Chapter 3

Manifest Destiny

Some conservationists were influential in raising environmental concerns later in this period. John James Audubon Henry David Thoreau George Perkins Marsh

Several presidents, particularly Theodore Roosevelt, used this Act to establish 43 million acres of forest reserves. General Revision Act 1 st National Park: Yellowstone Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks

Different worldviews Theodore Roosevelt – Utilitarian/ Conservationsist John Muir – Preservationist/ Pristine 1916 – national Park Service Created 1906 – Antiquities Act – set aside national monument sites

Franklin Roosevelt establishes CCC and SCS-Job creator during Great Depression Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac published posthumously

Rachel Carson published Silent Spring

Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb Wilderness Act of 1964, spurred on by Wallace Stegner First Earth Day

National Environmental Policy Act –dictates ALL federally proposed actions draft an environmental impact statement.

Addressing New Environmental Problems with Government Policies Problem identified Regulations implemented / enforced by states (usually) US congressperson drafts legislation Legislation passed, signed by president Full-cost accounting evaluation EPA develops regulations Public comments OMB reviews / approves funding

What has been their effect since 1970? 8 National Parks, National Wilderness Preservation System Substantial soil erosion reduction Many endangered species fairing better Emissions of many pollutants reduced

Source Raw Materials Economy ProductionConsumption Products Money Sinks Waste

Economics – the study of how people use their limited resources to try to satisfy their unlimited wants - SUPPLY and DEMAND - A source is that part of the natural environment from which materials or made from (wood, oil, etc.) and a sink is a part of the environment that receives an input of materials (pollution) - Resource degradation is the overuse of sources, and pollution is the overuse of sinks

External Cost or Negative Externality – when consumption or production of a product has a harmful side effect for people not involved in the market exchange of the product. Most of the time the cost of the product does not include pollution costs. Failure to add the price of environmental damage to the cost of products generates a market force that increases pollution

Marginal cost of pollution

Marginal cost of pollution abatement

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Optimum amount of Pollution – the amount of pollution that is economically most desirable 2 Major Flaws in this concept – 1. It is difficult to determine the true cost of environmental damage by pollution. Natural Beauty, health costs, etc. 2. The risks of unanticipated environmental catastrophe are not taken into account. How many people or species are at risk?

On December 3, 1984, at least 27 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, immediately killing at least 3,800 people and causing significant morbidity and premature death for many thousands more.pesticide Union Carbide Corporation involved in what became the worst industrial accident in history immediately tried to dissociate itself from legal responsibility. Eventually it reached a settlement with the Indian Government through mediation of that country's Supreme Court and accepted moral responsibility. It paid $470 million in compensation,

Command and control regulations – pollution control laws that work by setting limits on levels of pollution Emission Charge ( a tax on pollution) Incentive Based Regulation – pollution control laws that work by establishing emission targets and providing industries with incentives to reduce emissions Marketable waste-discharge permits ( Emission Reduction Credits –ERC)

Case-in-Point: Forest in the Pacific Northwest Northwest Forest Plan-balance between environmental and timber interests.

Consists of bordering regions of former East Germany, Czech Republic and Poland Water was so poisoned by raw sewage and chemicals that it could not be used for industrial purposes, let alone for drinking Dumpsites leaked unidentified chemicals, poisoning fruits and vegetables Power plants emitted soot and sulfur dioxide The average Eastern European lived 11 years less than the average western European The environment is slowly improving by moving toward a market economy and away from a communist economy