Climate Change Politics and Policies in America: Historical and Modern Documents in Context

Mast (political science, Carthage Coll., WI) compiles documents that form a chronological history of climate policy: presidential speeches, statements from Congress, administrative policies, and more. He begins in 1910 with Theodore Roosevelt and the early conservation movement. Although the concept of climate change did not exist then, the public was becoming more aware of the negative effects of unrestrained development of natural resources. The first chapter is dedicated to the government's attempts alternatively to reduce or increase the use of coal and oil, as well as to the first reports of global warming. The next three chapters look at debates on reducing dependence on fossil fuels in the 1980s and 1990s, the United States' failure to sign the Kyoto Protocols in 1997, and arguments denying climate change and humanity's role in causing it. The second volume covers 2008-17 and the differing approaches of the Obama and Trump administrations. As a whole, these materials help answer the questions: How did we get here? Were the warnings accurate? Are we doing enough to save the planet? Students will especially benefit from this well-curated collection.