Politics, Environment, and Sustainability

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Politics, Environment, and Sustainability
G. Tyler Millers Living in the Environment 14th
Edition Chapter 27
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Key Concepts

• Democracies and environmental problems

• Making environmental policy

• Environmental groups and their opponents

• Global environmental policies

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Environmental and Political Challenges

• Shifts in environmental concerns

• Concerns over biodiversity

• Shift to global view

• Concerns over climatic changes

• Pollution problems in developing countries

• Concerns over poverty

• Concerns over synthetic organic chemicals

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Politics and Environmental Policy

• Constitutional democracy

• Branches of government with checks and balances

• Elections

• Special-interest groups

• Profit-making organizations

• Nonprofit, nongovernment organizations

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Factors Hindering Democracies in Dealing with
Environmental Problems

• Short time between elections shift focus to
  short-term issues

• Elected officials spend much time raising money
  to be reelected

• Politicians often lack ecological literacy

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Developing, Influencing, and Implementing
Environmental Policy

• Humility Principle

• Reversibility Principle

• Precautionary Principle

• Prevention Principle

• Polluter Pays Principle

• Integrative Principle

• Public Participation Principle

• Human Rights Principle

• Environmental Justice Principle

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Case Study Environmental Policy in the United
States
Fig. 27-4 p. 613
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Environmental Law

• Statutory law

• Administrative laws

• Common law

• Civil suits

• Nuisance

• Class action suits

• Statues of Limitation

• Negligence

• Mediation

• SLAPPs

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Environmental Groups and Claims

• Grassroots groups

• Global groups

• Specific issue focus groups

• Raise understanding or awareness of issues

• Accomplishments

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Opponents of Environmental Groups and their Claims

• Threatened by environmental regulations

• Threats to private property rights and jobs

• Local and state governments resent unfunded
  federal regulations

• Businesses and individuals resent complex and
  expensive federal regulations

• View environmental regulations as unnecessary,
  ineffective and too costly

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Global Environmental Policy

• Military security, economic security

• Environmental security

• International organizations and meetings

• International agreements

• Effects of GATT and the WTO