Presidential Administration and the Environment

"After the sweeping environmental legislation passed in the 1970s and 1980s, the 1990s ushered in an era where new legislation and reforms to existing laws were consistently gridlocked. In answer, environmental groups became more specialized and professional, learning how to affect policy change through the courts, states, and federal agencies rather than through grassroots movements. Without a significantly mobilized public and with a generally uncooperative Congress, presidents since the 1990s have been forced to step into a new role of increasing presidential dominance over environmental policies. Rather than working with Congress, instead presidents have employed unilateral actions such as executive orders to get environmental legislation passed. Presidential Administration and the Environment offers a detailed examination of the transformation of policy networks and the shift in strategies and tools used by US presidents to get environmental legislation passed. Using primary sources from presidential libraries such as speeches and staff communications, David M. Shafie is able to analyze how presidents such as Clinton and Bush have used alternative executive approaches to pass