Directions: Your essay should be no more than 1500 words in length
(approximately six typed pages). Use the APSA Style (which is modified
Chicago Style).
The Political Context for Resolving Environmental Issues
Based on any of the required readings in the course.
Responding to the Readings
The global context for resolving environmental problems is fraught with legacy
issues. The organization of land and oceans into sovereign territories jealously
guarded by nation-states, the young confederation of global political
institutions, and the difference between rich and poor countries are all part of
the context. Select an energy problem and location. After describing the
environmental controversy relating to this energy source, propose a long-term
political solution. Be sure to discuss the domestic and global aspects of
structural and ideological components in this solution.
Your response will be evaluated according to the parsimony of the solution you
develop, i.e. presenting a solution that is practical is more important than
developing a unique political situation. As in theater, relying on a deus ex
machina for the instantaneous resolution of your problem is the lazy way out of
the scene. Engage the messy human behaviors that emerge when resources
are in short supply, and access to formerly wide avenues for acquiring wealth is
blocked.
You should isolate your consideration to a single country, or at most a single
region. You should demonstrate mastery of the reading by including a
quotation from nearly all of the authors of the required texts (this involves a
sample of the chapter authors edited by Oates, not the majority).
