THE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY PARADOX – Outline

Zachary A. Smith

CHAPTER 1: ECOSYSTEM INTERDEPENDENCE

Chapter Outline

I. Ecosystems

A. Definition (Interdependency)

B. Levels

1. Individual

2. Populations

3. Communities

4. Whole

C. Examples of Ecosystems and How They Function

1. Spaceship Earth

2. Fresh water body

II. Commoner’s Four Laws of Ecology

A. Everything is Connected to Everything Else

1. Balance may be disrupted by foreign element

(a) drought

(b) waste

B. Everything Must Go Somewhere

1. Commoner’s example: mercury in a dry cell battery

2. Spaceship Earth

C. Nature Knows Best

1. The “watch” analogy

2. The danger of interference

D. No Free Lunch

1. Costs of interference

III. The Steady State

A. Definition

B. Finite Nature of Resources

IV. Common Pool Resources

A. Garrett Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons”

B. Role in Environmental Policy Making

1. Farmers have no incentives to preserve ground water resources.

2. Manufacturers have no incentives to limit air pollution activities.

3. Ocean fish harvesters have no incentives to restrict their activities.

CHAPTER 2: CHANGING CULTURAL AND SOCIAL BELIEFS: FROM CONSERVATION TO ENVIRONMENTALISM

Chapter Outline

I. Dominant Social Paradigm

A. Definition (values and beliefs)

B. Rooted in Historical Social Values

C. Components

II. Economics and Growth

A. Supply and Demand

B. Influence on Environmental Policy

C. Externalities (costs)

D. Cost-Benefit Analysis

E. Substitution

F. Value Free Economics

III. The Role of Religion

A. Religion has played a crucial role in developing our DSP

B. Religious theories about the relationship of people to the natural world

C. Role of religion in modern industrial societies vs. traditional societies

IV. Science and Technology – Our Views of Nature

A. Technology Forcing

B. Manipulation: Approach to Environmental Problems

C. Faith in Science

1. Manipulate nature

2. Has produced dramatic environmental change

3. Has become a new “religion”

V. History of the Environmental Movement

A. Dominance

1. Environment is viewed as hostile

B. Early Awakening

1. No mass communication

2. Nature writers, artists, poets

C. Early Conservationist

1. First environmentalists – conservationists, planners, and preservationists

2. National Park Service established

D. Later Conservationist

1. Roosevelt and Pinchot

2. Resource managers

3. Utilitarianism

4. Developing conflict based on differences of opinion about conservation

D. The Reawakening

1. 1960s

2. Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

3. Environmental “events”

4. Environment becomes a political issue

5. National Environmental Policy Act 1970

6. Earth Day

E. Complacency

1. Decline of public concern

2. Emphasis turns to litigation

F. The Little Reagan Revolution

1. Deregulation

2. Reagan’s laissez-faire policies

3. Catalyst to spark renewed interest

(a) radical action groups

(b) decentralization

4. Change in character of environmental groups

G. Post-Reagan Resurgence

VI. Interest Groups

A. David Truman, The Governmental Process

B. Robert Salisbury, benefits

C. Relationship between interest groups and social movements

D. Classifying environmental groups by method

VII. Public Opinion and the Environment

A. Shift in Public Attitude Towards More Environmental Regulation

B. Reasons for Shift in Attitude

1. Highly publicized problems

(a) acid rain

(b) Chernobyl

2. Perceived anti-environmentalist attitude of Reagan Administration

(a) James Watt

(b) Ann Burford

3. No longer an upper-middle class concern

(a) Membership (social make-up) of groups

C. Impact of Public Attitudes on Elections

CHAPTER 3: THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT

Chapter Outline

I. The Regulatory Context

A. Regulatory Theory

1. Economic theory of regulation

2. Regulation as political incentive

3. Public interest in theory of regulation

II. Science and Risk Analysis

A. Inherent Risk

B. Involuntary Risk

C. Acceptable Levels of Pollution and Risk to Human Health

1. Delaney Clause of U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act

D. Three Points to Remember

1. Analysis is as political as it is scientific

2. Lack of data or methodology limits risk assessment

3. There are disagreements as to the harm or risk associated with any given level of

pollution or exposure to toxic substances

E. Four-nation Study of the Regulation 2,4,5T

1. Reveals influence of politics on risk assessment and resolution

2. Tied to uncertainty in risk analysis process

F. Decision Making Environment

1. OSHA’s regulation of exposure to benzene

2. AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute

G. Risk Assessment and Regulated Industry

1. Auto industry

H. Scientific Community, Disagreement Caused by Existing Uncertainties

1. Studies re: health effects of exposure to toxic waste dumps

I. Unanticipated Consequences

1. Reliance on Science and Technology to Solve Problems Inherent in Nature of DSP

IV. Cost-Benefit Analysis

A. Used to Set Priorities Among Policies

B. Problems with Using Cost-Benefit Analysis

C. Not Necessarily Anti-Environmental (Arizona wolf reintroduction example)

V. The Role of Government

A. Degrees of Involvement (see figure 3-1)

1. American government policy orientation

2. International government policy orientation

B. Utilization of Market Forces

1. EPA’s bubble concept

C. Government Intervention at State and Local Levels

D. National Regulation Limited

1. Nuclear power industry

VI. Approaches to Regulation

A. Free Market Option

B. “Standards and Enforcement” or “Command and Control” System

1. Criticisms

2. Defenses

3. Use of taxes or effluent charges as incentives to control pollution

C. Privatization of Common Pool Resources

1. Private ownership of U.S. forests

D. Establishing Private Right to Clean Environment

1. Nuisance doctrine

2. Citizen suit provision

VII. Fundamentals of Environmental Law

A. U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 8

1. Federal government regulates interstate commerce (Commerce Clause)

B. Environmental Law Concerned with Resource Allocation

C. Property Rights from English Common Law

1. Absolute right of private property owners

2. Adversarial justice system

D. Three Basic Mechanisms Created by Legislators

E. Role of the Judiciary

CHAPTER 4: THE POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SETTING

Chapter Outline

I. Formal Institutions

A. The Judicial System

1. Common law remedies

2. Federal law remedies

3. Standing

4. Disadvantages of judicial remedies

(a) takes time

(b) takes money

B. The Legislative Branch

1. Three points to remember:

(a) decentralized

(b) motivated by desire for re-election

C. The Executive Branch

1. Federal Agencies

II. Informal Institutions

A. Interest Groups – Support Networks

1. “Iron triangle” or “sub-government”

(a) “Military-industrial complex” example

B. Environmental Interest Players

1. Consumers or citizens

2. Business or trade union groups

3. NPOs or NGOs

C. Implementation

1. Familiarity with organizational processes

2. Implementation a long-term process

D. Interest Groups in the Policy-Making Process

1. Monetary resources very beneficial for achieving a group’s policy goals

III. Institutional Biases

A. Incrementalism

1. Summary

2. Practical and political reasons

3. Incremental nature of policy-making process

4. Stabilizes process

B. Decentralization

1. Multi-level decision making in government

2. Impacts effectiveness of group activity

C. Short-Term Bias

1. Cost factors

2. Constituent demands

3. Re-election goals

4. Human nature to discount the future

D. Ideological Bias

1. Growth and development

(a) land-use planning

(b) energy planning

2. Businesspeople

(a) favor expanding market

(b) in the most contact with elected officials

3. Increased energy use equals growth

E. Private Nature of Public Policy Making

1. Unreported activity of legislatures

F. Crisis and Reforms

1. Incremental nature of decision making suspended

(a) Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson

(b) Three Mile Island

2. Environmental problems are chronic

3. Reform possibilities

IV. The Political Setting

A. Pluralism

1. Defined

2. Arthur Bentley, The Process of Government

3. David Truman, The Governmental Process

4. Critics of pluralist theory

(a) Jack Walker and Theodore Lowi

B. Group Types

1. Private-economic interest groups

2. Public non-economic interest groups

3. Private vs. public (comparison)

C. Interest Groups and the Policy Cycle

1. Agenda-setting

2. Policy-making

3. Policy implementation

(a) the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE) example

4. Importance of all three

5. Characteristics of interest groups

(a) size

(b) organization

(d) attracting the media’s attention

1. protests

2. underdog fight

(e) attracting policy makers’ attention

1. conventional

D. Group Resources and Policy-Making

1. Public vs. private sector policy-making

V. The Regulators

A. National Environmental Policy Act 1969 (NEPA)

1. Enactment

2. Congressional intent

3. Purpose

4. Procedural guidelines to implement NEPA

(a) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

(b) EIS requirements

5. Council on Environmental Quality

6. Enforcement

(a) Supreme Court Decisions – 3 questions

(1) Is an EIS necessary

(2) What EIS should contain

(3) When it should be prepared

(b) Interpreting “major”

7. When is an EIS required – 2-step process

(a) Prepare environmental assessment (EA)

(b) “Finding of no significant impact” (FONSI)

B. Writing the EIS

1. Whole project must be considered

2. Content of an EIS

3. Procedural vs. substantive enforcement

C. Environmental Administration

1. Federal, state, local

(a) level of involvement

(b) role of government at each level

(d) regulation or decision making

2. Level preference of interest group

(a) agricultural interests prefer state level (e.g., Hawaii)

(b) mining interests prefer state level (e.g., West Virginia)

(d) automobile industry prefers national level

D. Environmental Protection Agency

1. Reorganization and consolidation of environmental administration

2. Nixon in 1970

3. Basic organization

(a) downside of this organization (multi-media management)

4. Enforcement responsibility

5. Public criticism re: enforcement

(a) slow development of effluent standards

(b) Superfund

6. Politics of enforcement

(a) bipartisan support

7. Administrations

(a) William Ruckelshaus

(b) Reagan era

(d) Lee Thomas

(e) William K. Reilly

(f) Carol Browner

8. EPA relations with interest groups

E. Department of Interior

1. Establishment

2. Responsibilities

3. Enjoys historic existence: interest group support system

4. Administrators

(a) James Watt

(b) William Clark

(d) Bruce Babbitt

(e) Gale Norton

F. Bureau of Land Management

1. Establishment

2. Unwanted lands

3. Criticisms (“Bureau of Livestock & Mining”)

4. Federal Land Policy and Land Management Act (FLPMA)

5. Non-traditional vs. traditional values of professionals

6. Non-traditional interests

G. National Park Service

1. Establishment

2. Purpose

3. Conflict

4. Public support

5. Primary constituencies

6. Fluctuation in management

7. “Disneyland” mentality (e.g., Yosemite)

H. Forest Service

1. Establishment

2. Constituent groups

(a) resource-using

(b) recreational

3. Management principles

4. Most influential groups

I. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1. Establishment

2. Purpose

J. Department of Energy

1. Establishment

2. Purpose and goals

3. Extensive pollution by Departments of Energy and Defense

CHAPTER 5: AIR POLLUTION

Chapter Outline

I. Sources

A. Components

1. Carbon Monoxide

2. Sulfur Oxides

3. Nitrogen Oxides

4. Particulates

B. Three Primary Sources

1. Area

2. Mobile

3. Point

C. Ground-level ozone (“smog”)

II. Health Effects

A. Difficult to establish direct links

B. EPA Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

C. Difficult to regulate, inexact scientific evidence

D. Damage to crops

E. Lack of present incentives/need for crisis

F. Ford Motor Co. example

G. Problems in developing effective policy

III. Motor Vehicles

A. Statistics of Automobile Production

B. Hidden Costs

1. Destruction of rubber on cars and equipment

2. Corrosion of stone and iron on buildings and statues

3. Political instability

4. Reduced crop yields

5. Reduced timber production

6. Increased health costs

7. Gas consumption

8. External costs

C. Role of Auto Companies in Policy Making

1. Lee Iacocca

2. Edmund Muskie

D. Compliance

IV. Air Pollution: Law, Regulations, and Enforcement

A. Clean Air Act

B. Historic background of federal participation in pollution control

C. Deference to states for enforcement

1. Why this is a problem

2. Feds became more involved after 1977 amendments

D. 1970 Act – Uniform National Standards

1. Primary standards

2. Secondary standards

3. Hazardous air pollutants

4. Deadlines for compliance

5. New source performance standards

6. Classifying emission sources

(a) major or minor sources

(b) attainment areas or non-attainment areas

E. 1977 Act – Established Regions

1. Class I

2. Class II

3. Class III

4. More on compliance and enforcement mechanisms

5. State Implementation Plans (SIPs)

F. 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments

V. Regulatory Innovations

A. Emission-trading Schemes

1. Netting

2. Offsets

3. Bubbles

4. Banking

B. Goal of Emissions Trading

1. Offset ratio

C. Problems in Administration

1. Careful monitoring of plants

2. Emissions trading market

D. Environmentalist Criticisms of Emissions Trading

E. Arguments in Favor of Emissions Trading

VI. Regulatory Issues

A. EPA’s Information Sources

B. Problems of Enforcement

C. EPA’s Flexibility to Enforce Clean Air Act

1. Discretion – two extremes

D. Major Issues

1. Cost/benefit

2. Common pool management problems

VII. Toxic Air Pollution

A. Definitions

1. Toxic/hazardous

2. As defined by the Clean Air Act

B. Few Standards, Little Enforcement

1. Asbestos

2. Lead

C. Groups with Few Resources to Influence Policy

1. Children

2. Native American miners

(a) example of the weaknesses of normative pluralism

D. 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments

1. Emissions standards

2. Ample margins of safety

VIII. Acid Rain

A. How it is Formed/Acid Deposition

B. How it is Measured

C. Reduction of Emissions vs. Reduction of Acid Rain

D. Long Term Impact

1. Tall smokestacks

E. International Common Pool Management Problem

1. Former Soviet Union

2. Eastern Europe

F. International Cooperation to Address Acid Rain

G. Lack of Incentives to Curtail Polluting Activities

1. National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP)

2. Title IV of the 1990 CAAA - phases

IX. Stratospheric Ozone

A. Its Importance

B. Causal Relationship to CFCs

C. Impact of Studies by Policy Makers

1. F. Sherwood Rowland

2. Hole in ozone layer

3. NASA studies

D. Montreal Protocol

1. Not yet a complete picture

E. International Common Pool Resource Management

X. The Greenhouse Effect (Global Warming)

A. What It Is

B. Components

C. Impact

1. Flooding seaports

2. Agriculture

3. Animals

D. Deforestation

E. Policy Thus Far

1. “Wait and see”

2. “More studies needed”

3. Incremental decision-making

F. Summer of 1988 – Crisis Environment

G. Cost-benefit analysis

H. Individual Action to Reduce Air Pollution

CHAPTER 6: WATER

Chapter Outline

I. Introduction

A. No Shortage of Water

B. Water Moves Through a Cycle

1. Rain or snow

2. Percolates

3. Evapotranspiration

C. Freshwater Sources

D. Groundwater Sources

E. Source and Use

1. Function of economy

2. Level of development

3. Type of water resources available

F. Uses in Developed vs. Less-Developed Countries

1. Domestic purposes

2. Wastes

II. Pollution Sources

A. Point

B. Nonpoint

1. Continuing major problem

C. Municipal Waste Water

1. Three levels of purity

(a) primary treatment

(b) secondary treatment

(1) most expensive – Truckee, California example

D. Clean Water Act Amendments of 1972

1. Treatment of all sewage at secondary level

III. Nonpoint Sources of Pollution

A. Control

B. Agricultural Run-off

C. Urban Storm Water

IV. Groundwater Pollution

A. Threats to Groundwater Quality

B. Future Promises to be Worse

1. Hazardous waste sites

2. Landfills

3. Can go undetected for years

4. Arizona – example

V. Health Effects of Water Pollution

A. Numerous and Frightening

B. Fraction of Chemicals Tested

C. Bottled Water

D. Determination of Exposure Levels is as Much an Art as a Science

VI. Water Law and Regulation

A. Rivers and Harbor Act and Federal Refuse Act, 1889

B. Federal Laws in 1912, 1924, 1948, 1956, 1961, and 1966

C. Fragmentation and Decentralization

1. Important at state and local levels

D. Three Major Water Pollutions Laws in U.S.

1. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

2. Clean Water Act

(a) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

(b) Bethlehem Steel – example

(d) municipal waste water pollution

(1) initially paid for by federal government

(2) now paid for by local government

(3) no funds for maintenance

(4) bill for clean-up enormous

(5) eroding tax base

(e) The CWA and Nonpoint Pollution Sources

(1) regulation of nonpoint sources

(2) requirements for storm water discharge

(f) The CWA and the Regulatory Environment

(1) Reagan vetoed reauthorization in 1986

(2) Definitional conflicts – “navigable waters”

(3) Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers, 2001

(4) language of CWA continues to be ambiguous

3. Safe Drinking Water Act

(a) Regulates public water supply system

(b) 1996 amendments

(1) citizen suits

(2) injunctive relief

(3) advantages of citizen suits

(d) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

4. Fragmentation of policy and implementation overlap

E. Criticisms of Water Pollution Policy

1. Extent of impact of chemicals on humans

(a) Known contaminants not always regulated (TCE)

(b) Questionable safety of bottled and home-treated water

2. Role of state governments

(a) Unrealistic timetables

(b) Lack of resources

(1) “wellhead protection areas”

(2) “sole-source aquifer” designation

(d) Actions of citizen groups

VII. The Paradox in Water Pollution Policy

A. Simple conservation measures would assure adequate supplies in most cases

B. Water conservation

1. Water is inexpensive

2. Hidden costs

(a) agricultural subsidies

3. Lack of metering

4. Technology

5. Agriculture conservation

6. Paradox

(a) Artificially low pricing

(b) Distribution

C. Surface Water and Groundwater Use

1. Groundwater mining

2. Agricultural interests

D. Good Regulations, Poor Enforcement

1. Lack of resources at all levels of government

2. TCE in Tucson – example

E. Risk Assessment

1. Trend among water managers

2. Risks vs. costs

F. Impact of Individual

1. Decrease consumption

2. Proper disposal of household wastes

3. Citizen suits

4. Contact environment agencies or groups

CHAPTER 7: ENERGY

Chapter Outline

I. History of Energy

A. Industrial Revolution

1. Coal – first major modern environmental crisis

2. Hydropower

3. Growth of petroleum industry

B. Oil and War

1. WWI – overseas development of petroleum expanded significantly

2. Over-production

3. WWII – oil was indispensable

4. Trans-continental pipelines

5. Military-industrial complex

6. Multinationals

C. Role of Personal Consumption

1. Impact of auto on energy policy

2. Automobile stimulated growth

3. Importance of electricity

4. Mass communication and advertising

5. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), 1934

6. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

7. Natural gas

(a) distribution problems

(b) intrastate vs. interstate prices

D. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies and the Oil Crises

1. Middle East the center of world oil production

2. OPEC formed in 1960

3. Role of Yom Kippur War in crude oil pricing

4. Arab oil embargo, 1973

(a) end of cheap, abundant energy

(b) U.S. dependence on foreign oil obvious

5. Increased domestic production – stop-gap measure

6. Nixon administration

(a) “Project Independence”

(b) Watergate and the oil crisis

7. Ford administration

(a) Windfall profits tax bill

8. Carter administration

(a) National Energy Plan (NEP)

(b) Department of Energy

9. Reagan administration

(a) Free markets satisfy all energy needs

10. Bush administration

(a) U.S. assistance to Saudi Arabia during Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

(b) Strategic Petroleum Reserve

11. OPEC’s world market share of oil

E. Development of Nuclear Power

1. Panacea for solving energy crisis

2. Atomic Energy Act of 1946

3. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)

4. Uncertain future

(a) Price-Anderson Act of 1957

5. Private Ownership of Special Nuclear Fuels Act

6. Environmental concerns boost nuclear power

7. 1973 energy crisis an opportunity to promote nuclear energy

8. Three Mile Island and decline of nuclear power industry

F. Development of a National Energy Policy

1. Presidential failure to develop a comprehensive energy plan

2. Pattern was crisis management

3. Ford administration dissolved AEC and creates ERDA and NRC

4. Carter’s NEP – “the moral equivalent of war”

(a) Conservation

(b) Criticism of Carter’s NEP

(d) PURPA

5. Reagan administration

(a) Prominence of free markets on energy policy

(b) Reduced or eliminated spending on alternative energy

6. George H.W. Bush administration

(a) CNEPA

7. Clinton administration

(a) Fuel efficiency

(b) Research funding for renewable energy

8. PURPA

9. George W. Bush administration

(a) Kyoto Protocol

(b) Lack of federal support for development of alternative energy

II. Nonrenewable Energy Sources

A. Coal

1. Most harmful

2. Most abundant in U.S.

3. Other costs of coal

4. Lack of strip mining enforcement

5. Demand for coal

B. Oil

1. Environmental problems

(a) Auto emissions

(b) Groundwater pollution

(d) Exxon Valdez – example

(e) Finite resource

C. Natural Gas

1. Cleanest burning fossil fuel

2. Transported as liquid natural gas

(a) Highly explosive

D. Geothermal Energy

1. Non-polluting

2. Perpetual source

3. Most U.S. sources found in the West

E. Nuclear Power

1. Environmental problems

(a) Nuclear meltdown

(b) Mining and storage of nuclear fuels

2. Consider entire nuclear fuel cycle

(a) Radiation

(b) Mishaps in transportation

3. “Yucca Mountain Solution”

III. Renewable Energy

A. Hydropower

1. Advantages

2. Disadvantages

3. Small-scale hydropower

4. Worldwide hydropower use

B. Solar Power

1. Passive

2. Active

3. Photovoltaic (PV) effect

(a) Communication industry

(b) Consumer products

4. Environmental impact

(a) Hazardous wastes

(b) Uses large amounts of land

C. Wind Power

1. Rapid growth in U.S.

2. International wind power

3. Obstacles

(a) Lack of an economical means to store electricity

(b) Requires backup from utility company

(d) Financial cost

D. Biomass

1. Waste products vs. special crops

2. Sources

(a) Wood

(b) Crop residues

(d) Corn to ethanol

3. Criticisms

4. Brazil biomass program

IV. Conservation and Energy Efficiency: Some Suggestions for the Future

A. Three Strategies to Meet Fossil Fuel Shortfalls

1. Remove subsidies

2. Barriers to conservation removed

3. Price of energy should reflect costs to society

B. Institutional Barriers

C. Effect of Market Forces on Conservation

1. Oil crises of 1973 and 1979

2. Conservation’s image of deprivation

3. Efficiency and economic success

D. Conservation in Homes and Buildings

1. Retrofitting

2. Energy efficiency in new buildings

(a) Super insulation

3. “Smart buildings”

4. Windows

5. Other energy saving measures

(a) Planting trees

(b) Condensing furnaces

(d) Lighting

6. Short term costs vs. long term savings

7. Cash bonuses vs. fires

8. Education

E. Conservation in Transportation

1. Largest drain on oil reserves

2. Acceptance of mass transit

3. External costs of autos

4. Hidden subsidies of autos

5. Hidden costs of autos

6. Some solutions

F. Conservation in Industry

1. Shift to more service industries

2. Cogeneration

3. Problems in less developed countries (LDCs)

G. Obstacles to Conservation

1. Instability of oil prices

2. Lack of appropriate taxes

V. An Ecological Conclusion

A. Illusion of Security

B. Overshooting the Earth’s Carrying Capacity

C. Transition to Renewable Energy

1. Slow and gradual vs. abrupt

CHAPTER 8: TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS WASTE

Chapter Outline

I. Solid Waste

A. What is Solid Waste?

1. Natural systems

(a) Disruption

2. Definition (not precise)

(a) Municipal waste

(b) Agricultural waste

3. Fragmented laws on waste focus on either:

(a) Where it is discharged

(b) Where it comes from

(d) The characteristics of the waste

B. Scope of the Problem

1. Per capita waste in U.S.

2. Most from mining and agriculture

3. Municipal waste (MSW) per year in U.S.

(a) Managerial and political problems

(b) U.S. generation of MSW compared to other developed countries

4. Lack of landfill space

5. Toxic leaks

(a) NYC’s Fresh Kills landfill – example

6. Improper disposal leads to disease

C. Disposal Methods

1. Dumping

(a) Open burning

(b) Ocean dumping

(d) Most landfills do not meet the ideal

2. Incineration

(a) Fastest growing method in U.S.

(b) Preferred method in Europe

3. Ocean dumping

(a) Discontinued in most coastal cities

(b) Wastewater sludge banned from ocean dumping in 1989

D. Regulations

1. Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) of 1965

(a) Only advisory

(b) State and local governments responsible for waste disposal

2. Resource Recovery Act of 1970

(a) Hands-off federal approach

(b) Provided financial assistance

3. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976

(a) Created regulations for the management of MSW

(b) Requires state solid waste management plans

4. Failure of state laws to restrict interstate disposal

E. Solutions

1. Best long-term solutions are expensive

2. Crisis situation has produced action

(a) Recycling

(b) Incineration for energy

(d) Taxes

3. Recycling

(a) Major drawbacks

(b) Unfavorable tax structure

4. Bottle laws

(a) Benefits

(b) Opposition

5. LULU’s

(a) Location

(b) Technology exists for acceptable landfills

(d) Crisis situation forcing long-term policy

6. Role of dominant social paradigm

(a) U.S. – throwaway society

(1) Packaging

(b) Changes are occurring

II. Hazardous Wastes

A. Toxic Pollution Affects You

1. Many in U.S. live near toxic waste

2. Found throughout the earth’s environment

B. Nature of the Problem

1. Numerous sources of toxic pollutants

2. Found in air, water, and soil

3. Uncertainty of production and disposal of waste

4. Radioactive wastes

5. Most hazardous waste generated not disposed of safely

6. Benefits of chemicals vs. costs in the future

7. Chemical quantity statistics

8. Problems of regulation

(a) Lack of knowledge

(b) Latency effect on humans

(d) Small doses are potent

(e) Resist biological breakdown

C. Disposal Methods

1. Illegal disposal

2. Underground injection

(a) In theory, cheap and safe method

(b) Drinking water pollution

3. Ocean dumping

(a) More serious than oil spills

(b) Effects on the food chain

4. Incineration

(a) Most promising long-term solution

(b) High temperature destroys some pollutants

(d) Incineration at sea

(1) Environmental opposition

(2) Problems

5. Export to other countries

(a) High cost of disposal in the U.S.

(b) Fewer environmental restrictions

(d) Willingness of LDCs

(e) Intent to Export filing with EPA

(f) Agreement between Mexico and U.S.

(g) Problems in Western Europe

6. Macrobiotic breakdown as a solution

(a) Promising for pesticides and solvents

(b) Costs less than other methods

D. Federal Regulations

1. Toxic Substances Control Act; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide

Act; and the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act

(a) All regulate chemicals used commercially

(b) Manufacturers conduct safety tests

(1) Amount of substances to be tested

(2) Costs

2. Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA); Safe

Drinking Water Act

(a) Regulate toxins in the environment

(b) Risk assessments by federal government

3. RCRA and Superfund

(a) Most important laws

(b) RCRA

(1) Permits required by EPA

(2) Fines and criminal liability

(1) Joint fund for clean-up

(2) Liability for clean-up

(3) Inadequate funds for clean-up

(4) A question of success

(5) Not currently renewed by Congress

(d) Both laws plagued by inadequate resources

(e) Example of legislation with no funds

E. Regulation Problems

1. Public objection to sites

2. Insurance and liability

3. Cost of disposal

4. Lack of incentives

5. Industry and state positions – greatest problem

(a) “Out of sight, out of mind”

(b) Lack of knowledge

6. Costs of cleaning sites

(a) High cost of disposal created two effects

(1) Booming hazardous waste disposal business

(2) “Midnight dumping”

7. Easy to circumvent regulations

8. Organized crime

(a) Illegal disposal methods

(1) Abandoning drums

(2) Spilling liquids on highways

(3) Mixing toxics with fuel oil

(4) Burying tanker trucks

(5) Pouring liquids into mine shafts, sewers, rivers and streams

9. Public opinion polls

10. LULU of a LULU

11. Where are hazardous waste sites placed?

(a) Poor neighborhoods

(b) Race most discriminating factor

(1) Barry Commoner – environmental racism

12. Two related problems of implementation

(a) Hazardous waste insurance

(b) Bankruptcy

(1) Supreme Court decision

13. Industry does not take regulations seriously

(a) EPA Criminal Enforcement Division

F. The Policy Paradox in Hazardous Waste Management

1. Why not more waste reduction at the source?

(a) two assumptions:

(1) inevitable byproducts of industry

(2) focus on disposal once generated

2. True costs are eventually paid

(a) by future generations

(b) by the public

3. The longer we wait, the greater the costs

4. Paradox of Superfund’s liability provisions

5. Full enforcement of Superfund and RCRA impossible

(a) timetables and deadlines difficult to meet

(b) lack of industry compliance

6. Regulations, economics, politics, and risk assessment

(a) effects of the Reagan administration

7. What you can do about toxic wastes

(a) have water supplies tested

(b) have an epidemiological study done

CHAPTER 9: LAND MANAGEMENT ISSUES

Chapter Outline

I. Local Land-Use Planning

A. Land-Use Planning is Contrary to Our DSP

B. Lack of Planning in Major U.S. Cities

1. Growth fueled by freeways and federally guaranteed mortgages

2. Traffic problems

C. DSP and Formal Incentives Influence Land-Use Decisions

II. Types of Land-Use Planning

A. Planning Methods

1. Comprehensive plans

2. Zoning

3. Issuance of variance

B. Four Basic Types of Planning – Guy Benveniste

1. Trivial

2. Utopian

3. Imperative

4. Intentional

C. Planning is Inherently Political

D. Urban Planning

1. Four major types of urban designations

(a) residential

(b) commercial

(d) special-use areas

2. Intent of urban land-use planning

(a) preserve quality of life

3. Some mixed zoning is unavoidable

4. Zoning decisions made by:

(a) planning commissions

(b) zoning boards

5. Re-election influences decisions

6. High stakes in zoning

7. Decisions made by politicians

8. The past does not bind us to the future

(a) impact of organized citizens

(b) impact of individuals on community

E. Smart Growth

1. Sprawling patterns of development with continue to be a major issue

2. Urban sprawl has created a number of problems

3. “Smart Growth” defined

4. Connections between development and quality of life

5. Although viewed favorably, Smart Growth principles rarely put into practice

6. Roles of local and state governments in implementing Smart Growth planning

7. Smart Growth needs political support in order to curb sprawl

F. Soil Erosion

1. Threat to agricultural productivity

(a) dependent on quantity and quality of soil

2. Soil erosion – defined

(a) lacks “crisis” quality

(b) difficult to mobilize policy makers

3. Agricultural production vs. perception of erosion

(a) increased use of fertilizers

(b) farming marginal cropland

4. Natural Resources Conservation Service

(a) provides technical assistance

(b) no authority

5. Agricultural legislation

(a) 1985 farm bill

(b) 2006 Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)

6. Statistics on grass- and shrublands in U.S.

G. Farmland Conversion

1. Worldwide problem: farmland vs. metropolitan areas

2. DSP affects land conversion

(a) primacy of markets

(b) individual enterprises

3. Metropolitan areas cannot be converted back to farmland

(a) arguments of some economists

(b) arguments by the Ehrlichs

4. Williamson Act in California

(a) property tax relief to farmers

(b) temporary measure

5. A national policy to prevent farmland conversion unlikely in near future

H. Desertification

1. Desertification – defined

(a) statistics on impact on U.S.

(b) not a “crisis” situation

2. Problems internationally

(a) LDCs

3. Lack of support from farmers

(a) threat to livelihood

(b) investments equal increased productivity

4. Threat to our ability to produce food

5. Benefits of organic farming

(a) reduce soil erosion

(b) meet domestic food needs

6. Paradox

(a) incentives for policy makers

III. Federal Land Management

A. Statistics on Federal Lands

B. Major Federal Land Management Agencies

1. Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

2. U.S. Forest Service (USFS)

3. National Park Service (NPS)

4. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

C. Policies Reflect a Pluralistic System

D. Multiple-Use

1. Variety of activities

2. Statutory basis for multiple-use

(a) USFS Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960

(b) BLM’s Classification and Multiple Use Act of 1964

3. Goals provide for activities such as:

(a) forestry

(b) mining

(d) hiking and camping

(e) wilderness preservation

4. Question of possibility or desirability

5. Criticisms

(a) management discretion

(b) reflects institutional bias

E. Recreation

1. Has increased significantly on federal lands

(a) Colorado Plateau – example

2. Conflict between recreation and preservation

3. Permits and fees

F. Fee Demonstration Project

1. Authorized by Congress in 1996

2. Purpose was to assist federal land management agencies in recovering some costs

3. Regulates use of popular federal recreation areas

4. Fees intended for maintenance projects and public service enhancements

G. Commercial Recreation Permits and Concessions

1. Commercial recreation permits

(a) Issued to private companies, individuals or organizations that profit from

public lands

2. Concession permits

(a) provide facilities and services to the public (e.g., lodging and food services)

3. Cost of administering permits often greater than generated fees

(a) Grand Canyon example

H. Fire Management

1. Two controversial practices

(a) prescribed burns

(b) prescribed natural fires (“let it burn”)

2. National Fire Plan, 2000

(a) reduction of hazardous fuels within national forests

3. Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA), 2003

4. Criticism of prescribed burns

5. Possible threats to public safety and private property

I. Roadless Areas

1. Roadless Conservation Rule, 2001

(a) meant to protect roadless areas of national forests

(b) protection of many species

2. Opposition to Rule by George W. Bush administration

(a) changes to Roadless Rule

3. Changes to petitions

4. Criticism from environmental groups

IV. Wilderness

A. History

1. Creation of Yellowstone National Park, 1872

2. Wilderness Act in 1964

3. Designation of wilderness area one of most controversial federal land-use issues in

second half of the 20^th century and on

(a) must contain certain values to be considered wilderness

(b) “pure wilderness”

4. Local governments and citizens can designate areas as wild and protect them

5. Local government measures to protect existing wilderness

(a) concurrency laws

(b) development impact fees

B. Proposed Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas

1. Roadless Area Review and Evaluation study (RARE) by USFS

(a) RARE-1

(1) criticisms by conservationists

(b) RARE-2 recommended 15.4 million acres wilderness

(1) 10.6 million acres for further study

(2) 36 million acres released for timber harvesting, etc.

2. BLM wilderness study area review

3. Wilderness Act of 1964 and mining interests

(a) must be “substantially unnoticeable”

4. Grazing rights

C. National Park Service Management

1. Hands-off policy toward land management

2. Criticisms

(a) ignoring past human intervention

(b) parks are not closed ecosystems

(1) encroachment

(1) dam construction

(2) sewage and chemical run-off

(3) oil and gas

(4) uranium mining

(5) power plant developments

3. Politics

(a) little controversy

(b) directors share Park Service philosophy

(1) for park acquisition

(2) endangered species protection

(3) not given free reign under Reagan

(4) proposed radical change in park management

(5) policy was not carried out

4. Wilderness disputes on a state-by-state basis

5. Future conflicts

D. Endangered Species

1. Global species loss

(a) estimated extinction rates

2. Species preservation important for future health and development of humankind

(a) drugs

(b) future benefits

3. Upsets natural balance of world ecosystems

4. Species endangered by:

(a) hunting

(b) habitat destruction

5. Ocean fish and mammals – example

6. CITES

7. Arguments for ecosystem preservation

8. U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973

(a) National Marine Fishery Service identifies endangered marine species

(b) U.S. FWS identifies other animal and plant species

(d) Major features of the Endangered Species Act

(e) Controversies

(1) the snail darter case

(f) Need for law to be updated

9. National Wildlife Refuge System

(a) Controversy

(b) No clear guidelines for the system

(d) Air and water quality issues

(e) National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act (NWRSIA), 1997

E. Ecosystem Management

1. Ecosystem management should look at all species, not just one

2. No one accepted definition of ecosystem management, just common principles

(a) humans are an integral part of the ecosystem

(b) humans depend, and create stress, on ecosystems

3. Sustainable ecosystems

(a) Pacific Northwest ecosystem management plan

(b) Columbia River Basin

4. Problems in implementation

5. Some suggest replacing current land management guidelines with ecosystem

management

CHAPTER 10: INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Chapter Outline

I. Population and Food Production

A. Carrying Capacity

1. Definition

2. Explosion/disappearance sequence

3. Humans have overshot historical carrying capacity

(a) intensified agriculture

(b) concentrated housing

B. U.N. population predictions

C. Fertility Rates

D. Population Sustaining Capacity

E. Decline of World Food Production

F. What is the World’s Carrying Capacity?

G. What Do These Figures Mean?

1. Julian Simon

2. Paul and Anne Ehrlich

3. Depends on what numbers are examined

H. Few Scholars are Optimistic

1. Environmental stresses are leading us to starvation

I. “Demographic Transition” by Frank Notestein

1. Three stages:

(a) high birth and death rates

(b) low death rates and high birth rates

2. Industrial world have transitioned from second to third stage

3. LDCs remain at second stage

4. Leaders of LDCs may not notice the “trap”

5. DSP of LDCs contributes to trap

6. LDCs are reluctant to take advice

7. Assistance emphasized non-renewable over sustainable development

8. Assistance in food transfers

J. Steady State After the Crash

1. Humanity will survive the population explosion

K. Paradox

1. Recognition of the problem with few solutions

L. What Can You Do?

1. Eat non-processed or low-processed foods

2. Become a vegetarian

3. Eat more chicken or fish

II. Desertification and Food Production

A. Affects All Continents

1. Greatest impacts on Africa

B. Involves Many Problems

1. Social

2. Cultural

3. Political

4. Ecological

C. No Simple Solutions

1. Not viewed as a “crisis”

2. Activities are necessary to live

III. Global Pollution

A. The Ozone Layer

1. Increase in global CFC production

2. Effects of ozone depletion

(a) skin cancer

(b) upset ocean food chains

3. Necessitates international cooperation

(a) already occurred

(b) Montreal Protocol

B. The Greenhouse

1. Atmospheric conditions altered by humans

2. Carbon dioxide levels of 550 ppm

3. Effects of global warming

(a) world coastal flooding

(b) erratic food production

4. International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

5. Kyoto Protocol

6. Cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions

C. Deforestation

1. Related to greenhouse effect

2. Deforestation much greater than reforestation

3. Most occurs in LDCs

4. Prospects for ending not encouraging

5. Termites equal methane gas

6. Failure of protective management of forests

D. Ocean Pollution

1. Requires international cooperation

2. Forms of pollution

3. Conflicting interests of nations

IV. Less Developed Countries: North vs. South

A. LDCs play a vital role in global environmental management

B. Environmental Problems of LDCs

1. Deforestation – example

C. Colonization

1. Europeans exploited resources

2. Exploitation continues today

D. Model of Development for LDCs Detrimental to Ecosystem

1. World Bank projects

(a) emphasize technology over sustainability

2. Short-term gains, long-term costs

V. International Conflict

A. LDCs’ Futures Will Determine Our Future

B. Global Security and World Peace

1. Stockholm Conference, 1972

(a) disagreement between LDCs and developed nations

(b) U.S. prescribing a medicine that it has failed to take itself

2. Recognition of need for environmental protection

3. LDCs will not have future access to resources

C. Lifestyle Changes for the Developed World

1. Auto travel

2. Beef consumption

3. Pets

D. Increased Pressure on Politicians

1. Conflict and exploitation of poor by rich

E. Real Security

1. Funds from military to sustainable development

F. Paradox

1. Crisis situation

G. Solutions Require Money and Organization

1. Money is there

2. Incentives and institutional framework is not

CHAPTER 11: INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Chapter Outline

I. International Environmentalism

II. Alternative Political Systems

A. Types of Economies

1. “mixed” economy

2. collective ownership system

3. capitalist system

B. Market-Based Economies

1. Capitalist nations

(a) profit motive

(b) private control of production

(1) corporate power over people

(2) corporate power over politicians and public policy

(3) big bureaucracy

C. Collective Ownership Systems

1. State controls how and what is produced

2. Production not limited by social institutions

3. Freedom of worker replaced by orders of state

D. Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

1. Since Stalin, high priority on industrializing nations

2. Many environmental laws, lack of enforcement

3. Eastern European reforms, 1989-90

4. Pollution a serious problem in former communist states

5. “Black triangle”

6. Incentives over environmentalism

E. China

1. Harmony with nature vs. economics

2. Until 1979, no pollution control policy

3. New attitudes about the environment

(a) Forestry Act and Law on Environmental Protection

4. Obstacles to solving pollution

(a) large country

(b) lack of compliance

(d) land-use policies

(e) erosion problems

5. Positive approach to cleaning up the environment

6. Criticisms

(a) creating an illusion of environmental protection

(b) lack of adequate support or enforcement, technology

III. International Environmental Management

A. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1972

1. Problems have worsened since 1972

B. Common Pool Resources

1. Air

(a) lack of incentives to limit pollution

2. Ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect

C. Creation of an IGO

1. Created during crisis

2. Participants decide on procedures and rules

3. Participants agree on compliance and enforcement

4. Depends on mutual consent of all parties

5. Decisions are made through consensus

(a) this requires sacrifice

6. Free-rider problem

7. Enforcement

(a) violators must be identified

(1) sovereignty and access questions

(b) mean of enforcement

(1) negative or positive sanctions

(2) equity issues

8. Will crisis be dealt with in time?

IV. Economic Globalization and the Second Industrial Revolution

A. Maintaining Biodiversity

B. Economic Globalization

1. New technologies

2. “Robber baron” corporations

3. Natural resource exploitation

C. Environmental Dangers from Corporations

1. Threatening environmental stability

D. Environmental Protection at a Number of Levels

V. International Regulatory Efforts

A. Controlling Oceanic Pollution

1. Concern as early as the mid-1920s

(a) focused on zone-based restrictions

2. London Dumping Convention, 1972

3. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1994

(a) binding on all countries, not just signatories

B. Atmospheric Conventions

1. Montreal Protocol, 1987

2. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 1992

(a) Kyoto Protocol, 1997

C. Hazardous Waste Control at the International Level

1. Shipping of hazardous wastes across international boundaries

2. Basel Convention, 1989

D. Protection of Endangered and Threatened Species

1. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), 1972

VI. Trends in the International Regulatory Process

A. Resulted of International Accords and Conventions Best Described as Restrained Optimism

B. Mixed results

C. Success of the Montreal Protocol

D. Need for Incentives