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Blue skies, green politics: The Clean Air Act of 1990
285
Reviews
In certain ways, the title of this work is misleading, since it is more than just a directory. By assessing each deputy’s political views and voting patterns, McCauley has sketched a political structure that is less monolithic than that instituted by the Communist Party. Reading the political platforms of the MPs, one senses a wide range of concerns and interests. In fact, McCauley notes that “it is significant that voting in the Russian parliament does not necessarily follow group or faction affiliation, revealing that political parties in the Western sense are still in embryo.” (p. xxiv). The participation of these politicians, as in Western democracies, varies as well. The following description of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kuznetsov may sound familiar--“he seldom attended sessions of the Congress and did not vote on any key issues” (p. 152). It appears that this work is one of the most complete directories of deputies currently available. Other directories, especially those written in Russian, are much more brief and are less focused. Although much of the vocabulary is well within the range of a college-educated reader, this work is suitable for the reader whose background and interst in developments in the parliament is advanced. The British word usage is rarely intrusive. For all of its merits in innovatively providing new biographical details, this work does have one major flaw. In short, sources of information are not documented. The back cover of the hardbound volume indicates that a “team of Russian academics, journalists and political commentators has carried out extensive research and interviewing-unlocking unique and invaluable data never before published or accessible.” In no other way is the process of data collection revealed, except in the acknowledgment of three assistants. Indeed, an indication of the methods and sources used to uncover and verify this “unique and invaluable data” contributes to the reader’s ability to trust or to confirm the content of the biographies. This oversight is inexcusable for a scholar of McCauley’s caliber. From his position at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London, McCauley has written extensively on the Soviet Union, including one title from the Longman History of Russia series, The Soviet Union Sirrce 1917. This brief documentation is also odd, since the strength of this work resides within the analysis of the individual participants in the Parliament, not the listing of telephone numbers and addresses. The reason behind this lack of bibliographic citations is unclear. Secondarily, the dense text of the introduction is poorly organized on the page, thereby making reading more difficult than necessary. Greater effort should have been made to summarize the data in a coherent set of charts and graphs. Taken as a whole, however, neither of these limitations diminishes the fundamental significance of this work. In 1968, Alexander Dubcek announced the beginning of an era of political reform in Czechoslovakia that came to be known as the Prague Spring. Dubcek called his program of democratization of political institutions “socialism with a human face.” Three decades later, a series of experiments in reshaping the Soviet political system and economic structure has led to the creation of new institutions, including the Russian Parliament. As with the Prague Spring, it is uncertain if the Parliament represents the thaw of spring or merely a brief respite from a long winter. Regardless of the degree to which democratization advances, Martin McCauley and his assistants have succeeded in putting a “human face” on the post-communist state. JEFFREY A. BECK Eastern Washington University The Libraries, Mail Stop 84 Cheney. WA 99004-2495 USA
Blue Skies, Green Politics: The Clean Air Act of 1990. By Gary C. Bryner.
Washington,
DC: CQ
Press, 1993. 203~. ISBN O-87187-668-X. $18.95. The Clean Air Act of 1990, along with its antecedent the Clean Air Act of 1970, represents the most ambitious legislation aimed at pollution control in United States history. In Blrre Skies, Gwen Politics , Gary Bryner chronicles the entire course of this legislative process-from philosophical goals to actual law. Bryner, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University, outlines three broad objectives in writing this book. The first is to decipher the complicated process of public policy formation. Specific to the Clean Air Act of 1990, this includes how clean air became part of the “national policy agenda” (p. xi), as well as the interactions between the executive and legislative
286
Reviews
branches ofgovernment. Such interactions lead to the resultant “political conflicts, policy disputes. and institutional limitations” (p. xi) endemic to this process. Bryner’s second stated objective is to investigate the actual outcome of the directives of such policy formulation. That is, what did Congress and the White House set out specifically to achieve with this legislation, and was the necessary framework, in fact, provided so that it could be achieved‘? Bryner also wishes to comment on whether or not these goals were feasible. and so examines the entire scope of the problem: what is the nature and extent of air pollution in the United States‘! Is the political, social. and economic will in place to address this problem realistically via the legislative process‘? The third objective of R/M’ Skits. Gwcr~ Politics is to examine what actual steps were taken to implement the details of clean air legislation in the United States, including the genesis of the Clean Air Act of 1970 and its subsequent amendments in 1977. The author also focuses on the philosophical shift beginning in the early 1980s with the election of Ronald Reagan. whose administration took a decidedly different approach to clean air laws than did his predecessors. While stating his support for continued air pollution control, Reagan was, in fact, according to Bryner, “firmly opposed to anything more than continued research” (p. 91) in this area. This created a virtual stalemate between the White House and Congress until 1989 and the new administration of George Bush. Soon after his election, the path was cleared for the eventual 1990 legislation. Bryner now takes a close look back at the issues, both political and practical, that contributed to the creation of the original Act of 1970 and the laws that followed it. The author summarizes the 1990 legislation title by title and links these provisions with the actual regulatory process designed to put the laws into practice. The book concludes with Bryner’s personal assessment of the Clean Air Act-how it came to evolve over time and what key factors will be crucial in making sure that its goals are realized. These include how broadly (or narrowly) the White House will interpret specific provisions. thus influencing the nature and extent of regulatory processes. as well as industry compliance. Unraveling the tangled itinerary that leads to the passage of a major piece of legislation is not an enviable task for any writer. To his credit. Gary Bryner has not only done so. but has managed to make the result of his efforts downright readable. Public policy formulation does not strike this reader as the stuff of good fiction, but Bryner has managed to bring this material to life. Blue .S/\ies, Grw17 Politic,.s succeeds because it is able to render a potentially difficult topic accessible on two fronts. First it clearly and factually spells out the specifics of the issues at hand and does 40 without digressing into minute detail. The author states the problem. provides ample statistical support, and largely lets the reader draw his or her own conclusions. On the other hand, few book-length discussions on this topic could stand on their own with just a straight presentation of facts and statistics. The heart of this book, and what make\ it, in the end, a good read, i\ the look at the proceedings in flesh-and-blood terms. The author traces the ever-present free-flow of PAC money ($612.000 and I54 PACs were lined up here) (p. 93), and how a single senator (in this case Robert Byrd), playing on home-state sympathies, nearly managed to derail the entire legislation. Granted. much of the chapter that chronicles these events is culled from the pages of the C‘o71~/.c\.vior7rr/ Q~rt~r!\ Wwl;!\ Report. Bryner tie\ together the various loose ends as well. One also hopes for a mention of the crucial roles played by citizens and environmental groups in the pa\\age of clean air laws. Other than a few nods to the Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club. this is largely unexplored. A few minor flaws in an otherwise commendable publication. B/UC Sl\icJ.s. G1.w17 Politic,.\ provides a concise yet careful study of the making of environmental legislation. More broadly. however. it outlines the bigger picture of public policy formulation and implementation. It is well written and well documented. It includes a useful glossary of “key term\ used in discussions of air pollution” (p. 187). As for the Clean Air Act of 1990, Bryner is hopeful, and not just because this law may actually achieve what it is designed to achieve. He is hopeful also that the process itself, despite the everpresent host of potential pitfalls, might actually succeed in solving major societal problems. That hope is what this book is about.
Central
RICHARD CHURCHILL Connecticut State University New Britain, CT 06050 USA
Reviews
In certain ways, the title of this work is misleading, since it is more than just a directory. By assessing each deputy’s political views and voting patterns, McCauley has sketched a political structure that is less monolithic than that instituted by the Communist Party. Reading the political platforms of the MPs, one senses a wide range of concerns and interests. In fact, McCauley notes that “it is significant that voting in the Russian parliament does not necessarily follow group or faction affiliation, revealing that political parties in the Western sense are still in embryo.” (p. xxiv). The participation of these politicians, as in Western democracies, varies as well. The following description of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kuznetsov may sound familiar--“he seldom attended sessions of the Congress and did not vote on any key issues” (p. 152). It appears that this work is one of the most complete directories of deputies currently available. Other directories, especially those written in Russian, are much more brief and are less focused. Although much of the vocabulary is well within the range of a college-educated reader, this work is suitable for the reader whose background and interst in developments in the parliament is advanced. The British word usage is rarely intrusive. For all of its merits in innovatively providing new biographical details, this work does have one major flaw. In short, sources of information are not documented. The back cover of the hardbound volume indicates that a “team of Russian academics, journalists and political commentators has carried out extensive research and interviewing-unlocking unique and invaluable data never before published or accessible.” In no other way is the process of data collection revealed, except in the acknowledgment of three assistants. Indeed, an indication of the methods and sources used to uncover and verify this “unique and invaluable data” contributes to the reader’s ability to trust or to confirm the content of the biographies. This oversight is inexcusable for a scholar of McCauley’s caliber. From his position at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London, McCauley has written extensively on the Soviet Union, including one title from the Longman History of Russia series, The Soviet Union Sirrce 1917. This brief documentation is also odd, since the strength of this work resides within the analysis of the individual participants in the Parliament, not the listing of telephone numbers and addresses. The reason behind this lack of bibliographic citations is unclear. Secondarily, the dense text of the introduction is poorly organized on the page, thereby making reading more difficult than necessary. Greater effort should have been made to summarize the data in a coherent set of charts and graphs. Taken as a whole, however, neither of these limitations diminishes the fundamental significance of this work. In 1968, Alexander Dubcek announced the beginning of an era of political reform in Czechoslovakia that came to be known as the Prague Spring. Dubcek called his program of democratization of political institutions “socialism with a human face.” Three decades later, a series of experiments in reshaping the Soviet political system and economic structure has led to the creation of new institutions, including the Russian Parliament. As with the Prague Spring, it is uncertain if the Parliament represents the thaw of spring or merely a brief respite from a long winter. Regardless of the degree to which democratization advances, Martin McCauley and his assistants have succeeded in putting a “human face” on the post-communist state. JEFFREY A. BECK Eastern Washington University The Libraries, Mail Stop 84 Cheney. WA 99004-2495 USA
Blue Skies, Green Politics: The Clean Air Act of 1990. By Gary C. Bryner.
Washington,
DC: CQ
Press, 1993. 203~. ISBN O-87187-668-X. $18.95. The Clean Air Act of 1990, along with its antecedent the Clean Air Act of 1970, represents the most ambitious legislation aimed at pollution control in United States history. In Blrre Skies, Gwen Politics , Gary Bryner chronicles the entire course of this legislative process-from philosophical goals to actual law. Bryner, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University, outlines three broad objectives in writing this book. The first is to decipher the complicated process of public policy formation. Specific to the Clean Air Act of 1990, this includes how clean air became part of the “national policy agenda” (p. xi), as well as the interactions between the executive and legislative
286
Reviews
branches ofgovernment. Such interactions lead to the resultant “political conflicts, policy disputes. and institutional limitations” (p. xi) endemic to this process. Bryner’s second stated objective is to investigate the actual outcome of the directives of such policy formulation. That is, what did Congress and the White House set out specifically to achieve with this legislation, and was the necessary framework, in fact, provided so that it could be achieved‘? Bryner also wishes to comment on whether or not these goals were feasible. and so examines the entire scope of the problem: what is the nature and extent of air pollution in the United States‘! Is the political, social. and economic will in place to address this problem realistically via the legislative process‘? The third objective of R/M’ Skits. Gwcr~ Politics is to examine what actual steps were taken to implement the details of clean air legislation in the United States, including the genesis of the Clean Air Act of 1970 and its subsequent amendments in 1977. The author also focuses on the philosophical shift beginning in the early 1980s with the election of Ronald Reagan. whose administration took a decidedly different approach to clean air laws than did his predecessors. While stating his support for continued air pollution control, Reagan was, in fact, according to Bryner, “firmly opposed to anything more than continued research” (p. 91) in this area. This created a virtual stalemate between the White House and Congress until 1989 and the new administration of George Bush. Soon after his election, the path was cleared for the eventual 1990 legislation. Bryner now takes a close look back at the issues, both political and practical, that contributed to the creation of the original Act of 1970 and the laws that followed it. The author summarizes the 1990 legislation title by title and links these provisions with the actual regulatory process designed to put the laws into practice. The book concludes with Bryner’s personal assessment of the Clean Air Act-how it came to evolve over time and what key factors will be crucial in making sure that its goals are realized. These include how broadly (or narrowly) the White House will interpret specific provisions. thus influencing the nature and extent of regulatory processes. as well as industry compliance. Unraveling the tangled itinerary that leads to the passage of a major piece of legislation is not an enviable task for any writer. To his credit. Gary Bryner has not only done so. but has managed to make the result of his efforts downright readable. Public policy formulation does not strike this reader as the stuff of good fiction, but Bryner has managed to bring this material to life. Blue .S/\ies, Grw17 Politic,.s succeeds because it is able to render a potentially difficult topic accessible on two fronts. First it clearly and factually spells out the specifics of the issues at hand and does 40 without digressing into minute detail. The author states the problem. provides ample statistical support, and largely lets the reader draw his or her own conclusions. On the other hand, few book-length discussions on this topic could stand on their own with just a straight presentation of facts and statistics. The heart of this book, and what make\ it, in the end, a good read, i\ the look at the proceedings in flesh-and-blood terms. The author traces the ever-present free-flow of PAC money ($612.000 and I54 PACs were lined up here) (p. 93), and how a single senator (in this case Robert Byrd), playing on home-state sympathies, nearly managed to derail the entire legislation. Granted. much of the chapter that chronicles these events is culled from the pages of the C‘o71~/.c\.vior7rr/ Q~rt~r!\ Wwl;!\ Report. Bryner tie\ together the various loose ends as well. One also hopes for a mention of the crucial roles played by citizens and environmental groups in the pa\\age of clean air laws. Other than a few nods to the Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club. this is largely unexplored. A few minor flaws in an otherwise commendable publication. B/UC Sl\icJ.s. G1.w17 Politic,.\ provides a concise yet careful study of the making of environmental legislation. More broadly. however. it outlines the bigger picture of public policy formulation and implementation. It is well written and well documented. It includes a useful glossary of “key term\ used in discussions of air pollution” (p. 187). As for the Clean Air Act of 1990, Bryner is hopeful, and not just because this law may actually achieve what it is designed to achieve. He is hopeful also that the process itself, despite the everpresent host of potential pitfalls, might actually succeed in solving major societal problems. That hope is what this book is about.
Central
RICHARD CHURCHILL Connecticut State University New Britain, CT 06050 USA