2' The Changing Agendas of Environmental Politics

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Politics of Sustainable Development

• 2. The Changing Agendas of Environmental Politics

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Environmental Politics
decision-making, policy
activism, protest
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Politics as Activism

• movements, organizations
• campaigns, conflicts
• green ideologies, parties
• public debates, controversies

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Politics as Decision-making

• problem-solving processes
• negotiations, mediation
• policy doctrines, documents
• plans, programs, and projects

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What is an Agenda?

• a discourse, or discursive framework
• a set of problems or issues
• collections of policy measures
• coalitions, or networks of actors
• institutional arrangements, or forms

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Changes in Agenda

• Phase One 1960s
• Public education
• Research and regulatory reform
• Phase Two 1970s
• Movement organizations
• Agencies and legislation
• Phase Three 1980s
• Political parties
• Environmental professionals, scientists, experts
• Phase Four 1990s
• Integration with other issues
• Market orientation, internationalization

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The Roots of Environmentalism

• Modernization and science
• The Death of Nature (Carolyn Merchant)
• Industrialization and technology
• Prometheus Unbound (David Landes)
• Globalization and technoscience
• Risk Society (Ulrich Beck)

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From Movements to Institutions

• From Reformation to experimentation
• The making of modern science
• From revolution to research
• The making of industrial society
• From liberation to innovation
• The making of green knowledge

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The Waves of Environmentalism

• conservation of nature
• biologists, geographers
• environmental protection
• engineers, planners
• sustainable development
• managers, politicians

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Ecological Traditions

• imperialist, or scientific ecology, from about
  1700
• anthropocentric worldview
• utilitarian ethic
• arcadian, or romantic ecology, from about 1800
• biocentric worldview
• partnership ethic
• pragmatic, or social ecology, from about 1900
• synthetic worldview
• experimental ethic

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Environmental Traditions

• conservation preservation
  human ecology
• formative Bacon White Marsh
• Influence Linneaus Thoreau
  Mumford
• relation to exploitation harmony
  planning
• nature
• conception resource base community
  region
• of nature ecosystem locality
  landscape
• social
• ideology modernist antimodernist
  postmodernist

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• Phases of Environmental Politics
• emphasis example
• 1. awakening public debate Silent
  Spring, 1962
• pre-1968
• 2. age of ecology organization Only One
  Earth, 1972
• 1969-1974
• 3. politicization social movement Soft
  Energy Paths, 1977
• 1975-1979
• 4. differentiation professional State of
  the World, 1984
• 1980-1986
• 5. internationalization global issues Our
  Common Future, 1987
• 1987-1993
• 6. Integration sustainable development
  Natural Capitalism, 1999