Political Science/Sustainability 334: Politics of the Environment

Spring 2022
Instructor: James Murren

Re: Environmental Issue Policy Brief

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You will write an 8-page, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch
margins, policy brief on a current environmental issue. Please provide a cover page,
which is not page 1 of the 8-page brief, and include page numbers. You should have a
minimum of 10 original sources cited in the text, as well as in the bibliography.
Wikipedia is not a source. Citations: in text, you choose the style.

Using the Layzer text as a style guide, if you choose to do so, provide history/background
to the issue. Discuss the various stakeholders that have been working on the issue, being
sure to include all of the angles and viewpoints of those stakeholders. Note key already-
established policies that are being used to address the problem, if applicable, as well as
being sure to highlight any new policy suggestions being made by any/all of the
stakeholders.

After setting up the issue that you are investigating, and after providing thorough analysis
of the politics, policies, and practicable approaches being used and/or suggested to
address the issue, please provide your assessment of what the “best” policy approach
would be to rectify the environmental challenge. It is your discretion to determine what
“best” means. Essentially, you should explain why your approach is superior to other
approaches that are being considered/used. This is not solely an opinion piece. Use
evidence (e.g. science, economics) to support your decision. Also, keep in mind that
policy is an ongoing process, meaning that you may suggest immediate actions to take
and you may also suggest what might need to be further investigated/considered. You
can have an action plan, so to speak, set to a timeline, if you’d like to do so. Do NOT
forget to include some possible ways to evaluate the progress of your policy approach.

An example of a paper outline might look like:

I. Environmental Issue
A. Define
B. History/Background
II. Stakeholder Groups
A. Environmentalists
B. Cornucopians
C. Other
III. Policy Approaches and Analysis
A. Current
B. Suggested/Alternatives
C. Your “Best” Approach
IV. Conclusion
Possible Issues to Research: you can choose a local, regional, national, or international
issue. Choose something that is of interest to you, and not necessarily something that is
easy to find lots of information on when writing a paper. Sometimes distilling a huge
quantity of information can prove to be very challenging when writing a focused research
paper. Examples: fracking, wind energy, nuclear waste, watershed management, coal-
fired electricity, mining, desertification, agricultural impacts on water quality, climate
change, recreation on public lands, urban growth, palm oil, cash crops, maquiladores,
international peace parks, public transportation.

Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission
for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All
submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference
database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. You may submit
your papers in such a way that no identifying information about you is included. Another
option is that you may request, in writing, that your papers not be submitted to
Turnitin.com. However, if you choose this option you will be required to provide
documentation to substantiate that the papers are your original work and do not include
any plagiarized material.

Dates to Remember:

1 March 2022 – turn your topic in to me via email or during office hours for approval.

1 April 2022 – turn in an outline/rough draft of your paper, including at least 5 cited
sources.

20 April 2022 – paper is due at the beginning of class.

Note—these are suggested dates to keep you on task. I will provide feedback on anything
you turn in through 5:00 p.m. on 8 April 2022. You are graded only on the final paper
that you turn in on 20 April.