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ENVIR ST 439

US ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND REGULATION

3-4 credits.

Covers a broad cross-section of American environmental policy by focusing on specific statutes and policy arenas. Surveys the basic elements of American environmental policy and regulation with a particular focus on the specific people, sites and scales at which environmental decision-making happens through primary-source case material. Maintains a dual focus on (a) the legal and regulatory aspects of environmental regulation and (b) the specific geographic and social features of actual cases in which regulations and policy are used. Understanding environmental outcomes in a complex society depends on observing both the structure of regulations and the geographic and social context in which such regulations emerge.

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Sophomore standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science Breadth - Social Science Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2025 Learning Outcomes: 1. dentify the spectrum of major U.S. environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, CERCLA, and regulations involving environmental justice, climate change, and market environmentalism. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Discuss the specialized language of environmental policy and regulation. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Identify, through current case material, how these policies manifest in our daily interactions with the environment and government. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Describe the social and environmental background to each policy debate using critical and geographic viewpoints often adopted by social scientists. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Write long-form reports synthesizing regulatory issues with reportage on a major environmental policy issue. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. dentify the spectrum of major U.S. environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, CERCLA, and regulations involving environmental justice, climate change, and market environmentalism. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Discuss the specialized language of environmental policy and regulation. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Identify, through current case material, how these policies manifest in our daily interactions with the environment and government. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Describe the social and environmental background to each policy debate using critical and geographic viewpoints often adopted by social scientists. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Write long-form reports synthesizing regulatory issues with reportage on a major environmental policy issue. Audience: Graduate

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