“Will humankind survive?   Who knows?  ...How many of us would be willing to give up some minor convenience -- say the use of aerosols -- in the hope that this might extend the life of man on earth by a hundred years?  Suppose we knew with a high degree of certainty that humankind could not survive a thousand years unless we gave up our wasteful diet of meat, abandoned all pleasure driving, cut back on every use of energy that was not essential to that maintenance of a bare minimum.  Would we care enough for posterity to pay the price of its survival?”  (Robert Heilbroner)

Over the past thirty years environmental quality has emerged as a critical challenge facing policy makers.  With the increasing degradation of environmental resources, difficult choices will have to be made by citizens. 

This course evaluates the environmental policy process.  Specifically, what is public policy and how are policy choices made?  How can political choices increase or decrease environmental degradation?  And finally, who benefits from existing environmental legislation, and who suffers? 

As we cover more material I will add to the links below.

Course Related Material

Course Syllabus

Links on SUV Discussion
     High and Mighty: SUVs--The World's Most Dangerous
     Vehicles and How They Got That Way 
     by Keith Bradsher 
          MSNBC
          Safecarguide.com
          Text Info from Amazon.Com

Related Links

Environmental Education Resources on the Internet
North American Association for Environmental Education
Environmental Directory (Commercial)
EnviroLink Network: The Online Environmental Community
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
EnviroWeb Support
Information Center for the Environment (UC Davis)
US EPA
CEQ NEPANET
US Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
International Environmental Directories
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)

Writing Guides and Resources:

CSUN: Learning Resource Center
UCSB: Writing Resources
Harvard: The Writing Center
Purdue: Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Illinois Urbana: The Writers' Workshop
Capital Community Technical College: Guide to Grammar and Writing
University of Richmond: Writer's Web
Hanover College: Writing Manuals and Guides
Hudson Valley Community College: Grant Writing Resources
Medianet:  Presentation Skills

Cahn's Environmental Research

Matthew Cahn:  Linking Science to Decision Making in Environmental Policy:  Bridging the Disciplinary Gap (The MIT Press, forthcoming)

Matthew Cahn:  Thinking About the Environment: Readings on Politics, Property, and the Physical World (edited with Rory O'Brien; NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1996)
Click here to see sample chapter.

Matthew Cahn:  Environmental Deceptions:  The Tension between Liberalism and Environmental Policymaking in the United States  (Albany:  State University of New York Press, 1995)  Click here to see sample chapter.