Assignment 6

1. Which components of your policy issue (for your final paper) are most relevant to Cohen’s “Values” Framework and why?
The issue does stem from behavior that is fundamental to our lifestyle, especially in the United States. The economic impact of regulating industry is a huge concern, especially during a recession. Also, the United States does not have public transportation systems that are as extensive or widely used as some European countries. Owning a car is a status symbol in the United States, it is also almost totally necessary if commuting from the suburbs to the city to work (as many Americans do). The problem and solution also raise issues of right and wrong, it is inherently wrong to pollute, but many also find that extensive government regulation on private businesses and lifestyles is also wrong. There is also a tradeoff between ecological well-being and human well-being in the short-term. Changing technology in cars and factories will be expensive in the short-term, but more cost-effective and safer in the long-term. The problem also has extensive conflicting values. Many in the United States believe that economic benefits outweigh the cost to the environment, while others believe the exact opposite. These two sides are divided basically by two types of thinking: short-term, and long-term.
2. Which components of your policy issue are most relevant to Cohen’s “Political” Framework and why?
This issue has been introduced and referred to committee, at this point. The federal government in the United States is the level that is considered primarily responsible for addressing this issue, as far as general reform and regulation goes. However, several state governments would like to set stricter policies for cleaner air. This issue clusters with other political issues in the United States, mainly with private business. Essentially, government regulation will be costly to private business, and the economics of this issue are certainly far-reaching to many sectors of private business. As far as political winners and losers go, de-regulation of private business to stimulate economic growth has been the main focus over the last three decades. President Clinton tried to enact some policies such as the Clean Air Act, but the Bush Jr. administration de-regulated quite a lot of the environmental policies in favor of business; as did Bush Sr. and Reagan. The potential winners in political competition, in the short term, will either be the environmentalists or the pro-business supporters. In the long term, though, everyone will win if this bill is passed. New regulation will help clean the air, and will create new technologies and jobs which will stimulate the economy in the long run.
3. Which components of your policy issue are most relevant for Cohen’s ‘Science and Technology’ framework?
There is not scientific certainty about the causes and effects of this problem. There are divided factions in the scientific community about global warming and the effects of greenhouse gasses. There are theories that support other likely causes of global warming as well, such as solar cycles. However, the political support behind global warming is massive, even with new science pointing towards other causes. Either way, though, the risk is simply too large to bet on other causes. Humans cannot control solar cycles, but they can control (or limit, or reduce) the amount of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere. The attempt needs to be made to control carbon emissions because the risk is simply too large to gamble on other theories, as it is a controllable factor that may be contributing to the rising temperatures. There are technologies available that can be utilized and produced on a large scale to help reduce carbon emissions as well. Solar energy, wind energy, electric or hybrid cars, hydrogen cars, and other technologies currently exist that either produce no carbon emissions or far fewer carbon emissions. These technologies need to become more mainstream, and therefore less expensive and a viable choice for consumers.
4. Which components of your policy issue are more relevant for Cohen’s “Policy Design” framework?
There are a lot of incentives and disincentives that can be used with this policy. Organizations can be given monetary benefits such as grants or tax breaks, or they can be given technological assistance. Obviously fines and other sanctions can be used as disincentives for companies who do not comply with regulations. The policy design does not really reflect any strategic thinking, it basically says that we need cleaner air and that carbon emissions are bad; it does not really provide a strategy of how to get cleaner air. There should be some progress made towards a solution with this policy, because it will allow for the government to begin specific programs that will target the reduction of carbon emissions. There are many ways that this goal can be achieved, but this general policy of cleaner air will lead to many specific, less generalized policies that will help contribute to cleaner air.
5. Which components of your policy issue are most relevant to Cohen’s “Management” framework?
The organizational capacity exists to directly utilize and encourage the use of technology and other strategic plan elements needed to reduce carbon emissions. The government can give grants or other types of support to companies that produce technology that reduce or eliminate carbon emissions, making the technology cheaper for individuals to utilize. These types of technologies simply need to be used more, while older technology that pollutes on a greater scale needs to be phased out as budgets permit. This procedure will lead to more sustainable environmental practices as well as reduce energy dependence on fossil fuels.