1. Ch 3 Environmental Policy: Decision Making and Problem Solving
Part 1: Foundations of Environmental Science
PowerPoint® Slides prepared by
Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

2. This lecture will help you understand:
Environmental policies
Major U.S. environmental laws
International environmental policy
The environmental policy process
Different approaches to environmental policy

3. San Diego and Tijuana
The Tijuana River empties into the Pacific Ocean, carrying millions of gallons of untreated wastewater
San Diego’s waters receive storm water runoff
Beaches are off-limits to swimming
Rains wash pollutants onto U.S. and Mexican beaches, but things are worse on the Mexican side

4. Environmental policy
Policy = a formal set of general plans and principles to address problems and guide decisions
Public Policy = policy made by governments that consists of laws, regulations, orders, incentives, and practices
Environmental Policy = pertains to human interactions with the environment
Regulates resource use or reduce pollution

5. Environmental policy and resource use
Policies include science, ethics, and economics
Market failure = businesses or individuals don’t minimize environmental impact
Justification for government intervention
The tragedy of the commons = we must develop guidelines for commonly held resources
Restrict use and actively manage resources
Some traditional societies safeguard against exploitation
The threat of overexploitation is a driving force behind much environmental policy

6. Environmental policy and equity
Free Riders = reducing pollution tempts any one person to cheat
Private voluntary efforts are less effective than mandated efforts
External Cost = harmful impacts result from market transaction but are borne by people not involved in the transaction
Environmental policy goals = protect resources against the tragedy of the commons and to promote equity by eliminating free riders and addressing external costs

7. Why are environmental laws unpopular?
Environmental laws are challenged, derided, and ignored
Environmental policy involves government regulations
Businesses and individuals view laws as overly restrictive and unresponsive to human needs
Most environmental problems are long-term processes
Human behavior is geared toward short-term needs
News media have short attention spans
Politicians act out of their own short-term interest

8. Framework of U.S. policy
Results from actions of the three branches of government
Legislative branch = creates statutory law
Executive branch = enacts or vetoes legislation
Issues executive orders
Judicial branch = interprets laws
Administrative agencies = the “fourth branch”
Established by the president or Congress

9. State and local policies affect environmental issues
Important environmental policy is also created at the state and local levels
State laws cannot violate principles of the U.S. Constitution,
If laws conflict, federal laws take precedence
California, New York, and Massachusetts have strong environmental laws
The interior western states put less priority on environmental protection and favor unregulated development

10. Constitutional amendments and environmental law
Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
Prohibits denying “equal protection of its laws”
It’s the Constitutional basis for the environmental justice movement
Fifth Amendment = takings clause
Bans the literal taking of private property
Also bans regulatory take, which deprives a property owner of economic uses of the property
There is a sensitive balance between private rights and the public good

11. Early U.S. environmental policy
Involved management of public lands, 1780s to the late 1800s
Promoted settlement
Extraction of natural resources
Increased prosperity
Relieved crowding in Eastern cities
Displaced millions of Native Americans
People believed that land was infinite and inexhaustible

12. The second wave of U.S. policy
Addressed impacts caused by the first wave
Public perception and government policy shifted
Mitigated environmental problems associated with westward expansion
Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park, opened in 1872
Other protected areas were created
National wildlife refuges, parks, and forests
Reflected a new understanding that the West’s resources were exhaustible and required legal protection

13. The third wave of U.S. environmental policy
Mid-to late-20th century
Better off economically
But dirtier air, dirtier water, and more waste and toxic chemicals
Increased awareness of environmental problems shifted public priorities and policy
1962: Silent Spring (by Rachel Carson) described the negative ecological and health effects of pesticides and industrial chemicals

14. Modern U.S. environmental policy
The Cuyahoga River was polluted with oil and industrial waste
It caught fire in the 1950s and 1960s
Today, public enthusiasm for environmental protection remains strong
The majority of Americans favor environmental protection
In April, millions of people celebrate Earth Day

15. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
1970 began the modern era of environmental policy
Created the Council on Environmental Quality
Requires an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for any federal action that might impact the environment
NEPA forces the government and businesses to evaluate the environmental impacts of a project

16. The EPA shifts environmental policy
Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Conducts and evaluates research
Monitors environmental quality
Sets and enforces standards for pollution levels
Assists states in meeting standards and goals
Educates the public

17. Significant environmental laws
The public demanded a cleaner environment and supported tougher environmental legislation

18. The social context for policy can change
Three factors converged to allow major advances in environmental policy in the 1960s and 1970s
Wide evidence of environmental problems
People could visualize policies to deal with problems
The political climate was ripe, with a supportive public and leaders who were willing to act
In recent years, the political climate has changed
People felt burdened by environmental regulations
Attempts have been made to roll back or weaken environmental laws

19. Future environmental policies
Will depend on having the American environmental movement reinvent its approach
It needs to appeal to people’s core values
Start showing why these problems are actually human issues and affect our quality life
Future policies need to articulate a positive, inspiring vision for the future
Currently, the United States has retreated from its leadership
Other nations have increased their attention to environmental issues

20. The Earth Summit It centered on the idea of sustainable development
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2002
The largest international diplomatic conference ever held
It centered on the idea of sustainable development
This fourth wave of environmental policy focuses on sustainable development
Finding ways to safeguard natural systems while raising living standards for the world’s poorest people

21. International Environmental Policy
International issues can be addressed through creative agreements
Customary law = practices or customs held by most cultures
Conventional law = from conventions or treaties
Montreal Protocol: nations agreed to reduce ozone-depleting chemicals
Kyoto Protocol: reduces fossil fuel emissions causing climate change
An international wastewater treatment plant

22. Organizations help shape international policy
International organizations influence the behavior of nations
Providing funding, applying peer pressure, directing media attention
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) = helps nations understand and solve environmental problems
The European Union seeks to promote Europe’s unity and economic and social progress
Can enact binding regulations
Can also issue advisory directives

23. The World Trade Organization (WTO)
Represents multinational corporations to promote free trade
Has authority to impose penalties on nations the don’t comply with its directives
Interprets some environmental laws as unfair barriers to free trade
Brazil and Venezuela filed a complaint against the U.S. EPA’s regulations requiring cleaner-burning fuel
The WTO agreed with Brazil and Venezuela, despite threats to human health
Critics charge the WTO aggravates environmental problems

24. NGOs and the World Bank
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) = entities that influence international policy
Some do not get politically involved
Others try to shape policy through research, lobbying or protest
The World Bank = one of the world’s largest funding sources for development
Dams, irrigation, infrastructure
Funds unsustainable, environmentally damaging projects

25. Six steps to making environmental policy
Requires curiosity, observation, awareness

26. Step 2 Involves scientific research and
Risk assessment = judging risks a problem poses to health or the environment

27. Step 3 Risk management = developing strategies to minimize risk
Involves social or political action

28. Step 4 Organizations are more effective than individuals
But a motivated, informed individual can also succeed

29. Step 5 Lobbying = spending time and money to influence a politician
Environmental advocates are not the most influential lobbyists
Political Action Committees (PACs) = raise money for political campaigns
The revolving door = the movement of people between the private sector and government
Intimate knowledge of an issue or conflict of interest?

30. Step 6 Prepare a bill, or draft law, containing solutions
Following a law’s enactment
Administrative agencies implement regulations
Policymakers evaluate the policy’s successes or failures
The judicial branch interprets the law

31. Science plays a role, but can be politicized
Effective policy decisions are informed by scientific research
Sometimes policymakers ignore science
They let political ideology determine policy
Scientists at government agencies have had their work suppressed or discredited
Their jobs were threatened
When taxpayer-funded research is suppressed or distorted
for political ends, everyone loses

32. Approaches to environmental policy
Command-and-control approach: environmental policy sets rules or limits and threatens punishment for violators
Heavy-handed
Alternative approaches involve using economic incentives to encourage desired outcomes and use market dynamics to meet goals
Most current environmental laws
Have resulted in safe, healthy, comfortable lives

33. Drawbacks of command-and-control
Government actions may be well-intentioned but not informed
Interest groups–people seeking private gain–unduly influence politicians
Citizens may view policies as restrictions on freedom
Costly and less efficient in achieving goals

34. Widespread economic policy tools
Tax breaks = encourage desirable industries or activities
Subsidy = a government giveaway of cash or resources to encourage a particular activity
Have been used to support unsustainable activities
In 2003, $58 billion of taxpayer’s money was spent on 68 environmentally harmful subsidies such as building logging roads

35. Another economic policy tool
Green taxes = taxes on environmentally harmful activities
Polluter pays principle = the price of a good or service includes all costs, including environmental degradation
Gives companies financial incentives to reduce pollution
But, costs are passed on to consumers

36. Market permitting and incentives
Permit trading = government-created market in permits
Businesses buy, sell, trade these permits
Emissions trading system = government-issued permits for an acceptable amount of pollution and companies buy, sell, or trade these permits with other polluters
Cap-and-trade system = a party that reduces its pollution levels can sell this credit to other parties
Pollution is reduced overall, but does increase around polluting plants
Companies have an economic incentive to reduce emissions

37. Conclusion Environmental policy is a problem-solving tool
Uses science, ethics and economics
Conventional command-and-control approach
Uses legislation and regulations
Most common approach
Market-based incentives
Can be more complicated but can be less expensive

38. QUESTION: Review
_______ is defined as “laws and regulations made by government.”
a) Tort law
b) Public policy
c) Market failure
d) Tragedy of the commons
Answer: b

39. QUESTION: Review
Which of the following is NOT a goal of environmental policy?
a) Increased resource extraction
b) Elimination of free riders
c) Addressing external costs
d) Promoting equity
Answer: a

40. QUESTION: Review
What happened to the Cuyahoga River to increase awareness of environmental problems?
a) It smelled bad
b) People drowned in it
c) It was drained
d) It caught on fire
Answer: d

41. QUESTION: Review NEPA requires an Environmental Impact Statement when:
a) An economically expensive project is proposed
b) Any state action may affect the environment
c) Any federal action may affect the environment
d) Politicians decide one is needed
Answer: c

42. QUESTION: Review External costs are:
a) Defined when a person cheats on cleaning up pollution
b) Borne by people involved in a transaction
c) Voluntary efforts to decrease environmental impacts
d) Borne by people not involved in a transaction
Answer: d

43. QUESTION: Review
Which of the following entities tries to shape policy through research, lobbying, or protest?
a) NGOs
b) The EU
c) The World Bank
d) The WTO
Answer: a

44. QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data
What major conclusion can be drawn from this graph on emissions trading of sulfur dioxide.
a) Emissions have greatly increased since 2000
b) Emissions have decreased since 2000, but are above permitted levels
c) The U.S. no longer emits sulfur dioxide
d) Permitted levels have been lowered since 2000
Answer: b

45. QUESTION: Viewpoints
Should the government be able to prevent development in an environmentally sensitive area, even if that area is privately owned?
Yes, if the public good is threatened
Yes, if the landowner agrees
Yes, but only if the courts allow it
No, private property development should never be prevented by government
Answer: any

46. QUESTION: Viewpoints
If one nation has strict environmental laws, should another nation be allowed to sue to overrule those laws in the name of free trade?
Yes, free trade must not be interrupted between two countries that have trade agreements
Yes, but only if the negatively affected country is poor and trying to develop
No, countries have the right to pass environmental protection laws that other nations must follow
Answer: any