1. AP Environmental Science Mr. Grant Lesson 10
Environmental Policy: Decision Making And Problem Solving
Environmental Policy: An Overview
&
U.S. Environmental Policy

2. Objectives: Define the term environmental impact statement (EIS).
Describe environmental policy and assess its societal context.
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.

3. Define the term environmental impact statement (EIS).
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - A report of the results from detailed studies that assess the potential effects on the environment that would likely result from development projects or other actions undertaken by the government or business.

4. Describe environmental policy and assess its societal context.
Policy is a tool for decision making and problem solving that makes use of information from science and values from ethics and economics.
Policy = a formal set of general plans and principles to address problems and guide decision making
Public policy = made by governments
Laws, regulations, orders, incentives, and practices
Intended to advance societal welfare
Environmental policy = pertains to human interactions with the environment
Regulates resource use or reduces pollution
To promote human welfare and/or protect resources

5. Describe environmental policy and assess its societal context.
Science, ethics, and economics help formulate policy
Science = provides information and analysis
Ethics and economics = clarify how society can address problems
Government interacts with citizens, organizations, and the private sector
Environmental policy and resource use…
Science, ethics, and economics help formulate policy
Science = provides information and analysis
Ethics and economics = clarify how society can address problems
Government interacts with citizens, organizations, and the private sector

6. Describe environmental policy and assess its societal context.
Environmental policy aims to protect natural resources and environmental amenities from degradation or depletion and to promote equitable treatment of people. It addresses the tragedy of the commons, free riders, and external costs.
Tragedy of the commons = commonly held resources will become overused and degraded
Best prevented by oversight and regulations
Free riders = reducing pollution tempts people to cheat
Private voluntary efforts are less effective than efforts mandated by public policies
External costs = harmful impacts of market transactions are borne by people not involved in the transaction
Polluter pays principal = polluters cover costs of impacts
Policies prevent the tragedy of the commons…
Capitalist markets are driven by short-term profit
Not long-term social or environmental stability
Little incentive to minimize impacts
Market failure justifies government intervention
Tragedy of the commons = commonly held resources will become overused and degraded
Best prevented by oversight and regulations
Traditional societies may safeguard against exploitation
Privatization works if property rights are clear
Does not work with air, water, etc.
Environmental policies prevent free riders…
Free riders = reducing pollution tempts people to cheat
Avoid sacrifices made by others
They get a “free ride”
Private voluntary efforts are less effective than efforts mandated by public policies
All parties sacrifice equally
Policies address external costs…
Environmental policies aim to promote fairness by dealing with external costs
External costs = harmful impacts of market transactions are borne by people not involved in the transaction
Polluter pays principal = polluters cover costs of impacts

7. Describe environmental policy and assess its societal context.
Many factors hinder environmental policy
Why are environmental laws challenged, ignored, and rejected by citizens and policymakers?
Environmental policy involves government regulations
Property owners and businesspeople think regulations are inconvenient and cause economic loss
Problems develop gradually and over the long term
Human behavior is geared toward short-term needs
Businesses opt for short-term economic gain
News media have short attention spans
Politicians act out of short-term interest

8. Legislative branch = Congress creates statutory law
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.
The legislative, executive, and judicial branches, together with administrative agencies, all play roles in U.S. environmental policy.
Legislative branch = Congress creates statutory law
Executive branch = enacts or vetoes legislation
Judicial branch = interprets laws
Administrative agencies = the “fourth branch”
Laws are implemented and executed by agencies
A source of policy through regulations
Monitor and enforce compliance
Framework of U.S. policy…
The U.S. has pioneered innovative policies
Role models and influence for other nations
Legislative branch = Congress creates statutory law
Executive branch = enacts or vetoes legislation
Laws are implemented and executed by agencies
Executive orders = specific legal instructions for government agencies
Judicial branch = interprets laws
Precedents = guides for later cases
Lawsuits are filed for and against protection
The “fourth branch” of government…
Administrative agencies = the “fourth branch”
Established by the president or Congress
A source of policy through regulations
Monitor and enforce compliance
Regulations = specific rules or requirements to achieve objectives of broadly written statutory laws

9. Identify the institutions important to U. S
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.

10. State and local governments also implement environmental policy.
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.
State and local governments also implement environmental policy.
States, counties, and municipalities also generate environmental policies
California, New York, and Massachusetts have strong environmental laws
State laws cannot violate principles of the U.S. Constitution
State and local governmental policies…
States, counties, and municipalities also generate environmental policies
They can experiment with novel concepts
California, New York, and Massachusetts have strong environmental laws
Well-funded agencies
Citizens value protecting the environment
State laws cannot violate principles of the U.S. Constitution
If laws conflict, federal laws take precedence
Federal policymakers influence states…
Rarely, federal laws may force states to change
Federal policymakers can give financial incentives to encourage change (this works, if funds are adequate)
“Cooperative federalism” = an agency works with state agencies to achieve national standards
Despite pressure to weaken laws, federal control is vital to protect all citizens
One national effort is more efficient than 50 efforts
Transboundary disputes are minimized
California state and local agencies help regulate the impact of the International Wastewater Treatment Plant

11. The concept of regulatory taking arises from the Fifth Amendment.
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.
The concept of regulatory taking arises from the Fifth Amendment.
Fifth Amendment = takings clause
Bans the literal taking of private property
Also bans regulatory taking, which deprives a property owner of economic uses of the property
In 1992 the Supreme Court ruled that a state law intending to prevent serious public harm violated the takings clause
Lucas, a land developer, was allowed to build homes on beachfront property
Although a state agency had prohibited construction on the property
Constitutional amendments…
Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
Prohibits denying “equal protection of its laws”
The constitutional basis for environmental justice
Fifth Amendment = takings clause
Bans the literal taking of private property
Also bans regulatory taking, which deprives a property owner of economic uses of the property
There is a sensitive balance between private rights and the public good
Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council…
In 1992 the Supreme Court ruled that a state law intending to prevent serious public harm violated the takings clause
Lucas, a land developer, was allowed to build homes on beachfront property
Although a state agency had prohibited construction on the property

12. Identify the institutions important to U. S
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.
U.S. environmental policy came in three waves. The first promoted frontier expansion and resource extraction. The second aimed to mitigate impacts of the first through conservation. The third targeted pollution and gave us many of today’s major environmental laws.
From 1780s to the late 1800s, promoted settlement and extraction of resources
People believed land was infinite and inexhaustible
Early U.S. environmental policy…
From 1780s to the late 1800s, promoted settlement and extraction of resources
General Land Ordinances of 1785 and 1787
The federal government managed unsettled lands
Surveying and readying them for sale
Increased prosperity for citizens and railroad companies
Relieved crowding in Eastern cities
Displaced millions of Native Americans
People believed land was infinite and inexhaustible

13. Typical laws of the 1780s–late 1800s
Homestead Act (1862) = anyone could buy or settle on 160 acres of public land

14. Typical laws of the 1780s–late 1800s
General Mining Act (1878) = people could mine on public land for $5/acre with no government oversight

15. Typical laws of the 1780s–late 1800s
Timber Culture Act (1873) = 160 acres to anyone promising to plant trees on 25% of that land

16. Identify the institutions important to U. S
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.
U.S. environmental policy came in three waves. The first promoted frontier expansion and resource extraction. The second aimed to mitigate impacts of the first through conservation. The third targeted pollution and gave us many of today’s major environmental laws.
Public perception and government policy shifted
Mitigated problems caused by westward expansion
Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park, opened in 1872
Also, national wildlife refuges, parks, and forests
Understood that the West’s resources were exhaustible
They required legal protection
Land management policies addressed soil conservation
The 1964 Wilderness Act preserves pristine land

17. Identify the institutions important to U. S
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.
U.S. environmental policy came in three waves. The first promoted frontier expansion and resource extraction. The second aimed to mitigate impacts of the first through conservation. The third targeted pollution and gave us many of today’s major environmental laws.
Mid-to late-20th century people were better off economically
But lived with dirtier air, dirtier water, and more waste and toxic chemicals
Increased awareness of environmental problems shifted public priorities and policies
The third wave of U.S. environmental policy…
Mid-to late-20th century people were better off economically
But lived with dirtier air, dirtier water, and more waste and toxic chemicals
Increased awareness of environmental problems shifted public priorities and policies
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) described the ecological and health effects of pesticides and chemicals
The Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it caught fire in the 1950s and 1960s
The public demanded more environmental protection
Most Americans support environmental protection
Millions of people celebrate Earth Day each April
Most Americans support environmental protection. Millions of people celebrate Earth Day each April
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) described the ecological and health effects of pesticides and chemicals
The Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it caught fire in the 1950s and 1960s

18. Identify the institutions important to U. S
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.
Some major U.S. laws include the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act.
The National Environmental Policy Act (1970) - Requires an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for any federal action that might significantly impact the environment
Significant environmental laws were the result of the public demand for a cleaner environment and support of tougher environmental legislation
The National Environmental Policy Act (1970)…
NEPA 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 significantly impact the environment
It forces the government and businesses to evaluate the environmental impacts of a project
Its cost-benefit approach usually does not halt projects
It provides incentives to decrease damage
Citizens are granted input into the policy process
Why did environmental policy change?...
Several 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
Congress strengthened and elaborated laws in the 1980s
Amendments to the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts
Many reacted against regulation…
By 1990, many felt that regulations were too strict
Attempts were made to weaken federal laws by Reagan, George W. Bush, and the Republican-controlled Congresses from 1994 to 2006
“The Death of Environmentalism” (1994) = the environmental movement had to be reinvented
It must appeal to core values with an inspiring vision
Show that these problems affect our quality of life
President Obama’s election and a Democratic majority in Congress brought optimism back to environmentalists

19. Identify the institutions important to U. S
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major U.S. environmental laws.
Currently, a fourth wave of environmental policy, occurring internationally, may be building around sustainable development and addressing global climate change.
Other nations have increased attention to issues
The 1992 Earth Summit
The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development
This fourth wave of policy focuses on sustainability
Safeguarding ecosystems
while raising living standards
Climate change dominates much discussion on environmental policy