Many scholars have documented the important role of national environmental groups in affecting environmental policies in the United States. The role of local environmental groups, however, has not been thoroughly documented. Using data from a complete census of all environmental groups in two Vermont counties, we :(1) offer a set of conceptual categories for local environmental groups; (2) analyze how civic engagement in these groups is creating different forms of social capital through stewardship activities, education and communication, partnerships with other organizations, and alliances with public agencies; and (3) explore how these groups are affecting the policy process, illustrated with two case studies. We argue that the prevalence and contribution of local environmental groups, particularly local autonomous groups, has been underappreciated. We conclude that the greeining of social capital is significantly affecting environmental outcomes in the United States.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Find related papers by JEL classification: Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: