Environmental Assessment
ES/RP 544
The intention of the assignment is to dig deeper and explore one area of environmental policy outside of the course and gain practice writing about science and policy. Any topic that connects broadly or narrowly with environmental policy is appropriate, but it should be focused on protecting the environment and have some relationship to NEPA or the goals of NEPA.
(1) Policy Brief
The policy brief outlines the rationale for choosing a particular policy alternative or course of action in a current policy debate. It is commonly produced in response to a request directly from a decision-maker or within an organization that intends to advocate for a policy position. The brief may only provide a targeted discussion of the current alternatives without arguing for a particular one (i.e. those who adopt the role of ‘objective’ researcher). On the other end of the scale, i.e. advocates, the brief may focus directly on providing an argument for the adoption of a particular alternative. The brief should be 6-8 pages in length, should focus on a single policy issue and/or alternative, and be directed at a specific audience, which you should specify on the cover. Please include a bibliography of the references you use in the paper.
The brief should target a specific individual within a specific organization and I would like you to send this to them with a cover letter explaining your goals with the brief. Later in the course, we will examine responses received from these briefs. We will examine examples in class shortly.
If you unsure of a topic I would be glad to make suggestions or review ideas you might have. For more information about writing a policy brief read the following guidelines.
Examples: Policy Brief 1.PDF Policy Brief 2.PDF
*** The paper is due on or before March 11 ***