Environmental Policy: Making Decision Solving Problems Chapter 7

Environmental Policy: An Overview Environmental Policy and Societal Context: Policy – a tool used to address problems and guide decision making Public policy – policy made by governments with the intent of advancing societal welfare Laws, regulations, incentives, and orders Environmental policy – policy that pertains to human interactions with the environment Environmental policy aims to protect environment, natural resources people use, and promote fairness in people’s use of resources

Mixed Market Economies: Governments intervene to: Provide social services (defense, medical care, education) Provide security for elderly and disabled, disaster victims, etc. Provide level playing field for buyers and sellers Manage publicly held resources Mitigate pollution and other threats to health and quality of life

Tragedy of the commons – a resource held in common becomes degraded when it’s unregulated and overused Individuals are motivated by self interest so resource is often degraded Free rider – an entity that does not participate in a voluntary effort to improve the environment Private efforts are less effective than mandated public policy

The goal of environmental policy is to promote fairness by dealing with external costs External costs – the impacts of transactions are endured by people not involved Polluter-pays principle – principle specifying that polluters pay to cover the costs of impacts

Vested Interest and Lobbying: Vested interest – special interest shown by people, organizations, or corporations that stand to benefit from a policy Interests often self serving, often has the most influence over policymakers Lobbying – spending one’s time or money to influence an elected official’s decision Revolving door – movement of people between the private sector and government

Science Informs Policy: Effective decisions are informed by scientific research Policymakers sometimes ignore science Personal ideology Science is censored, suppresses, or edited Public was misled with misrepresented information

US Environmental Law and Policy Legislation – created by the Senate and the House of Representatives Regulations – specific rules or requirements for intended to help achieve objectives of laws Executive orders – specific legal instruction for government agencies Executive branch – passes or vetoes legislation Judicial branch – interprets legislation Case law – decisions made by the courts Precedents – are previous rulings that become legal guides for later cases

Regulatory taking - occurs when the government denies a property owner some or all of the economic use of their property

State and Local Governments also Make Policy: State governments usually copy the federal government’s structure States, counties, and cities can generate environmental policies too State laws can’t violate the principles of U.S. Constitution If laws conflict, federal laws take precedence The federal government can influence state laws Rarely, states are forced to change due to federal laws Policymakers can give financial incentives to encourage change

“Cooperative federalism” – approach by which a federal agency works with the state to achieve national standards Federal control is vital Protects citizens National effort is more effective that 50 efforts Disputes over boundaries are minimized

Historical Context for Environmental Policy: 1780s to late 1800s western lands thought to be infinite and have inexhaustible resources, policies encouraged settlement and development General Land Ordinance of 1785 and 1787 gave federal government right to manage unsettled lands and ready them for private ownership Homestead Act (1862) – allowed for purchase or settle of 160 acres of public land General Mining Act (1878) – allowed mining on public land for $5/acre with no government oversight Timber Culture Act (1873) – gave 160 acres to anyone promising to plant trees on 25% of that land

After late 1800s public perception began to change as population rose and resources were exploited National parks, wildlife refuges, and national forests established Yellowstone National Park (1st ) established 1872 1964 Wilderness Act preserves pristine land Since WWII policies have in response to pollution Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring brought attention to pesticide use Ohio’s Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it caught fire multiple times in the 1950s and 1960s

The first Earth Day was in 1970 NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) was signed in 1970 which created the Council on Environmental Quality Requires environmental impact statements(EIS) for all federal activities that are carried out Uses a cost-benefit approach that does not halt projects but provides incentive to decrease damage

1970 President Richard Nixon issued an executive order creating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)