Chapter 21

Environmental policies in the United States gained widespread public attention in the _____, when reports of water and air pollution, pesticide use, and other threats to natural resources prompted the passage of legislation to control such activity.

1960s

Though attacked by environmental organizations, _____ ______ have been generally successful at practicing client politics.

farm groups

Why is environmental policy so controversial and complicated? (There are four reasons.)

-First, every governmental policy, including one established to protect the environment, creates both winners and losers. -Second, many environmental issues are enmeshed in scientific uncertainty: the experts either do not know or they disagree about what is happening and how to change it. -Third, much environmental policy takes the form of entrepreneurial politics—mobilizing decision makers with strong, often emotional appeals in order to overcome the political advantages of the client groups that oppose a change. -Finally, environmental politics profoundly affect how the federal government deals with states and with other nations.

What do the major environmental laws focus on?

-Smog -Stationary sources -Gasoline-powered vehicles -Cities -Water -Toxic wastes -Environmental impact statements -Acid rain

Environmental example of entrepreneurial politics is the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Passed in 1973, it forbids...

...buying or selling a bird, fish, animal, or plant the government regards as "endangered" or engaging in any economic activity (such as building a dam or running a farm) that would harm an endangered species.

But our natural concern for global warming must address three difficult questions. First we need to know...

...by how much greenhouse gases cause the earth's temperature to rise.

Making environmental policy strikes many people as...

...easy— identify a problem, raise a fuss, defeat " the interests," and enjoy the benefits.

The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 to set standards for...

...environmental safety, track violations, and enforce compliance.

Third,...

...how large would be the gains to humankind, and when would they occur?

Second,...

...if human activity has caused global warm-ing, what would it cost in lost productivity and income to reduce greenhouse gases?

When gasoline taxes have been raised, it has usually been because the politicians did not push the tax hike as an environmental measure. Instead, they promised that...

...in return for paying higher taxes the public would receive some concrete benefits—more highways, more buses, or a reduction in the federal deficit (as happened with the gas tax hike of 1990 and again in 1993).

The fight over acid rain has largely been a case of...

...interest group politics—regions hurt by acid rain (mainly in the Northeast) argue with regions that produce a lot of acid rain (mainly in the Midwest) about who should pay.

Policies intended to reduce air pollution caused by automobiles involve...

...majoritarian politics— many people hope to benefi t, but many people ( anyone who owns a car) will have to pay the cost.

The Clean Air Act of 1970 imposed tough restrictions on...

...the amount of pollutants that could come out of automobile tailpipes.

Despite the grumbling of many people adversely affected by fights over an EIS, popular support for it remains strong because....

...the public at large does not believe it is paying a high price and does believe it is gaining a significant benefit.

What is bubble standard?

A bubble is the total amount of air pollution that can come from a given factory. A company is free to decide which specific sources within that factory must be reduced in order to meet the bubble standard.

What is an environmental impact statement?

A report required by federal law that assesses the possible effect of a project on the environment if the project is subsidized in whole or part by federal funds.

What is command-and-control strategy?

A strategy to improve air and water quality, involving the setting of detailed pollution standards and rules.

Why are the heady victories of the early 1970s hard to duplicate today?

Because groups that were once unorganized are now well organized.

Clean Air Act, when revised again in 1990, set _____, ________ auto emission control standards— but it pushed back the deadline for _________.

Clean Air Act, when revised again in 1990, set *new, tougher* auto emission control standards— but it pushed back the deadline for *compliance*.

Finally, there are examples of ________ _________ at work— for example, when farmers manage to minimize federal controls over the use of pesticides.

Client politics. Most people are unaware of what food contains what pesticide or which, if any, are harmful; farmers are keenly aware of the economic benefits of pesticides and are well organized to defend them.

What has happened since the 2008 presidential race?

Environmental issues have not been central to the American political agenda.

Congress voted for the scrubbers for all new coal-burning plants, even if they burned low-sulfur coal. In the opinion of most economists, this was the wrong decision, but it had four great political advantages. What were they?

First, the jobs of miners in high-sulfur coal mines would be protected. Second, environmentalists liked scrubbers, which they seemed to regard as a defi ni-tive, technological "solution" to the problem, an approach far preferable to relying on incentives to induce power plants to buy low- sulfur coal. Third, scrubber manufacturers liked the idea, for obvi-ous reasons. Finally, some eastern governors liked scrubbers because if all new plants had to have them, it would be more costly, and thus less likely, for existing factories in their states to close down and move into the West.

Getting big reductions in dangerous pesticides requires first ________ ________ on what is a dangerous pesticide and then finding a way of _________ ____ ________to agriculture that would be caused by the reduction.

Getting big reductions in dangerous pesticides requires first *reaching agreement* on what is a dangerous pesticide and then finding a way of *minimizing the harm* to agriculture that would be caused by the reduction.

What are pollution allowances (or banks)?

If a company reduces its polluting emissions by more than the law requires, it can either use this excess to cover a future plant expansion or sell it to another company as an offset.

What are offsets?

If a company wants to open a new plant in an area with polluted air, it can do so if the pollution it generates is offset by a reduction in pollution from another source in that area. To achieve that reduction, the new company may buy an existing company and close it down.

What does "endangered" mean?

Likely to become extinct unless it receives special protection.

An attempt to deal with the issue in 1977 reflected the kind of bizarre compromises that sometimes result when politically opposed forces have to be reconciled. There were essentially two alternatives. What were they?

One was to require power plants to burn low-sulfur coal.The other way would be to require power plants to install scrubbers— complicated and very expensive devices that would take sulfurous fumes out of the gas before it came out of the smokestack.

A little-noticed provision in the 1970 law soon shoved the battle over automobile pollution into the arena of majoritarian politics. What did that provision require?

That provision required states to develop land-use and transportation rules to help attain air quality standards.

The ______________________ (NEPA), passed in ______, contained a provision requiring that an _____________________ (EIS) be written before any federal agency undertakes an activity that will "significantly" affect the quality of the human environment.

The *National Environmental Policy Act* (NEPA), passed in *1969*, contained a provision requiring that an *environmental impact statement* (EIS) be written before any federal agency undertakes an activity that will "significantly" affect the quality of the human environment.

Was this movement successful?

The movement was hugely successful. In 1970, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Congress toughened the existing Clean Air Act and passed the Water Quality Improvement Act. Two years later, it passed laws designed to clean up the water; three years later, it adopted the Endangered Species Act. New laws were passed right into the 1990s. Existing environmental organizations grew in size, and new ones were formed. Public opinion rallied around environmental issues.

What does the phrase global warming mean?

The phrase global warming means that gases, such as carbon dioxide, produced by people when they burn fossil fuels— wood, oil, or coal— get trapped in the atmosphere and cause the earth's temperature to rise.

The public will support such tough environmental laws when ____________________________________ (as in the price of a car); it will not give as much support when ____________________, especially when the payment takes the form of changing how and when it uses the family car.

The public will support such tough environmental laws when *somebody else pays or when the costs are hidden* (as in the price of a car); it will not give as much support when *it believes it is paying*, especially when the payment takes the form of changing how and when it uses the family car.

Though Americans think their environment has gotten worse, in fact many aspects of it have got-ten better since 1970. How so?

There is now much less carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and lead in the atmosphere than once was the case.

How was Earth Day created?

When an offshore well spewed thousands of gallons of oil onto the beaches of Santa Barbara, California, at the very time (January 1969) when protest politics was in the air, it became difficult or impossible for the government or business firms to resist the demand that threats to our natural surroundings be curtailed. The emerging environmental movement created an occasion— Earth Day, first celebrated on April 22, 1970— to celebrate its beginning.

Sometimes the rain, snow, or dust particles that fall onto the land are acidic. This is called ______ ______.

acid rain

The complaints of such clients about these regulations are outweighed by the _______ _______ for the law.

public support

In the 2008 presidential race, environmental politics was a major concern for the electorate, particularly _______ _______.

young voters