17THMILLER/SPOOLMAN

LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 24Politics, Environment, and Sustainability

Denis Hayes—A Practical Environmental Visionary

• How human societies can benefit from organizing themselves on ecological principles

• Bullitt Foundation in Seattle• Urban ecological issues• Business based on ecological principles

• Organized first Earth Day in 1970

• Held many important positions

Denis Hayes

Fig. 24-1, p. 637

24-1 The Role of Government in the Transition to More Sustainable Societies

• Concept 24-1 Through its policies, a government can help to protect environmental and public interests, and to encourage more environmentally sustainable economic development.

Government Can Serve Environmental and Other Public Interests (1)

• Balance between government intervention and free enterprise

• Government is the best mechanism to deal with• Full-cost pricing• Market failures• The tragedy of the commons

Government Can Serve Environmental and Other Public Interests (2)

• Policies and politics

• Environmental policy

• Policy life cycle: 4 stages• Recognition• Formulation• Implementation• Control

The Policy Life Cycle

Fig. 24-2, p. 639

Democracy Does Not Always Allow for Quick Solutions (1)

• Democracy

• United States is a constitutional democracy

• Three branches of government• Legislative• Executive• Judicial

Democracy Does Not Always Allow for Quick Solutions (2)

• Special-interest groups pressure the government• Profit-making organizations• Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)

• Politicians focus on problems with short-term effects, not long-term

Certain Principles Can Guide Us in Making Environmental Policy (1)

1. The humility principle

2. The reversibility principle

3. The net energy principle

4. The precautionary principle

Certain Principles Can Guide Us in Making Environmental Policy (2)

5. The preventive principle

6. The polluter-pays principle

7. The environmental justice principle

• How will these principles be implemented?

24-2 How Is Environmental Policy Made?

• Concept 24-2A Policy making involves enacting laws, funding programs, writing rules, and enforcing those rules with government oversight—a complex process that is affected at each stage by political processes.

• Concept 24-2B Individuals can work together to become part of political processes that influence how environmental policies are made and whether or not they succeed. (Individuals matter.)

How Democratic Government Works: The U.S. Model

• Three branches• Legislative branch• Executive branch• Judicial branch

• Develop and implement policy• Laws, regulation, and funding• Lobbying

Individuals, Corporations, Environmental Organizations, U.S. Government Interact

Fig. 24-3, p. 642

Fig. 24-3, p. 642

Laws

Legislative branch Executive branch Courts

Lobbyists Lobbyists Regulators

Public hearing

Civil suits

Environmental organizations

Corporations and small businesses

Membership support

Patronize or boycott

Individuals

Purchase recyclable, recycled, and environmentally safe products

Reuse and recycle various items

Plant an organic garden

Donate clothes and used goods to charities

Use water, energy, and other resources efficiently

Walk, ride a bike, or use a carpool or mass transit

Major Environmental Laws and Amended Versions Enacted in the U.S. Since 1969

Fig. 24-4, p. 643

Developing Environmental Policy Is a Controversial Process

• Funding needed

• Regulations and rules needed to implement the law

• Policy: important role of environmental regulatory agencies• Regulated businesses try to have their members

appointed to regulatory agency

Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States—Politics in Action (1)

• 35% of the U.S., ¾ in Alaska, 1/5 in West

• Federal public land • U.S. Forest Service: National Forest System• Bureau of Land Management• U.S. Fish and Wildlife: National Wildlife Refuges• National Park System• National Wilderness Preservation System• Different restrictions for each

Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States—Politics in Action (2)

• Conservation biologists/environmental economists1. Used primarily for protecting biodiversity, wildlife

habitats, and ecosystems2. No subsidies or tax breaks for extracting public

resources3. Fair compensation for American people for use and

resource extraction4. All users/extractors of public resources are fully

responsible for environmental damages

Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States—Politics in Action (3)

• Developers/resource extractors1. Sell lands/resources at below-market value, or let

state and local governments manage lands2. Slash funding for management of public lands3. Cut old-growth forests and replace them with tree

farms4. Open all public lands to oil drilling, mining, off-road

vehicles, and commercial development5. Build new privately-run concessions and theme

parks in national parks

Yosemite National Park

Fig. 24-6, p. 646

Natural Capital: National Forest, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, U.S.

Fig. 24-5, p. 645

Fossil Fuel Reserves in North America

Figure 18, Supplement 8

Science and Politics—Principles and Procedures (1)

• Four principles of science1. Any scientific claim must be based on hard evidence

and be subject to peer review2. Scientists can never establish absolute truth3. Scientists vigorously debate the validity of scientific

research4. Science advances through open sharing and peer

review of research methods, results, and conclusions

Science and Politics—Principles and Procedures (2)

• Politics1. Politicians are most concerned with getting

reelected2. Disregard scientific evidence, or pick and choose

facts to support a political position3. Personal attacks versus discussion of facts4. Spread of disinformation in media/online

Individuals Can Influence Environmental Policy

• Individuals matter

• 2007: Chinese citizens opposed construction of a chemical plant• Mobile phone text messaging spread the word

• “Think globally; act locally”

Children in Turin, Italy, Protesting High Levels of Air Pollution

Fig. 24-7, p. 646

What Can You Do? Influencing Environmental Policy

Fig. 24-8, p. 647

Environmental Leaders Can Make a Big Difference

1. Lead by example

2. Campaign and vote for informed and eco-friendly candidates

3. Run for local office

4. Propose and work for better solutions to environmental problems

24-3 What Is the Role of Environmental Law in Dealing with Environmental Problems?

• Concept 24-3 We can use environmental laws and regulations to help control pollution, set safety standards, encourage resource conservation, and protect species and ecosystems.

Environmental Law Forms the Basis for Environmental Policy

• Environmental law• Body of laws and treaties that broadly define what is acceptable

environmental behavior

• Most environmental lawsuits are civil suits• Plaintiff• Defendant• Injunction• Class action suit• Negligence

Open Ditch Containing Acid Runoff from a Closed Coal Mine In West Virginia

Fig. 24-9, p. 648

Environmental Lawsuits Are Difficult to Win (1)

1. Legal standing: has the plaintiff suffered health or financial problems?

2. Very expensive

3. Public interest law firms: usually can’t recover attorney’s fees

4. Have you been harmed and did the company cause the harm?

Environmental Lawsuits Are Difficult to Win (2)

5. Statutes of limitation

6. Appeals: years to settle

7. Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)

• Major reforms are needed

Individuals Matter: Diane Wilson

• 1989: Lavaca, Bay, TX, U.S.• Hg superfund site

• Sued Formosa Plastics

• Author and activist for environmental and social justice

Diane Wilson, author of An Unreasonable Woman

Fig. 24-A, p. 649

Major Types of Environmental Laws in the United States (1)

• Set standards for pollution levels

• Screens new substances

• Encourages resource conservation

Major Types of Environmental Laws in the United States (2)

• Sets aside or protects certain species, resources, and ecosystems

• Requires evaluation of the environmental impact of an activity proposed by a federal agency• National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, 1970• Environmental impact statement needed for every

major federal project that could have an impact on the environment

U.S. Environmental Laws and Regulations Have Been under Attack (1)

• Who opposes U.S. environmental laws?• Some corporate leaders and other powerful people• Some citizens who see threats to private property

rights• Some state and local officials who don’t like being

forced to implement federal laws and regulations

• Why the opposition?• Environmental issues not as easy to see now• Environmentalists as bearers of bad news

U.S. Environmental Laws and Regulations Have Been under Attack (2)

• Since 2000, environmental laws and regulations have been weakened

• Prevent further weakening by• Repairing damage already done• Improve existing laws and regulations• Science-based environmental education• Organized bottom-up political pressure from

concerned citizens

24-4 What Are the Major Roles of Environmental Groups?

• Concept 24-4 Grassroots groups are growing and combining their efforts with those of large environmental organizations in a global sustainability movement.

Citizen Environmental Groups Play Important Roles

• Nonprofit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working at all levels• International• National• State • Local

• Grassroots groups to organizations

• Examples of NGOs and their global public policy networks

Case Study: The Natural Resources Defense Council (1)

• NRDC• Goes to court to stop environmentally harmful

practices• Informs and organizes millions of environmental

activists to take actions to protect the environment• Website, magazines, and newspapers

Case Study: The Natural Resources Defense Council (2)

• BioGems Network

• 2005: Blocked the EPA from finalizing “blending” proposal for untreated sewage

• 2001: Protect vast area of Great Bear Rainforest from logging

NRDC Helps Protect Canada’s Spirit Bear

Fig. 24-10, p. 652

Grassroots Environmental Groups Bring about Change from the Bottom Up

• Global sustainability movement

• Conservation land trusts

• Use of Internet and text messaging

• Nonviolent tactics

• Effect on Home Depot and Lowe’s lumber

Individuals Matter: Butterfly in a Redwood Tree

• Julia Hill: Nonviolent civil disobedience• 2 Years in a redwood tree, named Luna• Protested cutting down these ancient trees• Did not save the surrounding forest• Her message: protect biodiversity

Julia Butterfly Hill

Fig. 24-B, p. 653

Students and Educational Institutions Can Play Important Environmental Roles

• Student pressure on campuses to carry out environmental audits• Gather data on practices that affect the environment• Propose changes• Examples

Science Focus: Greening American Campuses

• Accomplishments of environmental audits by students at American colleges and universities

• Specific examples• Oberlin College, OH: nation’s greenest college• Northland College, WI: “green” residence hall• Buying local and organic food• Producing renewable energy

Ecofriendly Environmental Living and Learning Center, Northland College, Wisconsin

Fig. 24-11, p. 654

24-5 How Can We Improve Global Environmental Security?

• Concept 24-5 Environmental security is necessary for economic security and is at least as important as military security.

Why Is Global Environmental Security Important?

• National security

• Economic security

• All economies supported by natural capital

• Failing states: rooted in ecological crisis• Darfur, Sudan, Africa

Science Focus: Environmental Impacts of War (1)

• Effects of a large bomb explosion

• Contamination of military sites

• Loss of biodiversity

• Air and water pollution

• Contaminated• Soil, Groundwater, Fish and wildlife

Science Focus: Environmental Impacts of War (2)

• Economic and job losses

• Displaced refugees

• Landmines

• Radioactive depleted uranium shells

• 1998: U.N. Environment Programme

Top 20 Failing States in 2008

Figure 17, Supplement 9

We Can Develop Stronger International Environmental Policies

• United Nations: most influential• Family of global policy-making organizations

• Other influential groups• E.g., the World Bank

• Create World Environmental Organization?

• U.N. Conference of Environment and Development: Agenda 21

Trade-Offs: Global Efforts to Solve Environmental Problems

Fig. 24-12, p. 656

Solutions: International Environmental Treaties

Fig. 24-13, p. 657

Corporations Can Play a Key Role in Moving Toward Environmental Sustainability

• Corporations have the profits to provide funding

• Eco-efficiency

• World Business Council for Sustainable Development

24-6 How Can We Implement More Sustainable and Just Environmental Policies?

• Concept 24-6 Making the transition to more sustainable societies will require that nations and groups within nations cooperate and make the political commitment to achieve this transition.

We Can Shift to More Environmentally Sustainable Societies (1)

1. Emphasize preventing or minimizing environmental problems

2. Use market-place solutions

3. Win-win solutions or trade-offs to environmental problems or injustices

4. Be honest and objective

We Can Shift to More Environmentally Sustainable Societies (2)

• Making this shift involves• Economic decisions• Political decisions• Ethical decisions

Three Big Ideas

1. An important outcome of the political process is environmental policy—the body of laws and regulations that are designed, implemented, and enforced, and environmental programs that are funded by one or more government agencies.

2. All politics is local, and individuals can work with each other to become part of political processes that influence environmental policies.

Three Big Ideas

3. Environmental security is necessary for economic security and is at least as important as national security; making the transition to more sustainable societies will require that nations cooperate just as they do for national security purposes.