ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the environment and climate change, and what these evolving issues mean to public administration in the United States. Next, it looks more closely at environmental policy and climate change at the federal, state, and local levels, followed by an assessment of the public health consequences of climate change and poor environmental quality. The chapter considers what these issues mean for modern-day public administrators. The report presents thirty-seven indicators, each describing trends related to the causes and effects of climate change, focusing primarily on the United States, although in some cases global trends help provide context or a basis for comparison. Public administrators can play a major role in helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. Public administrators are also in a position to incorporate climate change issues and the concept of sustainability into the everyday functioning of government.
