Judith Layzer

Judy Layzer is a political scientist whose research and teaching focus on the roles of science, values, and storytelling in environmental politics, as well as on the effectiveness of different approaches to environmental planning and management. A current research project investigates how conservative activists have developed a coherent storyline aimed at undermining environmentalism and how conservative ideas have influenced U.S. environmental politics. A second project examines the nature and results of urban sustainability planning and asks: do urban sustainability initiatives significantly reduce cities’ ecological footprint? Which aspects of “green cities” are most effective at reducing cities’ environmental impacts? Now in its second edition, Professor Layzer’s book, The Environmental Case: Translating Values Into Policy (CQ Press, 2006) describes 16 prominent cases of environmental policymaking, ranging from local disputes over hazardous waste to national controversies