As the issues of climate change, increased exposure to new toxins, and the realization of the inequitable distribution of environmental risk to disenfranchised populations continues to grow, the field of environmental management requires increased and high-level application. The processes and practices that enable organizations to reduce environmental impacts with better management will require a strong understanding of the modern concepts and skills to ethically solve environmental problems while implementing successful environmental programs.
Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills, a new book from Marc Lame, a clinical associate professor emeritus at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Richard “Drew” Marcantonio of the University of Notre Dame, aims to serve as a textbook and manual for aspiring or new environmental managers. Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills is based on the foundational work of former O’Neill School Professor Rosemary O’Leary’s award-winning “Managing for the Environment,” which was published in 1999.
“I taught environmental management at the O’Neill School at the undergrad and graduate level for about 20 years,” Lame said. “I always used Rosemary’s book, but after 15 or 20 years, students and other people expect a newer version. Nothing was forthcoming, so I reached out to her and asked if I could use her book as a foundation and update it. When COVID hit, it was a perfect time to take on the project, and I contacted Drew, who is an O’Neill alum, and he was happy to help.”
The book connects theory and practice through real-world examples, authors’ notes, and interviews from the field, providing insight into the actual work of an environmental manager at the intersection the public, private, and social arenas. It also uses a skills-based approach to demonstrate the role and responsibilities of an environmental manager, allowing students to develop a scaffold for their own professional development and training.
Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills also includes questions in each chapter to give students opportunities to practice and repeat the skills necessary to analyze and solve environmental problems. The book employs a conversational tone using humor and accessible language to appeal to students, while still providing thorough and clear explanations of all concepts.
“Managing for human health and the environment is more complex than ever before in human history, but also never more important than it is today given the broad range of environmental risks we face,” Marcantonio said. “We focus on practical skills and the co-production of solutions between sectors and that go hand-in-hand with communities because that is how environmental management is done best—and we really need the best right now to face down the challenges ahead of us.”
The digital version of the book is currently available via Cambridge University Press. Hardcover and paperback versions are available for preorders, with a scheduled publication of December.
The O’Neill School is the top-ranked public affairs school in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 ranking of “Best Graduate Schools.” O’Neill’s Environmental Policy and Management specialty is also ranked No. 1 in the country, and the O’Neill School is the largest school of public administration and public policy in the United States.
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