Public policy decision making refers to actions taken within governmental settings to formulate, adopt, implement, evaluate, or change environmental policies. These decisions may occur at any level of government.

The Scope of Environmental Policy

At the most general level, environmental policies reflect society's collective decision to pursue certain environmental goals and objectives and to use particular means to achieve them. Public sector decision making incorporates a diversity of perspectives on environmental problems, from those of industry to the views of activist environmental organizations. Ultimately, policies reflect the inevitable compromises over which environmental goals to pursue and how best to achieve them.

Private decision making by corporations and individuals also affects society's ability to respond to environmental challenges. Indeed, critics of governmental performance look to the private sector for initiatives. Yet, as a nation, the United States relies heavily on public decision making...