ABSTRACT
The vertical distribution of power across national, state, and local governments presents unique challenges for organizing coordinated efforts to protect the environment. The institutional structure of federalism requires both national and state governments to be active players that cooperate in order for policy to be successful. However, federalism creates institutional barriers tied to geography (i.e., state lines) that bound how state policy actors perceive environmental problems, but environmental problems rarely conform to these manmade boundaries. As such, federalism is wrought with collective action dilemmas that create challenges for environmental protection. While legacy environmental programs, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act have been adapted to fit into this system, climate change presents a whole new set of challenges for environmental federalism. The author begins to discuss how political incentives and administrative capacities have shaped state action in regards to legacy environmental programs and how that may further our understanding of the challenges awaiting climate policy.
