This project addresses a number of questions pertaining to state environmental policy activity. Do states pursue a variety of environmental problems in tandem? Are climate change policies merely an extension of environmental policy activity more generally? What factors explain shifts in environmental policy activity within and across the American states? In order to answer these questions I begin by constructing a scale of environmental policy activity. This scale is made up of environmental program enactments over time and includes policies pertaining to hazardous waste, sustainable development, climate change and energy. The resulting additive scale is converted to a change variable (or first difference) that is utilized as a dependent variable in a time-series, cross-sectional analysis (TSCS). Findings indicate that a variety of environmental programs can be combined into a reliable additive scale and that climate change is an extension of environmental policy more generally. In addition, I find that the ideal conditions for environmental action include a liberal citizenry, Democratic control of the state legislature, a strong environmental interest group population and a wealthy state that has the capacity and resources to act.
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