Environmental Politics and Policy

by Walter A. Rosenbaum

Walter A. Rosenbaum’s classic  E nvironmental Politics and P olicy ,   Twelfth Edition , provides definitive coverage of environmental politics and policy, lively case material, and a balanced assessment of current environmental issues. The newly streamlined first half of the book sets needed context and describes the policy process, while the second half covers specific environmental issues such as air and water, toxic and hazardous substances, energy, and global policymaking on issues like climate change and trans-boundary politics. The Twelfth Edition includes updated case studies and a look at the transition in environmental policies between the Trump and Biden administrations, offering students a current and relevant look at the continuing challenge of reconciling sound science with practical politics.

Genres: Environment, Nonfiction, Politics, Public Policy, Nature, Grad School, Academic

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Meg Box · Rating 2 out of 5]

The surface level info in this was good. However for a third year class, I’ve already learned all this stuff at least 5 times so it didn’t really help my learning.

[Heather Pfannenschmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this textbook for my PS 320 class. I appreciated the descriptions of acts and different IGs, the in-depth analysis of cases, the vocabulary, and the explanations of each topic. Each chapter is lengthy, but I had a good time reading them in the end. This textbook helped me curate and write a paper proposal and a paper to be used as examples for future semesters.

[Jonathan Haydak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long and drawn out at some points, but very good introduction to the topic. Decent amount of anecdotes to illustrate ideas and divert you from the nitty gritty

Biggest complaint is overuse of abbreviations of names... Constantly had to flip to the page listing the abbreviations.

[Maia Roseval · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this to teach my upper division environmental politics course and thought it provided a solid framework for my students. Given that the prerequisite for my class is a introductory history or political science class, I like that this book introduced a lot of the environmental concepts they may not have seen or learned about in another courses (especially since my institution doesn’t offer specific environmental or sustainability degrees). I’m going to pivot to the 12th edition next semester to get more up to date data but this book still gets the job done in terms of basic environmental political framework.

[Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a dense textbook, this was a surprisingly readable book, with solid information and good storytelling. It covers a lot of the more tedious policy level stuff and goes into a lot greater detail than many readers want to read, but I was able to draw several successful teaching stories from what I read in this book to use in my environmental science merit badge classes for boy scouts.

[Inessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

good introduction to enviro policy and its history. a little dry and dull if you already have a good understanding.

[Litbitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good textbook-style overview of environmental policy. I'd give it 4 stars as a textbook; 3 stars as a regular book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction into the topic with explanations of which types of legislation are working and which aren't.

[Bon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough and relatively easy to read.