Politics, Environment, and Sustainability 24 Politics, Environment, and Sustainability

Core Case Study: The Greening of American Campuses Environmental awareness movement on college campuses Provide students with a basic education in environmental sustainability What are some examples of campus greening?

Figure 24-1: The Environmental Living and Learning Center is an ecofriendly residence hall and meeting space at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. Northland students had a major role in the design of the building. Fig. 24-1, p. 658

24-1 How Can Government Help With The Transition To More Sustainable Societies? Through its policies, a government can help to: Protect environmental and public interests Encourage more environmentally sustainable economic development

Government Can Serve Environmental and Other Public Interests There needs to be a balance between government intervention and free enterprise Government is the best mechanism to deal with: Full-cost pricing Market failures The tragedy of the commons

Government Can Serve Environmental and Other Public Interests (cont’d Policies Set of laws and regulations Environmental policy Policy life cycle – four stages Recognition Formulation Implementation Control

Policy implementation Problem recognition Evaluation Research Policy adjustment Policy formulation Figure 24-2: The policy life cycle has been defined in several ways but generally includes these four phases (listed in the orange boxes). Monitoring Budgeting Policy implementation Fig. 24-2, p. 660

Democracy Does Not Always Allow for Quick Solutions United States is a constitutional democracy Three branches of government Legislative Executive Judicial

Democracy Does Not Always Allow for Quick Solutions (cont’d.) Special-interest groups pressure the government Profit-making organizations Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) Politicians focus on problems with short- term effects

Certain Principles Can Guide Us in Making Environmental Policy The humility principle How our actions affect nature The reversibility principle Avoid decisions that cannot be reversed The net energy principle Avoid low net energy yields The precautionary principle Take precautionary measures

Certain Principles Can Guide Us in Making Environmental Policy (cont’d The prevention principle Help prevent problems from occurring The polluter-pays principle Taxes, etc. The environmental justice principle No people should bear unfair burden

24-2 How Is Environmental Policy Made? Policy making involves enacting laws, funding programs, writing rules, and enforcing those rules with government oversight—a complex process that is affected at each stage by political processes Individuals can work together to become part of political processes that influence how environmental policies are made and whether or not they succeed

How Democratic Government Works: The U.S. Model Three branches Legislative branch Executive branch Judicial branch Develop and implement policy Laws, regulation, and funding Lobbying

Corporations and small businesses Environmental organizations Legislative branch Executive branch Laws Courts Lobbyists Lobbyists Regulators Public hearing Civil suits Figure 24-4: Greatly simplified overview of how individuals, corporations, and environmental organizations interact with each other and with the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. government. Corporations and small businesses Environmental organizations Membership support Individuals Patronize or boycott Fig. 24-4, p. 662

Developing Environmental Policy Is a Controversial Process Funding needed Regulations and rules needed to implement the law Environmental regulatory agencies play an important role Regulated businesses try to have their members appointed to regulatory agency

Individuals Can Influence Environmental Policy Individuals matter 2007 – Chinese citizens opposed construction of a chemical plant Mobile phone text messaging spread the word At a fundamental level, all politics is local

Figure 24-5: Individuals matter Figure 24-5: Individuals matter. Some ways in which you can influence environmental policy (Concept 24-2B). Questions: Which three of these actions do you think are the most important? Which ones, if any, do you take? Fig. 24-5, p. 663

Environmental Leaders Can Make a Big Difference Lead by example Work within existing economic and political systems Run for local office Propose and work for better solutions to environmental problems

24-3 How Can Environmental Law Help In Dealing with Environmental Problems? We can use environmental laws and regulations to: Help control pollution Set safety standards Encourage resource conservation Protect species and ecosystems

Environmental Law Forms the Basis for Environmental Policy Body of laws and treaties that broadly define what is acceptable environmental behavior Most environmental lawsuits are civil suits Injunction – court hearing Class action suit – civil suit filed by group Negligence – damage caused by deliberately acting unreasonably

Environmental Lawsuits Are Difficult to Win Legal standing Has the plaintiff suffered health or financial problems? Very expensive Public interest law firms Cannot recover attorney’s fees Plaintiffs must establish that harm has been done

Environmental Lawsuits Are Difficult to Win (cont’d.) Statutes of limitation Limit length of time a plaintiff can sue Appeals – years to settle Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) What are potential major reforms?

Case Study: U.S. Environmental Laws Types of legislation Set standards for pollution levels Screen new substances for safety Encourage resource conservation Protect spaces and ecosystems Require evaluation of activity proposed by federal agency Environmental impact statement

Figure 24-8: Some of the major environmental laws and their amended versions enacted in the United States since 1969. No major new environmental laws have been passed since the 1970s, although some existing laws have been amended. Fig. 24-8, p. 668

Case Study: U.S. Environmental Laws (cont’d.) Have been highly effective Especially in pollution control Since 1980, well-organized forces against existing environmental laws Environmentalists primarily bring bad news to the public

24-4 What Are the Major Roles of Environmental Groups? Grassroots groups are growing and combining their efforts with those of large environmental organizations in a global sustainability movement

Citizen Environmental Groups Play Important Roles Nonprofit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working at all levels International, national, state, and local Small grassroots groups to world-wide organizations Global public policy networks Focus on particular environmental problems Shifting resources to publicizing innovation

Case Study: The Natural Resources Defense Council NRDC Goes to court to stop environmentally harmful practices Informs and organizes millions of environmental activists to take actions to protect the environment Website, magazines, and newspapers

Case Study: The Natural Resources Defense Council (cont’d.) BioGems Network Informs subscribers of environmental threats 2005 – blocked the EPA from finalizing “blending” proposal for untreated sewage 2001 – protect vast area of Great Bear Rainforest from logging

Figure 24-10: The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has worked to protect the habitat of the rare spirit bear in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The bear’s coastal rain forest habitat is threatened by logging. This bear is waiting to catch a salmon. Fig. 24-10, p. 672

Grassroots Environmental Groups Bring about Change from the Bottom Up Global sustainability movement Citizen-based Conservation land trusts Property owners agree to protect land from development and harmful activities Nonviolent, nondestructive tactics

Case Study: The Environmental Transformation of Chattanooga, TN In the 1960s – one of the dirtiest cities in the U.S. 1984 – Vision 2000 process Build consensus of what the city should be The city: Encouraged zero-emission industries Renovated low-income housing Launched an innovative recycling program

Students and Educational Institutions Can Play Important Environmental Roles Student pressure on campuses to carry out environmental audits Gather data on practices that affect the environment Propose changes What are some examples of student groups and what they can accomplish?

24-5 How Can We Improve Global Environmental Security? Environmental security is necessary for economic security and is at least as important as national security

Why Is Global Environmental Security Important? Countries are legitimately concerned with national security and economic security All economies supported by natural capital Failing states – rooted in ecological crisis Darfur, Sudan, Africa

We Can Develop Stronger International Environmental Policies United Nations – most influential Family of global policy-making organizations Other influential groups The World Bank, etc. U.N. Conference of Environment and Development – Agenda 21 Rio+20 Earth Summit Conference in 2012

Trade-Offs Global Efforts to Solve Environmental Problems Successes Failures Over 500 international environmental treaties and agreements Most international environmental treaties lack criteria for evaluating their effectiveness 1992 Rio Earth Summit led to nonbinding agreements, inadequate funding, and limited improvements 1992 Copenhagen Ozone Protocol has helped reduce ozone-depleting chemicals 1992 Rio Earth Summit adopted principles for handling global environmental problems 2012 Rio+20 Earth Summit failed to deal with climate change, energy policy, and biodiversity loss Figure 24-15: There have been successes and failures in international efforts to deal with global environmental problems. Questions: In weighing these successes and failures, do you believe that international conferences are valuable and should be continued? If not, what are some alternatives? Climate change conferences have all failed to deal with projected climate change 2012 Rio+20 Earth Summit included small-scale policy improvements Fig. 24-15, p. 676

Corporations Can Play a Key Role in Environmental Sustainability Corporations have the profits to provide funding Eco-efficiency Finding ways to create economic value with less harmful impacts Nature Conservancy program Help companies include monetary value of natural capital in goals and strategies

24-6 How Can We Implement More Just Environmental Policies? Making the transition to more sustainable societies will require that nations and groups within nations cooperate and make the political commitment to achieve this transition

We Can Shift to More Environmentally Sustainable Societies Emphasize preventing or minimizing environmental problems Use market-place solutions Win-win solutions or trade-offs to environmental problems or injustices Be honest and objective Making this shift involves: Economic, political, and ethical decisions

Three Big Ideas An important outcome of the political process is environmental policy The body of laws, regulations, and programs that are designed, implemented, funded, and enforced by one or more government agencies All politics is local Individuals can work with each other to become part of political processes that influence environmental policies

Three Big Ideas (cont’d.) Environmental security is necessary for economic security and is at least as important as national security Making the transition to more environmentally sustainable societies will require that nations cooperate just as they do for national security purposes

Tying It All Together: Greening College Campuses and Sustainability It is possible to create sustainable environmental policies National and international policymakers should: Try for win-win solutions Make each decision with future generations in mind