1. Chapter 3: Environmental Policy

2. Environmental policy
Policy: Formal set of plans and principles intended to address problems and guide actions
Public Policy: Policy made by governments that include laws, regulations, orders, incentives and practices intended to advance social welfare
Environmental Policy: policy that pertains to human interactions with the environment
Regulates resource use or reduce pollution

3. Environment policy
Address common welfare: Example of Tijuana River watershed in you book
Equity an resource use
Little incentive for businesses to minimize environmental impact (market failure)
Tragedy of the commons (pp. 5-6 of textbook)
Unregulated common resources will eventually be overused and degraded

4. 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

5. 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

6. Quick government review
Legislative branch (Congress)
creates and enacts legislation
Executive branch (President)
approves legislation and enforces the laws
can also issue executive orders for government agencies
Agencies are sometimes called the “fourth branch” because they are the source for many policies
Judicial branch (Supreme court and lower courts)
interprets laws and can modify policy or law enactment

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. International Environmental Policy
International issues can be addressed through creative agreements
Montreal Protocol: nations agreed to reduce ozone-depleting chemicals
Kyoto Protocol: reduces fossil fuel emissions causing climate change
An international wastewater treatment plant

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. Environmental Policy Process
Next class, you will be discussing the six steps involved in creating an Environmental Policy
Again, you will be graded on your input to the discussion and your preparedness

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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