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Soviet-American Dialogue in the Social Sciences Research Workshops on Interdependence Among Nations (1990) / Chapter Skim
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Environmental Mobilization in the United States (1989)
Pages 69-72

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From page 69...
... The organizational expression of environmentalism in the United States is the environmental- movement, which is comprised of citizens who are mobilized on behalf of environmentalist goals. Although the environmental movement itself is less than 25 years old, its precursors, the conservation and preservation movements in the United States, consist of many different organizations, some local, some regional, some national, which seek to influence environmental policy and behavior on issues ranging from wildlife protection and wilderness preservation to pollution control and an environmentally sound energy policy.
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From page 70...
... Such protection requires state intervention in the form of regulations designed to enhance environmental quality. A pluralistic model captures reasonably well the way political decisions are made in the United States.
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From page 71...
... Even under these circumstances the problems of free riding and inconsequentiality remain groups soliciting memberships for other causes, such as gun control, disarmament, civil liberties, and poverty issues, are far less successful than the environmental groups. The advantage environmental groups have over these other groups is the nature of environmental issues themselves.
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From page 72...
... A national telephone survey conducted by ABC lblevision News found that only 18 percent of a national sample interviewed in 1988 believed that the "quality of environment" would get better during this time period, while 46 percent felt it would get worse, a level of pessimism matched only by one of the seven other problems investigated, "personal safety from crime." At the time of that survey Americans were far more optimistic about progress on world peace and economic advancement than they were about the environment. REFERENCES Kahnemann, D,.
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Key Terms

  • pollution control
  • environmental quality
  • prospect theory
  • environmental lobbies
  • environmental mobilization

  • collective action
  • public choice
  • model captures
  • preservation movements
  • potentially catastrophic

  • sample interviewed
  • bade exclude
  • paper identifies
  • survey conducted
  • prospective donors

  • nonoverlapping membership
  • private market
  • key national
  • lobby government
  • doubt helped

  • market mechanisms
  • political decisions
  • apparent illogic
  • issues ranging
  • impending legislation

  • polluting industries
  • civil liberties
  • collective environmental
  • environmental action
  • cultural studies


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