Drawing on the careers of senior executives of the US Environmental Protection Agency, True Green identifies the concrete actions that work in protecting our nation's environment. In doing so, the contributors also shed light on effective executive behavior in complex government organizations, especially at the federal level. By examining the exquisitely difficult tasks of executive leadership in the crucible of one of the most conflicted public issues of today: environmental protection, these scholars provide lessons of executive effectiveness in the principal government institution essential to national environmental progress. This is valuable for a number of reasons. First, EPA shoulders great expectations from the public and political leaders on fulfilling its statutorily assigned activities. Second, environmental protection is complex institutionally. As a result EPA must act in concert with state and local governments, nongovernment organizations and interest groups, as well as business and industry. For these other institutions to do their job well, EPA must do its job well. Third, the career Senior Executive Service is vital to EPA's success. These are the career civil servants who bridge across from the policymakers to the government bureaucrats who must make real the abstract policy choices of politicians. Lastly, by exploring the experiences of the individual authors, we deepen our understanding of the practices associated with effective executive behavior in government.

Gerald Andrews Emison is professor of political science and public administration at Mississippi State University. John Charles Morris is professor of public policy at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.