This timely book explores the rocky trajectory of US environmental history and policy from pre-European settlement to the present. It includes underreported aspects of early history, and the first in-depth synthesis of the framing and outcomes of the groundbreaking environmental laws of the 1970s.
The narrative traces the political polarization that has affected the lag in US progress against climate change, compared with Europe. Concluding with the 2024 election of Donald Trump, the Afterword considers the dramatic events in the new administration. This authoritative but readable account shows how the US has arrived at its current position, and concludes withpathways for reducing polarization and achieving lasting regulatory reform.
1. An Introduction
2. North American Indians and Land Use Before European Colonization
3. Colonial History to 1829
4. The Nineteenth Century
5. The 20th Century to 1969
6. The Environmental Revolution of the 1970s
7. Other Developments in the 1970s and 1980s: The Reagan Countermovement
8. Global Climate Change: Presidencies of George H.W. Bush to Bill Clinton-Al Gore
9. George W. Bush to Barack Obama
10. Upheaval: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Trump 2.0
11. Comparisons Between U.S. And European Lawmaking and Renewable Energy Progress
12. Policy Issues and Discussion
13. Pathways to Progress
Afterword
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