PS3480

Political Parties

Polarization

The 2012 Platforms of the Republicans and Democrats

Stuck in the Middle: Democrats in the Coal-dependent states

Senator Claire McCaskill

Interest Groups

Public and Private Interest groups

Pluralism

The problem of collective action for "public interest" groups

Types of incentives for members of interest groups: material, purposive, and solidary

Environmental and public interest groups have to rely on purposive and solidary incentives

So they have weaker ties to members, and membership is more volatile

In contrast, energy groups have more defensive agendas narrowly focused on material interests

Another problem for environmental groups: "pragmatism" versus "purity"

The Government Institutions that Make Environmental Policy

1. Congress

Congress controls law-making and budgets

Most of Congress's work take place in committees and subcommittees, &

Environmental policy is divided across lots of different committees

Political Parties organize both houses, & committee and subcommittee chairs are members of the majority party

Thus, Elections matter for environmental policy

League of Conservation Voters scores of key committee chairs before and after the 2006 and 2010 elections

a. The House of Representatives - 435 members

i). direct election, small constituencies, 2 year terms

Result: Representatives have a short term, relatively parochial perspective

ii). The House is more tightly run than the Senate

b. The Senate - 100 Members:

• The Senate is more of a debating body than the House

The Filibuster – Senators can delay action indefinitely

– unless 60 Senators vote to stop them –

–Therefore you need 60 of 100 votes to get anything done in the Senate

•

•Small states have disproportionate influence in the Senate:

California’s 2 Senators represent about twelve percent of the U.S. population

Wyoming’s 2 Senators represent two-tenths of one percent

This tends to help resource-rich states with small populations (Wyoming and Alaska),

but there are small states whose Senators are very strong environmental supporters (Vermont)

i) Republicans who make selective expansion in environmental policy
(Nixon, George HW Bush, #41)

ii) Democrats who try to expand environmental protection incrementally
(Carter, Clinton)

iii). Republicans who seek to roll back some environmental regulations that they believe impede prosperity
(Reagan, George W. Bush)

Key Federal Agencies that Manage U.S. Environmental Policy

Established when the Dominant Social Paradigm was unchallenged

The General Land Office (1812, now part of the Bureau of Land Management)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (est. 1824) [Now part of Department of Defense]
Task: control and channel rivers, improve harbors

U.S. Department of the Interior (1849)
Distribute and ensure the use of public lands

U.S. Department of Agriculture (1889)
To represent the interests of farmers

Era of Conservation

The U.S. Forest Service (1905)   [Part of Department of the Agriculture]
Manages national forests and grasslands

The National Park Service (1916) [Part of Department of the Interior]

“The fundamental purpose of these parks … is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife herein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by such means as will leave them uepaired for the employment of future generations.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1940)     [Part of Department of the Interior]
regulates stocks of fish and wildlife and their habitats

The Bureau of Land Management (1946)      [Part of Department of the Interior]
Manages public lands, mainly in the west; manages oil and gas, mineral,
timber, and rangeland resources

Era of Environmentalism

Environmental Protection Agency (1970)

Some other departments involved
Department of Transportation (hazardous materials shipments)
Department of Energy (electricity, hydroelectricity, nuclear power)
Department of Health and Human Services (food safety, drug safety)
Department of Labor (occupational and mine safety and health)
Department of Commerce (standards of safety and environ. quality)
Department of State (international environmental agreements)