Environmental and Energy Policy
History: 1960s and 1970s – 1 st wave “Conservation” Rachel Carson’s “The Silent Spring” (1962): DDT pesticides Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) creation (1970) National Environmental Policy Act (1970) Clean Air Act (1970) Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards (1975) Superfund Act (1980) “Environmentalism” and “Feminism”: similar developments since 1970s
Conflict w/Energy Policy: 2 nd wave “Regulation” 1973 and 1979: oil crises, OPEC-induced (OPEC founded in 1960 with Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, along with Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela) U.S. price controls & the law of unintended consequences Along with stagflation and Iranian hostage crisis, 1979 oil crisis destroyed Carter presidency Reagan elected president (1980) Reagan’s 1984 election theme: “It’s Morning Again in America” 1980s & Japanese imports (Honda/Toyota) and German imports (VW) Detroit’s strategic response in late 1980s: SUVs exempt from CAFÉ requirements for cars 1994: Republicans win control of Congress
World Nominal Oil Price Chronology:
Next Big Challenge: Global Warming