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The essays in this volume challenge the widespread belief that the government's environmental policies, unlike those in other areas, are drafted and implemented for the public good and genuinely seek to effect a cleaner environment. The contributors demonstrate through seven important cases that there are strong reasons to reconsider the present command and control approach to environmental policy. They argue that policies and programs are often designed to address political and economic objectives dear to power centers and interest groups. The authors seek to force a critique of present policies and programs and to contribute to the making of an environmental policy more authentically in the public's interest. To that end, the work analyzes the role of organized interests and political institutions in environmental policies, what their rationales may be, and what impact they have on the public welfare.
The book provides specific case studies of clean air legislation, biotechnology regulation, Superfund, pollution deadlines, citizen suits, and international environmental regulation. The work constitutes a most timely, well-informed, and persuasive argument for more reliance on other sources than just central government to reduce risk and to enhance environmental well-being.
List of contents
Introduction: Environmental Politics without Romance by Michael S. Greve
Clean Fuels, Dirty Air by Jonathan H. Adler
Sacred Cows: The Bovine Somatotropin Controversy by Christopher L. Culp
The Coalition for Waste: Private Interests and Superfund by Marc K. Landy and Mary Hague
Pollution Deadlines and the Coalition for Failure by R. Shep Melnick
Private Enforcement, Private Rewards: How Environmental Citizen Suits Became an Entitlement Program by Michael S. Greve
Ozone Layers and Oligopoly Profits by Daniel F. McInnis
The Public Interest Movement and American Trade Policy by David Vogel
Conclusion: Environmental Policy at the Crossroads by Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the author
MICHAEL S. GREVE is Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Individual Rights in Washington, D.C. He has written and published widely on environmental issues.
FRED L. SMITH is Founder and President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
