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Environmental Science: A Global Concern, 7/e
William P. Cunningham, University of Minnesota
Mary Ann Cunningham, Vassar College
Barbara Woodworth Saigo, St. Cloud State University

Environmental Policy, Law, and Planning

Chapter Overview

The essential scientific data underlying an environmental problem could be in hand. The magnitude and consequences of the problem could be completely understood. But all is for naught without implementation of an effective and appropriate response. This chapter addresses that issue, one that is obviously important and yet typically extremely difficult to resolve.

As people and as nations, we each have our own perspectives. Different views lead us to different conclusions even when we all have the same information. The ideal response in the eyes of one is wrongheaded in the eyes of another. Unfortunately, many environmental problems arise at the intersection of ecology, economics, and social institutions, and therefore are incredibly complex. Scientific certainty is often lacking. This chapter acquaints you with the way responses to environmental problems become law and some new approaches to producing effective solutions that are acceptable to stakeholders.