ES 232

Fall Semester, 2004

 

Rebecca P. Judge, Ph.D.

646-3358

judge@stolaf.edu

 

Syllabus

 

Course Description: This course examines U.S. environmental policy from philosophical, historical and social perspectives. In doing so, we discuss how various stakeholders view the environmental “problem” and how the divergent views regarding the cause of environmental degradation give rise to distinct, and somewhat conflicting policy recommendations. We will examine how science, risk analysis, economics and ethics contribute to the formation and implementation of US environmental policy

 

Overview: The course is divided into three sections. The first section will constitute an examination of the environmental problem and its proposed cures.  Following a midterm examination, we will shift our attention to the current structure of environmental policy regulating air and water quality, hazardous waste and pesticide exposure, wildlife protection and conservation and land protection.  In the third section of the course, we will examine how US trade policy affects the environment both at home and abroad.

 

Texts:   There are two required texts for this course in addition to various journal articles which you can find on the Web.  The required texts are

 

Environmental Law and Policy, by James Salzman and Barton H. Thompson, Jr. Available at the St. Olaf Bookstore.

 

Foundations of Environmental Law and Policy, edited by Richard L Revesz.  Available at the St. Olaf Bookstore.

 

Student Responsibilities:  First and foremost, students should prepare themselves for active engagement with the topic by reading the assigned material for each day of lecture.  I have kept the readings to just one piece per day or slightly less, however, you should be forewarned that the size of the reading assignments varies tremendously.

 

Students will have the opportunity to reflect rigorously on the readings and lecture material on two scheduled exams throughout the semester.  These will take place on Friday, October 22, and on Friday, December 17 during exam week. 

 

Additionally, students are encouraged to apply the analytical principles, insights and materials gained from class as they prepare a paper critiquing the state of the environment in their hometowns.  The paper should provide a careful description of pollution trends in their hometown and the policies governing emissions.  It should argue for policy reform as necessary to achieve a carefully described policy objective.  The paper is due in class on November 22.

 

Students with Disabilities: If you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please contact me to discuss your needs.  Additionally, you will need to register with Student Disability Services located in the Academic Support Center in Room 1 of the Old Main Annex.  All such discussions will be confidential.

 

Grading and Evaluation: Your course grade will be a function of your performance as reflected on the examinations, the class presentations, papers and class participation.   I expect you to come to class prepared to engage in discussions of the assigned material.  Students who fail to come to class, or who come to class ill-prepared to engage in the assigned material will have their course grade reduced by one-third of a step (an A- to a B+, or a B to a B-, etc) for every three classes missed or poorly prepared for over the semester.  

 

Your course grade will be determined by a weighted average of your semester’s work, as follows:

 

Component	Percent of Total
Paper	40
Exams (2 @ 30)	60
Class participation	see above

 

Instructor Availability: My office hours this semester are 3:00-4:30, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I am also available for appointments. As I have small children who go to bed early and as I retire early myself, I prefer that students not call me at home, but leave messages for me on my voice mail (x3358) or on my e-mail.

 

Class Schedule

 

 

 

9/10	Introduction to Environmental Policy and Regulation:  Why Can’t We All Just Behave Better? Salzman and Thompson, Ch.1
9/13	Alternative Perspectives on the Causes of Environmental Degradation and the Goals of Environmental Policy Salzman and Thompson, Ch. 2
9/15	The Economists’ Views of Environmental Degradation and Policy Goals Revesz, Ch. 1
9/17	The Economist's Approach to Pollution and Its Control Robert M. Solow Science, New Series, Vol. 173, No. 3996. (Aug. 6, 1971), pp. 498-503 Available from JSTOR at: Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-8075%2819710806%293%3A173%3A3996%3C498%3ATEATPA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H
9/20	Conservation Reconsidered John V. Krutilla The American Economic Review, Vol. 57, No. 4. (Sep., 1967), pp. 777-786. Available from JSTOR at: Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8282%28196709%2957%3A4%3C777%3ACR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V
9/22	Property Rights and Common Property: Reading TBA
9/24	Non-Economic Perspectives on Environmental Degradation and Policy Goals Revesz, Ch. 2
9/27	Ethical Perspectives Practical Ecology and Foundations for Environmentals Ethics Kristin Shrader-Frechette The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 92, No. 12. (Dec., 1995), pp. 621-635. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-362X%28199512%2992%3A12%3C621%3APEAFFE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8
9/29	Rights-based Perspectives Laurence H. Tribe, “Ways Not to Think About Plastic Trees,” in When Values Conflict (Ballinger Publishing, 1976) http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/w/gwr5/envphil/tribe.htm
10/1	Human Safety Perspectives Revesz, Ch. 3
10/4	Acceptable Risk Perspectives Revesz, Ch. 4
10/6	Acceptable Risk: A Conceptual Proposal Baruch Fischhoff http://www.piercelaw.edu/risk/vol5/winter/Fischhof.htm
10/8	Distributional Equity Perspectives  Revesz, Ch. 5
10/11	Policy Instruments Salzman and Thompson, Ch. 3 David Schoenbrod, “Putting the ‘Law’ Back Into Environmental Law,” Regulation, 22 (1). http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv22n1/envirolaw.pdf
10/13	Revesz, Ch. 6
10/15	Revesz, Ch. 7
10/18	Revesz, Ch. 8
10/20	Review
10/22	Midterm
10/27	Pollution Policy in the United States:  Air Salzman and Thompson, Ch. 4
10/29	The Clean Air Act: www.epa.gov/air/oaq_caa.html
11/1	Revesz, Ch. 9
11/3	Pollution Policy in the United States: Water Salzman and Thompson, Ch. 5
11/5	The Clean Water Act: www.epa.gov/r5water/cwa.htm
11/8	Pollution Policy in the United States: Regulating Toxic Substances Salzman and Thompson, Ch. 6
11/10	Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses http://yosemite.epa.gov/ee/epa/eed.nsf/webpages/Guidelines.html
11/12	Handbook on Valuing Children’s Health http://yosemite.epa.gov/EE/epa/eed.nsf/pages/HandbookChildrensHealthValuation.html
11/15	Handbook on Valuing Children’s Health http://yosemite.epa.gov/EE/epa/eed.nsf/pages/HandbookChildrensHealthValuation.html
11/17	Pollution Policy in the United States: Waste Management Salzman and Thompson, Ch. 7
11/19	Revesz, Ch. 10
11/22	A Platform for Environmental Protection in My Hometown
11/29	Protecting Natural Resources The US Forest Service
12/1	The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Endangered Species Act
12/3	Salzman and Thompson, Ch. 9
12/6	Trade and the Environment Salzman and Thompson, Ch. 8
12/8	Revesz, Ch. 11
12/10	Revesz, Ch. 12
12/17	Final Exam