What is Environmental Politics?. Elizabeth R. DeSombre

What is Environmental Politics?

      ELIZABETH R. DESOMBRE

      polity

      Copyright © Elizabeth R. DeSombre 2020

      The right of Elizabeth R. DeSombre to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      First published in 2020 by Polity Press

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      All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3415-9

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: DeSombre, Elizabeth R., author.

      Title: What is environmental politics? / Elizabeth R. DeSombre.

      Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity, 2020. | Series: What is politics | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Scientific knowledge and technology alone cannot address environmental problems; they also involve difficult political choices and trade-offs both locally and globally. This concise introductory text explores the different ways in which society attempts to deal with the political decisions needed to prevent or recover from environmental damage”-- Provided by publisher.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019029829 (print) | LCCN 2019029830 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509534135 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509534142 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509534159 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Environmentalism--Political aspects. | Environmental protection--Political aspects. | Environmental policy.

      Classification: LCC JA75.8 .D488 2020 (print) | LCC JA75.8 (ebook) | DDC 363.7--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019029829 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019029830

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      Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

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Acknowledgements

      Writing a book is in some ways a solitary activity, but it wouldn’t be possible without a community. I am grateful to be embedded in several communities without which this book wouldn’t have been possible. The first is the Environmental Studies Department at Wellesley College, a collaborative community of faculty, students, and staff in which most of the ideas presented here first emerged, both inside and outside of the classroom. I know from experience that not all academic units are as supportive and friendly as my current one is, and I’m beyond grateful for fascinating colleagues and smart students. (And for smart colleagues and fascinating students, too.)

      I also benefit from being a part of the Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association, another set of scholars who both challenge and encourage each other. A related community is the Teaching Global Environmental Politics (GEP-ED) listserv, where queries about things such as environmental successes or publisher marketing surveys are quickly and helpfully answered, and I learn from listening to the various debates that others bring. I am not a natural networker, and the fact that people around the world who study and teach the kinds of things I do are people I want to hang out with makes our collective engagement much less instrumental and much more enjoyable.

Thanks are also due to several individuals: thanks to Louise Knight at Polity Press for pitching the idea of this book to me. I wouldn’t have thought to propose it, but once she asked I realized I had some strong opinions on what environmental politics is, and isn’t, and I thought that it would be fun to communicate them. It has been. Bridget Peak provided excellent research assistance and also feedback on an earlier draft of the book. Sammy Barkin reads and comments on everything I write, and all my ideas and information are better because of his feedback. Lynda Warwick is the perfect non-academic audience for my thoughts and one of my favorite people. She helps make sure I can communicate academic work to nonspecialists and also just generally helps me cope with life. As does Zoë, whose main contribution to this book involved competing with my computer for lap space and ensuring that I do my big picture thinking on lots of long walks.