Environmental Decision-Making in Context : A Toolbox

There is a constant drive for greater specialization when it comes to environmental problems. This book provides stakeholders from various backgrounds with the ability to place environmental problems and solutions within a common framework from which decisions can be made. It focuses on considerations from three primary areas of influence on environmental decision making: science, economics, and values. It presents the questions, issues, and problems that need to be addressed by today''s environmental specialists. The text also includes case studies to illustrate the analytical reasoning required to employ contextually sound environmental decision-making.

Because of the complexity involved in understanding the environment, the choices made about environmental issues are often incomplete. In a perfect world, those who make environmental decisions would be armed with a foundation about the broad range of issues at stake when making such decisions. Offering a simple but comprehensive understanding of the critical roles science, economics, and values play in making informed environmental decisions, Environmental Decision-Making in Context: A Toolbox provides that foundation.

The author highlights a primary set of intellectual tools from different disciplines and places them into an environmental context through the use of case study examples. The case studies are designed to stimulate the analytical reasoning required to employ environmental decision-making and ultimately, help in establishing a framework for pursuing and solving environmental questions, issues, and problems. They create a framework individuals from various backgrounds can use to both identify and analyze environmental issues in the context of everyday environmental problems.

The book strikes a balance between being a tightly bound academic text and a loosely defined set of principles. It takes you beyond the traditional pillars of academic discipline to supply an understanding of the fundamental aspects of what is actually involved in making environmental decisions and building a set of skills for making those decisions.