ENV 322 - Local Environmental Governance

While national and international policy can drive environmental decision making, many environmental policy decisions are still made at the local level. These day to day decisions about streams, land conservation, and water management receive little attention from the press and are subject to very little public input. Instead, most decisions are made through a complex political ecology involving technocrats, consulting firms, engineers, and public relations officials. As part of this course, students will engage with local decision makers, non-profits, and reporters to better understand how decisions are made. Students will be required to attend (some) public meetings and meet with non-profits to understand their role as stakeholders.

Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor.