Environmental Problem-Solving: Balancing Science and Politics Using Consensus Building Tools: Guided Readings and Assignments from MIT’s Training Program for Environmental Professionals

508 Pages·2020·38.415 MB·English

by  Lawrence Susskind

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Environmental Problem- Solving:

Balancing Science and Politics
Using Consensus Building Tools
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Environmental Problem- Solving:

Balancing Science and Politics
Using Consensus Building Tools
Guided Readings and Scenario
Assignments from MIT’s Training
Program for Environmental Professionals
Lawrence Susskind, Bruno Verdini,
Jessica Gordon and Yasmin Zaerpoor
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Anthem Press
An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company
www.anthempress.com
This second edition is first published in UK and USA 2020
by ANTHEM PRESS
75– 76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK
or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK
and
244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA
First published in the UK and USA by Anthem Press 2017
© 2020 Lawrence Susskind, Bruno Verdini, Jessica Gordon and Yasmin Zaerpoor
The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise),
without the prior written permission of both the copyright
owner and the above publisher of this book.
British Library Cataloguing-i n-P ublication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN- 13: 978- 1- 78527- 131- 1 (Hbk)
ISBN- 10: 1- 78527- 131- 8 (Hbk)
This title is also available as an e- book.
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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ix
Credits and Permissions xi
INTRODUCTION 1
Unit I: INFLUENCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICY- MAKING PROCESS 5
Introduction 5
Commentaries and Reading Excerpts 8
Steven Cohen — Understanding Environmental Policy 8
Michael Howlett, M. Ramesh and Anthony Perl— Studying Public Policy: Policy
Cycles & Policy Subsystems 43
Lawrence Susskind — “The Environment and Environmentalism” 77
Elinor Ostrom — The Future of the Commons: Beyond Market Failure and Government Regulations 84
Scenario Assignment: Policy Evaluation 94
Scenario Assignment: Comparative Policy Analysis 95
End of Unit I Written Assignment:
National Environmental Policy- Making 96
First Example Response to Assignment 97
Second Example Response to Assignment 102
Unit II: ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEM- SOLVING 106
Introduction 106
Commentaries and Reading Excerpts 108
Joseph R. DesJardins — Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy 108
Jason Corburn — Street Science: Community Knowledge and Environmental Health Justice 131
Scenario Assignment: The Precautionary Principle 147
Scenario Assignment: Sustainability v. Economic Development 148
Scenario Assignment: Local Knowledge v. Expert Knowledge 149
End of Unit II Written Assignment: Environmental Ethics 150
First Example Response to Assignment 151
Second Example Response to Assignment 155
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Unit III: DEVELOPMENTS IN POLICY AND PROJECT
ANALYSIS 159
Introduction 159
Commentaries and Reading Excerpts 162
Lawrence Susskind, Ravi K. Jain and Andrew O. Martyniuk — “How
Environmental Policy Studies Can Be Used Effectively” and “How Policy Studies Should
Be Organized.” 162
Arwin van Buuren and Sibout Nooteboom — “Evaluating Strategic Environmental
Assessment in The Netherlands: Content, Process and Procedure as Indissoluble Criteria for
Effectiveness.” 193
David Pearce, Giles Atkinson and Susana Mourato — “Executive Summary,”
“The Stages of Practical Cost-Benefit Analysis” and “Cost- Benefit Analysis and Other
Decision- Making Procedures.” 210
Robert Costanza, Rudolf de Groot, Paul Sutton, Sander van der Ploeg,
Sharolyn J. Anderson, Ida Kubiszewski, Stephen Farber and
R. Kerry Turner — “Changes in the Global Value of Ecosystem Services.” 234
Donald Ludwig — “Limitations of Economic Valuation of Ecosystems.” 252
Howard Kunreuther and Paul Slovic —“ Challenges in Risk Assessment and Risk Management.” 261
John Sterman — “A Skeptic’s Guide to Computer Models.” 267
“Scenario Planning,” “Scenario Methodology” and “Driving Forces.” In Puget
Sound Future Scenarios. UW Urban Ecology Research Lab,
University of Washington. 294
Scenario Assignment: Cost- Benefit Analysis 310
Role- Play Exercise Assignment: Negotiating Societal Risk Assessment 311
End of Unit III Written Assignment: Environmental Assessment 315
First Example Response to Assignment 316
Second Example Response to Assignment 323
Unit IV: COLLECTIVE ACTION TO SOLVE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS 329
Introduction 329
Commentaries and Reading Excerpts 332
Lawrence Susskind and Jeffrey Cruikshank — “Convening,” “Assigning Roles
and Responsibilities,” “Facilitating Group Problem Solving,” “Reaching
Agreement” and “Holding Parties to Their Commitments.” In Breaking Robert’s
Rules. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 332
Ian Shapiro — “Aggregation, Deliberation, and the Common Good.” In State of
Democratic Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 344
Mark Sagoff — “At the Shrine of Lady Fatima; Why Political Questions Are Not
All Economic.” In The Economy of the Earth: Philosophy, Law, and the Environment.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 364
Lawrence Susskind and Connie Ozawa — “Mediated Negotiation in the Public
Sector: The Planner as Mediator.” Journal of Planning Education and Research. 382
Eugene A. Rosa, Ortwin Renn and Aaron McCright — “Risk Governance: A
Synthesis.” In Risk Society Revisited: Social Theory and Governance.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 403
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Garrett Hardin — “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Science Journal. 421
Elinor Ostrom — “Reflections on the Commons.” In Governing the Commons.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 434
Scenario Assignment: Public Participation Strategies 459
Scenario Assignment: Regional Consensus Building 460
Scenario Assignment: Environmental Dispute Resolution 461
End of Unit IV Written Assignment: Public Interest and
Group Decision- Making 462
First Example Response to Assignment 463
Second Example Response to Assignment 467
FINAL EXAM 471
Questions 471
Sample Responses to Select Exam Questions 474
CONCLUSIONS 481
Biographies 485
References 487
Index 489
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