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Class 9: US Environmentalism and Policy CofC Fall 2010. Environmental Policy. EPP: Wind Example Factors in Policy Outcome. President Obama’s “Energy Superhighway” Local State (Wyoming) positioned geographically & economically to take advantage
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Class 9: US Environmentalism and Policy CofC Fall 2010 Environmental Policy
EPP: Wind ExampleFactors in Policy Outcome • President Obama’s “Energy Superhighway” • Local State (Wyoming) positioned geographically & economically to take advantage • Congress: Passing Stimulus package ($781b) of which $61b went to wind energy promotion • Job creation vs. aesthetics • Landowners received $10k/tower • Public divided • Econ, technological and political uncertainties • Can wind compete with oil/gas??? • Sage Grouse impact—”endangered species”? • POLICY OUTCOME: dependent on interplay of conservation science, the energy market, fed policy decisions, public mood, tech innovation—how to assess and address risk!
Basic Definitions • Environmental Politics: “how humanity organizes itself to relate to the nature that sustains it.” • POLITICS: Who gets what, when and how • ”authoritative allocation of values” on human-nature interface • Environmental Policy: “any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on humans” --(Wikipedia, from McCormick 2001) • Why Government Intervention for Enviro Protection? Because of market failure in the form of externalities, including the free rider problem and the tragedy of the commons.
Environmental Policy is Broad • Covers: • Food production • Human population growth • National and international security • Protection of global ecological systems • Human health and safety • Energy use • Transportation policy • Agriculture • People from ecological change • Differs from Public Policy in that issues are: (i) more urgent, (ii) essential to human life, and (iii) often can have catastrophic or irreversible consequences
US History(Taking Sides Intro) Part III
3 Waves of Environmentalism • 1. Conservation Wave: Began with conservation/preservation of ‘wilderness’ in early 1900s—setting up national parks, etc. (Muir, Leopold, Pinchot) • Wilderness: “biotic associations be maintained, or where necessary recreated, as nearly as possible in the condition that prevailed when the area was first visited by the white man.” • 2. Human Health Wave: Earth Day (1970) • Primarily Concerned with human health from environment--Rachel Carson (DDT) (beginning in late ‘60s); Air/Water pollution; population growth • Marked by fed legis & laws passed on enviro protection: Superfund, CWA, CAA, NEPA, Wilderness Act • In 1970, 53% of Americans viewed “reduction of air/water pollution as a nat’l priority” • Shift away from elitist, natural roots of environmentalism: NGOs. • 3. “Beltway Environmentalism” (late 80s) • Responding to antagonistic Reagan Admin, which attempted to roll back all legis/laws from the 2nd wave • Enviro NGOs focused on priorities of Wave 1 to accomplish this, rather than controversial industry practices (e.g. animal preservation) • Conclusion: This created a “disastrously incomplete picture of environmentalism” b/c it left out human communities, cities, post-industrial landscapes, and challenges of sustainability. • EJ in the 90s sought to correct this problem
4th Wave of Environmentalism?? • Defined more by the problems than by the attempt to change/solutions • Concern over megatrends: Climate change, biodiversity loss, urbanization, modes of energy, globalization of environmental problems • Interconnection of Environmental change to larger scale problems: poverty, social problems, education, disease, inequality (gender, class), conflict, migration/displacement, etc. • Interconnection of paradigmatic approaches to problems: human rights, development, security, • Debate centers over solutions and scale • Sustainability, climate adaptation, econ development, renewable energy portfolios, security • Scale: global solutions vs regional or even local
Post Earth Day Success • Air/Water pollution decreased significantly • Ozone Regulation (new substitutes & policy) • Pesticides/Insecticide controls Failures • Food—GMOs, regulation, organics, chemicals • 60% + of US pop live w/in unhealthy pollution • More than ½ of US’ biologically essential estuaries and ½ rivers are “unacceptably polluted”—still largely unregulated • More chemicals in house, but little science/regulation—less than 6% of all chemicals • Exposure to enviro contaminants lacks scientific evid • Social and economic costs of enviro poll underestimated • Addressing waste issues—tradeoffs • Increasing power in interest groups and corporations
Continuing Challenges • Policy Implementation: changes to public mood, resources available, political parties in control, President, & State/local gov’ts • Rising Costs: US spends 2% of GDP on environmental control • Costs more for innovation—otherwise, “end of pipe” pollution treatment • Science/Technology: double edged sword, helps with Ozone, but contributes to uncertainty—changing particulate standards • Sustainability: Definition?? Implementation?