Environmental Policy and Politics Review

A comprehensive vocabulary review of Earth's systems, collective action concepts, demographic transition models, climate technologies, international treaties, the policy process, and institutional dynamics in environmental governance.

Atmosphere

The layer of gases surrounding Earth that contains greenhouse gases which influence global temperatures and climate.

Biosphere

All living organisms and the ecosystems in which they exist; threatened by pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change.

Hydrosphere

All of Earth's water, including oceans, rivers, lakes, groundwater, and ice.

Pedosphere

The soil layer where mineral material, organic matter, water, air, and living organisms interact, and where degradation reduces agricultural productivity.

Lithosphere

Earth's rigid outer layer, including the crust and uppermost mantle, which provides land and contains minerals and fossil-fuel deposits.

Collective action

Coordinated action by multiple people to achieve a shared goal, often required for environmental protection because no single country can independently solve global climate change.

Collective goods

Benefits produced through group action that members of a group share, such as a stable climate extending across national borders.

Common-pool resources

Resources that are difficult to exclude people from using but where one person's consumption reduces what remains for others, such as fisheries, groundwater, and forests.

Equilibrium

A condition in which opposing forces balance and a system has no tendency to change without an external influence, such as the balance of supply and demand in environmental economics.

Privatization

Transferring ownership or management from the public sector to private individuals or businesses to potentially encourage resource conservation.

Privileged groups

Groups in which at least some members have enough incentive or resources to provide a collective good even without participation from everyone else.

Selective incentives

Rewards or penalties available specifically to people who participate in collective action, such as membership benefits, recognition, or access to exclusive services.

Solidarity

A sense of shared identity, belonging, or obligation that motivates people to participate in collective action.

Sustainability

Meeting present needs without undermining the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by balancing environmental protection, economic well-being, and social needs.

Free riding

The act of attempting to benefit from collective goods or other countries' costly actions, such as greenhouse gas emissions reductions, without paying the cost oneself.

Demographic transition theory

A theory describing how birth rates and death rates tend to change as societies industrialize and develop economically.

Early stage (Demographic transition)

The demographic phase characterized by high birth rates, high death rates, and relatively slow population growth.

Early transition (Demographic transition)

The demographic phase where death rates fall while birth rates remain high, resulting in rapid population growth.

Late transition (Demographic transition)

The demographic phase where birth rates decline, leading to slowing population growth.

Post-transition (Demographic transition)

The demographic phase characterized by low birth and death rates, where population growth is low or may become negative.

Green Revolution

The introduction of high-yield crop varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, and improved agricultural methods that substantially increased food production during the mid-to-late twentieth century.

Intensive growth

Increasing agricultural or economic output from a given amount of land or other resources, such as by improving crop yields per acre.

Extensive growth

Increasing total output by using more inputs, such as expanding farmland or increasing the amount of cultivated land.

Neo-Malthusians

Thinkers who warn that population growth and resource consumption can exceed the capacity of natural resources and ecosystems.

Cornucopians

Thinkers who emphasize human ingenuity, technological advances, markets, and innovation as ways to overcome resource scarcity.

Cap and trade

A regulatory system where the government sets an emissions limit and sells or distributes allowances, allowing companies to trade them to create a financial incentive to reduce emissions.

Carbon tax

A tax levied on carbon emissions or the carbon content of fuels, making pollution more expensive.

Geoengineering

Deliberate large-scale intervention in Earth's climate system, such as proposed solar-radiation modification or carbon dioxide removal.

Geothermal energy

Energy derived from heat within Earth, utilized for electricity generation or heating.

Sequestration

The process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide to prevent atmospheric release or remove it from the air, including geological storage and natural storage in soils and forests.

UNFCCC (1992)

The 1992 international agreement that established the framework for international climate cooperation.

Kyoto Protocol (1997)

A 1997 climate agreement that set binding emissions targets for participating developed countries.

Copenhagen Accord (2009)

A 2009 agreement that recognized the $2^{\circ}\text{C}$ global warming goal but did not establish a comprehensive binding treaty.

Paris Agreement (2015)

A 2015 international treaty that established nationally determined contributions and a common framework for increasing ambition.

Glasgow Climate Pact (2021)

A 2021 agreement that advanced Paris Agreement implementation and strengthened language on coal and fossil-fuel subsidies.

COP28 UAE Consensus (2023)

A 2023 international consensus calling for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems.

Agenda-setting

The initial stage of the policy process where an issue gains attention from the public and policymakers.

Policy formulation

The stage of the policy process where officials, legislators, agencies, and stakeholders develop possible solutions, such as emissions limits or pollution taxes.

Policy legitimation

The policy stage where a proposal receives formal authorization, such as passage by Congress and presidential signature.

Policy implementation

The stage of the policy process where government agencies put policy into effect by writing rules, issuing permits, and enforcing requirements.

Policy impact and reformulation

The policy stage where effects are assessed, leading potentially to amendments or strengthening of the policy.

Policy termination

The stage of the policy process where a policy or program is ended, repealed, or replaced.

Direction (policy)

The course along which a policy moves, such as shifting toward stricter pollution controls or toward looser regulations.

Intensity (policy)

How strong or far-reaching a policy is, distinguishing between minor adjustments and rapid, substantial changes.

Salience (policy)

How important or noticeable an issue is to the public and political leaders.

Incrementalism

The concept that policymaking typically proceeds through small changes to existing policies rather than comprehensive transformations.

Regulatory federalism

The dynamic interaction where the federal government sets national standards while states implement, administer, or exceed those standards.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

A mainstream conservation organization focused on wildlife, habitat protection, and environmental policy through advocacy, education, and political engagement.

Earth First!

A radical environmental movement associated with direct action and a strong focus on protecting wilderness and ecological systems.

Koch Industries

A large privately held industrial company involved in energy, chemicals, and manufacturing, noted in environmental politics for lobbying and opposing certain environmental regulations.

Chevron deference

A former judicial doctrine requiring federal courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes administered by the agency.

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024)

The 2024 Supreme Court decision that overruled Chevron deference, establishing that courts must exercise independent judgment when interpreting statutory ambiguity.

Congressional committees

Specialized groups of legislators that examine legislation, hold hearings, gather technical information, and oversee executive agencies.

Judicial review

The power of courts to determine whether laws or government actions comply with statutory authority and the Constitution.

Missions and survival goals

The dual pressures on bureaucratic agencies to achieve their formal policy objectives while also defending their budgets, staffing, and organizational influence.

Congressional oversight

The monitoring of executive agencies and policy implementation through hearings, investigations, appropriations controls, and statutory revisions.

Unilateral presidency

The president's ability to issue directives and executive orders without obtaining new legislation from Congress, operating within existing legal authority.

Unified government

A political arrangement where the same political party holds the presidency and majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Divided government

A political situation where control of the presidency and at least one chamber of Congress is split between different political parties.