal environmental laws in the United States. For tribes that have not developed their own standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued policy statements aimed at incorporating tribal health and natural resources. While many communities of color have to fight to get heard in state and federal permitting processes, the U.S. EPA has made it an explicit mission to always include Indian Nations. Thus, "getting to the decision-making table" - a key goal of environmental justice groups - is presumably serving the interests of tribes seeking environmental justice. However, being involved in regulatory processes, as tribes are, may not be enough for Indian Nations or other communities of color. It is to this end that I write this article - should "getting to the table" be the ultimate goal for environmental justice groups, and how should this table be structured? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States has failed to develop an effective policy to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change. This policy failure is the result of many factors, one of which is the inherent limitations of 'interest group politics' in producing the kinds of broad political and economic changes required to reduce the threat of disruptive climate change. This article first examines interest group politics in environmental policymaking, emphasising the role of groups in institutionalising the broad social movement that produced modern environmentalism in America. It then explores the nature of climate change and its political and policy implications, and explains why an interest-group-centred model of policymaking is insufficient to address the threat posed by climate change. It then analyses what kind of political actions might be better suited to produce the kinds of dramatic policy developments the likely consequences of climate change compel us to make. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers perspective on the challenges to environtalism in the U.S. It suggests that the American environmental movement has been quite energetic. From the growth of state and local groups and to the development of a variety of alliances and approaches, environmentalism in the country remains alive, active and vibrant. Moreover, the environmental movement to which it refers not only the professional interest groups focused on national environmental policy, but also the multitude of additional groups, organisations, and networks, from mainstream to environmental justice to radical environmentalisms.

Federal roles and responsibilities involving 206 million hectares of nonfederal forests in the United States are often implemented in partnership with state governments. These intergovernmental relations were examined with the assistance of state and federal agency executives. Federal roles are expressed by an estimated 187 federal programs, most of which are concentrated in the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Preferred federal roles include providing financial support, monitoring area and condition of federal forests, and providing technical advice and assistance to states. Obstacles to effective state-federal working relationships include cumbersome administrative procedures, lack of common vision for nonfederal forests, and inadequate resources of various kinds. Overwhelming views are that state-federal working relationships are positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines some of the forces affecting the U.S. involvement in transboundary environmental disputes. It is informed that when federal agencies get involved in transboundary environmental disputes, they bring to the table interests and priorities that may not coincide with local objectives. It also examines the dispute concerning resolving of differences over a project to control flooding in Devils Lake, North Dakota. It is stated that the proposal generated opposition from a wide range of governmental and non-governmental groups worried about the diversion's downstream effects.

The introduction of potentially invasive species is a concern to the public and the aquaculture industry. Used to protect channel catfish from infectious trematode infestations, the non-indigenous black carp has been evaluated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and deemed potentially ‘injurious’ under the terms of the Lacey Act. Consequently, the black carp may be restricted from interstate commerce and eventually removed from US waters. An alternative approach to evaluating the risks posed by invasive species is considered and compared to that used by the USFWS. Short of outright restriction, reasonable options for management of such invasive species probably exist, including better use of environmental assurance bonds and return-deposit models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at U.S. environmental politics, policies, and the common good. According to the article, throughout American history, the dominant policies of the U.S. have been to promote the economic exploitation of natural resources. Some U.S. environmental policies have also included initiatives to manage and protect the natural environment, such as water management projects and controlling pollution. The article discusses public health, federal conservation, and sanitation policies, the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act, the limits of current environmental policies, and international environmental diplomacy.

Genomics information has great potential to enhance assessment of risks to human health and the environment. Although understanding genomic responses with respect to adverse ecological and human health outcomes is not, as yet, established, it is important to consider the likely future impacts of genomics technologies on risk assessment and decision-making. Four areas are identified as those likely to be influenced by the generation of genomics information within, and the submission of such information to, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA): risk assessment, prioritization of contaminants and contaminated sites, monitoring, and reporting provisions. For each of these risk assessment and regulatory applications, representative activities are presented to illustrate the application. Three major challenges for the USEPA associated with genomics are also identified in the areas of research, technical development, and capacity. The USEPA's initial activities to address these challenges are discussed. The Agency recognizes it must be prepared to use genomics information, and that many scientific, policy, ethical, and legal concerns will need to be addressed. The USEPA also recognizes it is essential to continue to collaborate with other federal agencies, academia, the regulated community, and other stakeholders in order to benefit from ongoing advances in genomics in the wider scientific and regulatory communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of environmental decision-making in the United States is primarily one of antagonism, conflict, and litigation. Four sectors of American society are typically at odds over why and how to solve environmental problems—government regulators, businesses proponents, environmental advocates, and members of affected communities. Dissimilar worldviews are at the heart of most environmental disputes, and people in the four sectors tend to have diverse perspectives and philosophies that affect how they interpret and respond to environmental issues. To promote integrated, cost-effective decisions, the public health paradigm (prevention first, intervention second, treatment third), as embodied in the Precautionary Principle and the concept of Sustainable Development, should be mutually adopted as a joint framework for prioritizing solutions to pressing environmental problems. The core public health principle of prevention first is a simple yet powerful tenet that can help foster better environmental choices that are more effective, efficient, and equitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the establishment of the Environmental Technology Verification Program by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program is designed to verify the performance of innovative environmental technologies that can be used to monitor, prevent, control and clean up pollution. It is formed to address the need for credible performance data to help regulators and users better respond to the available choices of environmental technology. The program develops testing protocols and verifies the performance of technologies that have the potential to improve the protection of human health and the environment.

Addressing environmental externalities is traditionally seen as hinging on effective state regulation. It is argued in this article that it is not just the material facts of regulations, such as their stringency and timing, that explain the extent to which firms internalise environmental externalities. The extent to which they do this is better explained by institutional aspects of regulations: how rules are made. This is because the institutional basis on which rules are made is a key factor in their effectiveness. This proposition is examined with reference to the car industry and the regulation of passenger motor vehicle carbon dioxide emissions in the industry's three hubs of the European Union, United States and Japan. The conclusion reached is that although different regulations in each territory have affected firms' behaviour, it is not the material facts of these regulations alone that explain differences in the industry's compliance with, or response to, them, but the institutional contexts in which the regulations were developed. Furthermore, as car firms are multinational corporations these different institutional contexts have implications beyond their home territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent interest in understanding the human and ecological health risks of contaminants on lands in the United States has led some managers and public policy makers to use extensive narratives associated with maps and Conceptual Site Models (CSM) in their Vision statements. While narratives are descriptive, CSMs can graphically depict the sources, releases, transport and exposure pathways, and receptors, together with possible barriers to block pathways and reduce exposure. In most situations, vision statements and CSMs are developed for one site, providing no opportunity to understand how they function generally. This paper reviews a set of 31 Vision statements and CSMs developed for Department of Energy (DOE) sites to examine the use and importance of ecological data in the process. This analysis provides a framework for evaluating ecological resources and risk at contaminated sites generally. While data on human health risks were usually extensive, data on specific ecological receptors were sparse. Less than 70% of the sites mentioned endangered or threatened species, less than 40% provided even partial species lists for their sites, and less than 40% provided information on unique habitats. Almost no sites mapped the distribution of endangered/threatened species. Ecological receptors were treated as a class, without regard to whether they were terrestrial or aquatic, or sedentary or migratory. Only 29% of the sites referred to specific ecological risk assessments. Confusion existed with respect to routes of exposure, pathways of exposure, and media for exposure. Overall, the ecological information presented was not consistent across sites, making it difficult to compare ecological resources at risk, effects of remediation on ecological resources complex-wide, or to determine which resources were most important to protect if monetary resources are limited. One of the objectives of DOE in having sites develop these Vision statements was to achieve uniformity in information available for the public, managers, policy-makers, and decision-makers. Any variances from previously agreed-upon remediation will likewise require this detailed ecological information. The dataset indicates a clear need to delineate the key ecological information required for these stakeholders before effective decisions can be made across a wide complex of contaminated sites, and a list of potential indicators is suggested. This ecological information can be both qualitative and quantitative. Finally, the information developed for Vision statements (CSMs, maps) will be useful in ensuring continued human and ecological protection, and will contribute to the sustainable safety of remaining contamination on sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the spatial distribution and enforcement of air polluting facilities in the state of New Jersey, as listed in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Aerometric Information Retrieval System. Results show that air-polluting facilities tend to concentrate near minority neighborhoods, although this relationship is partially explained by factors of population density, manufacturing employment, and land use. Other results suggest that facilities in areas with a relatively high percentage of minority population tend to have a weaker record of environmental enforcement as compared to other facilities. Of the socioeconomic variables considered, employment in manufacturing appears to be the most strongly related to environmental enforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an overview of progress and future directions in air quality management in Europe, the United States, and Canada. The article describes the role of the European Commission, the Clean Air for Europe program, and the World Health Organization (WHO) in devising policies to reduce health risks due to air pollution in Europe. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for particulate matter (PM), air quality monitoring programs, and research efforts to support air quality management strategies are discussed. The unique aspects of air quality management in Canada are identified, including the need for a better understanding of the true burden of health effects and improved communication strategies to inform the public and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine efforts to broaden support for wilderness preservation in the southeastern United States. Three closely linked Alabama organizations—Wild Alabama, WildLaw, and the Alabama Wilderness Alliance—have adopted a way of framing wilderness issues in Alabama that draws on a deeply rooted populist distrust of corporate and governmental elites as well as a sense of cultural connection to the land. Framing wilderness in this emotionally resonating manner, they have attracted public support for wilderness protection and fostered the emergence of new social movement organizations in this arena. We discuss the impact of this alternative wilderness frame for shaping policy in the southeastern United States and how it relates to similar wilderness frames applied in nonindustrialized nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While agriculture in the midwestern United States has often been associated with deleterious effects on stream ecology and geomorphology, identifying appropriate mitigation strategies requires an understanding of the values and ethical beliefs motivating such behavior. Fifty-five open-ended interviews with farmers in central Illinois reveal that environmental modifications such as agricultural drainage can be seen as a rational expression of local environmental valuation. Personal definitions of progressive or successful farming, aesthetic characteristics of the farm such as neatness and order, and ethical understandings of environmentally responsible behavior all drive farming decisions affecting the environment. Debate and dissent create a rich constellation of environmental values, which are constantly renegotiated. Illustrating the complex ways in which farmers perceive and interact with environmental systems allows for a better understanding of these important agents of change in agricultural environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the post-September 11 focus on regional security and the continued emphasis on regional economic cooperation, environmental degradation should not be overlooked as an important issue for US policy in and relationship with the Asia-Pacific. It is an important issue in its own right, presenting the countries of the region with ecological, economic and social (human security) challenges. There are both ethical and instrumental impulses for the United States, as a rich industrialised country and as a disproportionate consumer of resources and polluter of global waste, to provide environmental assistance to the Asia-Pacific. Despite global demands that the `new' new world (environmental) order should be based on solidarity and collective responsibility, neither US environmental policy towards the region nor the regional consequences of its international environmental policy more generally meet this test. The U.S. is fundamentally self-regarding rather than other- regarding in the various dimensions of its environmental relationship with the region. The consequences for both the region and for the US may be substantial. Continued environmental degradation in the region has the potential to undermine other US policy goals, in terms of its reputation, it economic objectives and even its more orthodox geopolitical security objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ISO 14001 is an international standard for Environmental Management Systems, adopted by over 36,000 organizations worldwide. This paper attempts to determine the length of time after which a given company has implemented ISO 14001 experiences emission reduction. The sample used is a group of 264 manufacturing facilities in the USA, which represent 23 percent of all the ISO 14001 certified organizations in the US, analyzed throughout the period from 1996 to 2001. The results show that 75 percent of the companies experienced a reduction in their emissions, among which 53 percent had already done so just one year after obtaining ISO 14001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the first 2 years of his presidential term, George W. Bush matured as a political leader and neutralized many of his harshest critics. A glaring exception to this characterization is the area of environmental policy. The Bush administration adamantly refused to advance a meaningful strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to commit the United States to the Kyoto Protocol. At the same time, a number of highly public disputes compromised the legitimacy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This appraisal reviews the Bush administration's performance midway through its first term across three pivotal environmental concerns: air pollution, climate change, and toxics remediation. Though environmental proponents denounced the U.S. EPA's provocative policy positions, there are no indications that this criticism has had much political impact. The assessment concludes with an examination of the politics behind the Bush administration's growing anti-environmentalism and some speculation regarding its future electoral implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve and the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission are included among the successful case studies for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) community-based environmental protection (CBEP) initiative. The U.S. EPA believes that this type of community-based environmental protection promotes (1) comprehensive identification of local environmental concerns, (2) priority and goal setting that reflect overall community concerns, and (3) development of inclusive and long-term solutions. Using interviews and document analysis, this article studies the Albany Pine Bush experience to explore the relationship between citizen participation and environmental protection. This research attempts to determine if the experiences of the Albany Pine Bush conform to the goals of the U.S. EPA CBEP efforts. Preliminary results suggest that CBEP does not meet the goals related to participation and that the U.S. EPA could strengthen the program by encouraging a wider range of participation mechanisms and building specific incentives to encourage policymakers to seek out citizen participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of allocating liability cleanup costs is an arduous task when more than one potentially responsible party has contributed to the groundwater plume. This problem is most likely to be encountered when dealing with methyl- tert -butyl-ether (MTBE) contamination, as MTBE is seen to travel large distances in underlying aquifers. There has been a signi®cant effort in the recent past to develop liability allocation methodologies that incorporate fate and transport behavior and toxicological characteristics of the contaminants. The application of such methods often requires estimation of contaminant input from the vadose zone into the underlying aquifer. A screening level analysis is presented here to develop preliminary insights on relative mass contributions arising from different source types. The analysis illustrates how different vadose zone conceptualizations lead to vastly different contaminant loadings. Parametric studies indicate that the contaminant flux into the aquifer is very sensitive to changes in water infiltration rates. Hence, a reliable estimate of this parameter is critical for equitable allocation of remedial costs. Conceptual model formulation, should focus on identifying whether the fuel present in the aquifer can flow as a separate phase. It is also important to obtain reliable estimates for fluid saturations at the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because there is no specific legislative or regulatory guidance, there is no "right" way to allocate liability at Superfund sites. Allocation based on the cost of a remedy, and allocation based on the need for a remedy, i.e. risk-based allocation, represent two possibilities. Other allocation schemes can be located between these two philosophical poles. When waste streams and environmental impacts are qualitatively similar, allocation based solely on costs may make the most sense. When one or more potentially responsible parties (PRPs) have qualitatively different wastes or impacts, an allocation scheme based on both contribution to cost and to risk may be able to incorporate all PRPs. In any case, dissident PRPs, whose contribution to remedy costs is large but whose contribution to risk is small, may find satisfaction in the courts where there is precedent for risk-based allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remedial efforts at Superfund sites across the country focus on groundwater contaminant plumes that have been produced by contributions from multiple parties. Allocating cleanup costs between the parties in a fair and equitable manner can be a problem of substantial complexity. Considerable time and money may be spent determining the amount of contamination attributable to each party in order to apportion liability. Contaminant plumes that have evolved over long periods of time may affect large volumes of groundwater and require extensive remediation. Pump and treat remedial costs are driven by both the volume of water extracted and the mass of contaminants removed. Allocation methods based solely on the mass of contaminants contributed by each party are inadequate in this setting since they do not account for both components of the remedial costs. This paper presents an approach for equitably allocating remedial costs when addressing overlapping or commingled groundwater plumes. The method accounts for the major elements driving the costs of remediating dispersed contaminant plumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with transnational political cooperation on the issue of environmental protection in Mexico during the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The news that Mexico, the U.S. and Canada planned to negotiate a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) led to a new dynamic in the political struggles over Mexico's environmental policy. In the context of the weakness of this policy, Mexican environmental non-government organizations (ENGO) expected trade and investment liberalization to aggravate the environmental situation through its accompanying economic and legal changes. It is worth noting that this cooperation was not so much a result of the historical process of Mexican integration into the U.S. economy but rather a reaction to the political confirmation and consolidation of this process. The main aim of this paper is to analyze the evolution and nature of transnational ENGO relations and their significance for environmental politics in Mexico.