12/21/2024 10:35:25 AM	POLS 12 Course Outline as of Fall 2023	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  POLS 12	Title:  ENV POLICY & POLITICS
Full Title:  Environmental Policy and Politics
Last Reviewed:2/7/2022

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		8 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly:  SOCS 12

Catalog Description:

In this course, students will be introduced to environmental studies focusing on the political processes and institutions involved in formulating and implementing public policy to address environmental problems. Students will examine the role of public policy in addressing environmental issues at the local, state, national, and global levels.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

In this course, students will be introduced to environmental studies focusing on the political processes and institutions involved in formulating and implementing public policy to address environmental problems. Students will examine the role of public policy in addressing environmental issues at the local, state, national, and global levels.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
Area:	D	Social and Behavioral Sciences
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	D	Social Science		Fall 1981
	D1	Anthropology and Archeology
	D2	Economics
	D3	Ethnic Studies
	D4	Gender Studies
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	4	Social and Behavioral Science		Fall 1981
	4J	Sociology and Criminology
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1.   Analyze how political institutions and processes impact environmental policy-making and outcomes.

2.   Identify domestic and international environmental issues and trends, and engage in political discourse on these issues and trends applying critical thinking skills and analysis to support a point of view.

3.   Assess the gravity of environmental problems and the role of the individual in political advocacy and action.

 

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Identify and assess contemporary environmental problems (e.g. air, water, land use, food production, energy, climate change).

2. Describe major U.S. environmental policies, their origins, key policy actors, and alternative proposals for policy change.

3. Apply the analytical framework of public policy-making to connect environmental policy to the political process.

4. Identify and evaluate the role of environmental groups and public opinion in environmental politics.

5. Identify and asses the role of local and state governments in environmental policy making and environmental protection.

6. Identify and evaluate national and global climate change governance policies and trends.

Topics and Scope

I.  Environmental Problems and Politics

     A. Perspectives on Environmental Problems

         1.  Scientific Knowledge and Its Use

         2. Economics and Incentives

         3. Environmental Values and Ethics

     B. The Role of Government and Politics

         1. Defining Environmental Policy

         2. Policy Typologies

         3. Public Policy Responses

     C. Historical Framework for Environmental Protection

         1. From the Colonial Period to 1900

         2. Progressive Reforms and Conservationism: 1900 - 1945

         3. Recreation and the Age of Ecology: Post World War II to 1969

         4. Earth Days and Deregulation: 1970 - present

         5. Global Awareness and Gridlock: 1993 to the present

     D.  Principles, methodologies, value systems and ethics employed in social scientific inquiry related to environmental research.

II.  Participants in the Environmental Debate

     A. U.S. environmental organizations

     B. The Environmental Justice Movement

     C. Radical environmentalism

     D. Environmental opposition in the United States

     E. The Role of the media and public opinion

     F. Global Green political parties

      G. International governmental organizations

     H. Transnational advocacy networks

III.  Environmental Policy-Making

     A. The Policy Process Model

          1. Agenda Setting

          2. Policy Formulation

          3. Policy Adoption

           4. Policy Implementation

          5. Policy Evaluation

          6. Policy Change

     B. The Role of the Executive Branch

     C. Congressional Policy-Making

     D. Courts and Environmental Policy

     E. State and Local Policy Making

     F. The EPA's Organization, Budget and Jurisdiction

IV.  Public Lands Debate

     A. Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Management of Public Lands

     B. U.S. Forest Policy

     C. Battles over Wilderness

     D. Grazing Rights

     E. Private Property and Public Lands

     F. The Endangered Species Act

     G. Food Production and Agricultural Policy

V.  Waste and Toxics Issues

     A. The Nature of Waste: Generation and Disposal

     B. Hazardous Waste

     C. Toxic Chemicals and Health Effects

     D. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Superfund

     E. The Toxic Substances Control Act

     F. Nuclear Waste

VI.  Energy Policies

     A. The Energy Pie

     B. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) Standards

     C. Energy Policy Cycles

         1. Carter's National Energy Plan

         2. Reagan's Deregulation of Energy

         3. The Bush Administration National Energy Strategy

         4. Energy Policy under the Clinton Administration

         5. Energy Policy Fluctuations: George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump

         6. State and Local Energy Initiatives

     D. Energy Use and Climate Change

VII.  The Politics of Water

     A. Trends in Water Use

     B. Water Resource Management in the United States

     C. Wetlands Protection

     D. Water Quality

          1. Pollution of Surface Waters

          2. Drinking Water Quality

          3. Toxic Contamination

     E. The Clean Water Act

     F.  The Safe Drinking Water Act

VIII.  Air Quality: Pollution and Solutions

     A. Sources of Air Pollution

     B. Indoor Air Quality

      C. Acid Precipitation

     D. The Clean Air Act

     E. The Clear Skies Initiative

     F. Transboundary Air Pollution

     G. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Stratospheric Ozone Layer

IX.  The Global Commons

     A. Global Climate Change

     B. International treaties from Kyoto Protocol to Paris Accord

     C. Biodiversity Loss and Implications

     D. Population and Sustainability

Assignments:

1. Regular weekly readings assignments (30 -50 pages).

2. One to two midterm exams and a final exam. These may include multiple-choice, written essays and short answer exams.

3. One to five writing assignment(s) (500 - 1500 words each). These may consist of reaction papers, analytical essays or research papers.

4. Optional assignments may include written summaries of current events, oral presentations, or group work.

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 30 - 50%
Analytical essays and/or reaction papers and/or research papers
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 40 - 60%
Essay exams, multiple-choice exams, short answer exams
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 0 - 30%
Class participation, oral presentations, and group work

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

Environmental Politics: Domestic and Global Dimensions, (6th). Vaughn. Cengage Learning: 2012 (Classic)

 

Environmental Politics and Policy, (11th). Rosenbaum: 2019

 

Environmental Policy: New Directions for the Twenty-First Century, (11th). Vig, Kraft: 2021

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