This course will cover four topics. The first is an introduction to environmental issues as political and public policy issues. The concern is on how to analyze and understand environmental issues. It takes neither an alarmist nor a complacent point of view. Rather it looks coolly and dispassionately at environmental issues and suggests how one may analyze them from a political perspective and how certain political systems may be expected to attempt to resolve them, and why. This part of the course will provide the basis for analyzing and understanding the politics of environmental protection in three different settings. Air pollution will be used as an example of an environmental problem and a brief introduction will be provided on some of the technical aspects of air pollution.

The second topic will deal with the environmental issue of clear air in the United States and will examine in some detail the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 - the major piece of environmental legislation passed in the United States over the past 15 years. You will learn something specifically about how American government and politics work in regard to environmental matters and something more generally about how presidential systems with non-disciplined parties are likely to deal with environmental issues.

The controversial issue of economic growth and environmental protection in developing countries will be the third topic discussed. Are economic growth and environmental protection compatible? If so, what kind of political-economic system is most likely to achieve this joint objective?

Some environmental issues are truly international issues and must be approached at an international level. The depletion of the ozone layer and possible global climate changes are examples. The final section of the course will deal with the Montreal Protocols which have restricted ozone depleting chemicals and will also consider the complex issue of global climate change.

Because in recent years international environmental issues have been intertwined with international trade matters, some treatment of this controversial issue will be included.

There will be two mid-term and one final examination. A paper of ten to fifteen pages on a topic of your choosing (which must be approved by the instructor) is due on 20 April. A one or two paragraph proposal suggesting a topic and how it will be approached is due by 27 January. It is highly desirable to submit this proposal by e-mail, and the instructor will e-mail an approval or suggestions for change immediately. For students who would like a review of a preliminary version of the paper, a draft must be submitted no later than 4 April.

The final examination and the paper will each make up one-third of your grade. Each mid-quarter will contribute one- sixth. Cheating or any other academic misconduct on an examination will lead to a zero grade on that examination. Plagiarism or any other academic misconduct on the required paper will lead to a zero grade on the paper. It is highly unlikely that a passing grade can be earned in this course if a zero is received on any examination or on the paper. The instructor will not consent to a withdrawal or an incomplete for any student who has engaged in academic misconduct.

While attendance is not taken nor required in this class, all students are responsible for all material presented in class, contained in the required reading, and contained in the paper submitted.

Richard Cohen, Washington at Work, Macmillan, New York 1992.

Michael E. Kraft, Environmental Policy and Politics, HarperCollins, New York 1996.