America's Environmental Legacies

This powerful book focuses on the capacity of the American political system to respond to ecological challenges through policy perspectives, the constraints of our written Constitution, and the determination we muster to address these tests of national character. Put simply, this is a book about politics, policy, and political will. Kalinowski brilliantly shows that America's collective will is found in the cultural values enunciated by the Founding Fathers and passed down through history with modifications. It comprises the essential missing ingredient in determining how we currently respond to crises. Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison had distinct ideas concerning the role that Nature might play in the future. Recognizing the origins and impacts of their environmental legacies is the key to interpreting where American environmental politics is today, how we got here, and where we might be headed.

Investigates the ability of the US to solve environmental challenges through political activity Critically analyzes environmental history, political theory, and contemporary politics around the central theme of American's relationship to the Earth Combines environmental politics with constitutional interpretation through interdisciplinary methods Presents a deeply researched and well-written work on American politics and the ecological situation, representing 10 years of study

Autorentext
Franklin Kalinowski has taught at the University of Delaware, USA, Goddard College, USA, St. Lawrence University, USA, Colorado State University, USA, Tulane University, USA, and Warren Wilson College, USA. He received his PhD in Government from Claremont Graduate School, USA. He is the recipient of two excellence-in-teaching awards, and has published over seventeen reviews, articles, and book chapters.

Inhalt
Introduction. Interpreting America's Two Constitutions Looking Through an Environmental Lens .- 1. The Scope and Limits of Mainstream Environmentalism .- 2. Radical Environmentalism Challenging Our Institutions and Beliefs .- 3. The Environment and the Constitution Ecological Principles and Liberal Policy Making .- 4. Political Theory and the American Founding The Tension Between Logic and History .- 5. The Environmental Legacy of Thomas Jefferson Cultivating the Rooted Citizen .- 6. The Environmental Legacy of Alexander Hamilton Manufacturing Power from Delusion .- 7. The Environmental Legacy of James Madison Pursuing Stability in a World of Limits .- 8. The Constitution After 100 Years Environmental Theory in the Gilded Age .- 9. Living With the Legacies Our Culture Confronts Our Environment.