Climate of Capitulation: An Insider’s Account of State Power in a Coal Nation
Vivian Thomson will offer an insider’s account of how power is wielded in environmental policy making at the state level. Drawing on her experience as a former member of Virginia’s State Air Pollution Control Board, she narrates cases in Alexandria, Wise, and Roda that involved coal and air pollution. She identifies a “climate of capitulation” —a deeply rooted favoritism toward coal and electric utilities in state air pollution policies. Thomson links Virginia’s climate of capitulation with campaign finance patterns, a state legislature that depends on outsiders for information and bill drafting, and a political culture that tends toward inertia. She extends her analysis to fifteen other coal states and recommends reforms aimed at mitigating ingrained biases toward coal and electric utility interests.
This event takes place in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Betty Ford Classroom (1110)735 S. State Street, Ann Arbor 48109-3091 on November 1st at 10:30am-12:00pm.
For more information please visit www.closup.umich.edu or call 734-647-4091. Follow on Twitter @closup.