ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the policy making process around climate change in the US is a very crowded one with vested interests on all sides seeking to push their own agendas. It focuses on the interplay between interests, influence and power in the politics of climate change. The chapter also focuses on the role of the courts in shaping environmental and climate change policy. Since the early beginners of the environmental movement in the 1960s, environmental lobby groups have used action in the courts as a key element in their strategy to protect and improve the environment. In January 2009, the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism began to monitor the weekly news coverage in the US, drawing a distinction between traditional coverage and new social media. Its analysis shows that issues around global warming and climate change have received a much larger share of coverage in the new social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
