A fascinating look at how conservatives and conservation came to be at odds. Given the mounting toll from global warming, and Washington's inaction, it couldn't be more timely.
Bill McKibben, author Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
For several decades, U.S. environmental issues have primarily been fought out in administrative agencies, courts of law, and state legislatures. Each decision seems small and not very dramatic, but they add up. Judith Layzer's brilliant book tells us how they add up. It brings the long-term big picture into sharp view, showing how conservative and business interests have not only blocked major new legislative breakthroughs to address climate change, but have also chipped away at existing regulations and enforcement.
Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Harvard University
Judith Layzer's study of the conservative opposition to modern environmental policy is thoroughly researched, well written and well documented, and helps to begin to fill a particularly important gap in the history of modern environmental policy. It is a highly valuable contribution to the environmental policy literature, and I look forward to using it in my own teaching and research as well as recommending it to others.
Richard N. L. Andrews, Professor of Environmental Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Open for Business is a clear-headed and carefully researched book explaining the successes of and limits on the conservative campaign to reframe U.S. environmental policy. Judith Layzer gives us a compelling and theoretically rich insight into the parry and thrust of contemporary politics and policymaking. Open for Business is destined to be a worthy addition to the core literature on political power, and should be read by students of democratic theory and public policy formation as well as anyone interested in environmental politics.
Christopher Bosso, Professor, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University
Open for Business offers a crucial supplement to the existing scholarly literature on the evolution of the environmental movement, the influence of conservative ideology on environmental policymaking, the deployment of low-profile strategies for regulatory reform, and the rhetorical shifts of conservatives and progressives alike.
Human Ecology
Winner, 2013 Lynton Keith Caldwell Prize given by the Science, Technology & Environmental Politics section of the American Political Science Association.
