Managing the Environment, Managing Ourselves: A History of American Environmental Policy

American environmental policy is not just a product of late twentieth-century concerns about the environment, says Richard Andrews in this important book. It is also rooted in America's nearly four-hundred-year history of government actions to promote or control human uses of nature. This book tells that rich history and shows how it affects environmental issues today and in the future.

Andrews traces the interplay between environmental policies and broader patterns of economic, social, and political history, and he shows not only what is unique about recent environmental policy but also how it emerged from earlier patterns and precedents. Andrews explores enduring questions about the nature and implications of American environmental governance, then sums up the legacy of American environmental policy and poses its central challenges.