ABSTRACT
Between 2008 and 2013, gasoline prices in the United States periodically spiked to a record high of over $4 a gallon, reflecting economic growth around the world that consumes vast quantities of oil and other fossil fuels. This chapter seeks to improve understanding of environmental, energy, and natural resource problems faced today, both in the United States and globally. It seeks to build a capacity for analyzing diverse causes of environmental problems and possible solutions through the use of scientific, economic, ethical, and political perspectives. The chapter seeks to aid readers in understanding the role of government and politics, reasons for relying on democratic political processes, and the breadth of modern environmental policy. It seeks to improve analysis of environmental policy and politics through introduction of a framework that should help readers think critically and creatively about diverse environmental risks and alternative ways for public policy to address them.
