ABSTRACT
It is increasingly apparent that human activities are not suitable for sustaining a healthy global environment. From energy development to resource extraction to use of land and water, humans are having a devastating effect on the earth’s ability to sustain human societies and quality lives. Many approaches to changing the negative environmental consequences of human activities focus on one of two options, emphasizing either technological fixes or individual behavior change to reduce environmental harms through sustainable consumption habits. This book takes a different approach, focusing on the role of environmental policy in shaping the possibilities for and creating hindrances to pursuing more sustainable use of environmental resources.
This unique compilation examines environmental policy through empirical case studies, demonstrating through each particular example how environmental policies are formed, how they operate, what they do in terms of shaping behaviors and future trajectories, and how they intersect with other social dynamics such as politics, power, social norms, and social organization. By providing case studies from both the United States and Mexico, this book provides a cross-national perspective on current environmental policies and their role in creating and limiting sustainable human futures.
Organized around four key parts – Water; Land; Health and Wellbeing; and Resilience – and with a central theme of environmental justice and equity, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental policy and sustainability.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |13 pages
Introduction
part I|48 pages
Water, water management, and adaptation to changing water landscapes
chapter 1|13 pages
Nutrient trading credits
chapter 3|16 pages
Toward a whole-of-government and whole-of-community approach for regional adaptation to sea level rise
part II|45 pages
Land management and land use
chapter 5|14 pages
Perceptions of contentiousness
part III|42 pages
Human health and well being
chapter 7|13 pages
Where is the justice?
chapter 8|13 pages
The power of the talking points
chapter 9|14 pages
Social and political inequality as challenges in technology diffusion
part IV|53 pages
Resilience