Chapter 24: Politics, Environment, and Sustainability

24.1 How Can Government Help With The Transition To More Sustainable Societies?

Government Can Serve Environmental and Other Public Interests

• There needs to be a 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: Depletion or degradation of a potentially renewable resource to which people have free and unmanaged access
• Policies: Set of laws and regulations
• Environmental policy
• Policy life cycle – four stages
  • Recognition
  • Formulation
  • Implementation
  • Control

Democracy Does Not Always Allow for Quick Solutions

• United States is a constitutional democracy
• Three branches of government
  • Legislative
  • Executive
  • Judicial
• Special-interest groups pressure the government
  • Profit-making organizations
  • Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
• Politicians focus on problems with short-term effects

Certain Principles Can Guide Us in Making Environmental Policy

• The humility principle: How our actions affect nature
• The reversibility principle: Avoid decisions that cannot be reversed
• The net energy principle: Avoid low net energy yields
• The precautionary principle: Take precautionary measures
• The prevention principle: Help prevent problems from occurring
• The polluter-pays principle: Taxes, etc.
• The environmental justice principle: No person should bear an unfair burden

24.2 How Is Environmental Policy Made?

How Democratic Government Works: The U.S. Model

• Three branches
  • Legislative branch
  • Executive branch
  • Judicial branch
• Develop and implement policy
  • Laws, regulations, and funding
  • Lobbying

Developing Environmental Policy Is a Controversial Process

• Funding needed
• Regulations and rules needed to implement the law
• Environmental regulatory agencies play an important role
  • Regulated businesses try to have their members appointed to regulatory agency

Individuals Can Influence Environmental Policy

• Individuals matteR
• 2007 – Chinese citizens opposed the construction of a chemical plant
  • Mobile phone text messaging spread the word
• At a fundamental level, all politics is local

Influencing Environmental Policy

• Become informed on issues
• Make your views known at public hearings
• Make your views known to elected representatives and understand their positions on environmental issues
• Contribute money and time to candidates who support your views
• Votes
• Run for office
• Form or join non-government organizations (NGOs) seeking change
• Support reform of election campaign financing that reduces undue influence by corporations and wealthy individuals.

Environmental Leaders Can Make a Big Difference

• Lead by example
• Work within existing economic and political systems
• Run for local office
• Propose and work for better solutions to environmental problems

24.3 How Can Environmental Law Help In Dealing with Environmental Problems?

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
  • Injunction: court hearing
  • Class action suit: civil suit filed by a group
  • Negligence: damage caused by deliberately acting unreasonably

Environmental Lawsuits Are Difficult to Win

• Legal standing
• Very expensive
• Public interest law firms
  • Cannot recover attorney’s fees
• Plaintiffs must establish that harm has been done
• Statutes of limitation: Limit the length of time a plaintiff can sue
• Appeals: years to settle
• Strategic lawsuits against public Participation (SLAPPs)

U.S. Environmental Laws

• Types of Legislation
  • Set standards for pollution levels
  • Screen new substances for safety
  • Encourage resource conservation
  • Protect spaces and ecosystems
  • Require evaluation of activity proposed by the federal agency
  • Environmental impact statement
• Have been highly effective
  • Especially in pollution control
• Since 1980, well-organized forces against existing environmental laws
• Environmentalists primarily bring bad news to the public

24.4 What Are the Major Roles of Environmental Groups?

Citizen Environmental Groups Play Important Roles

• Nonprofit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working at all levels
  • International, national, state, and local
• Small grassroots groups to worldwide organizations
• Global public policy networks
  • Focus on particular environmental problems
• Shifting resources to publicizing innovation

The Natural Resources Defense Council

• NRDC: Goes to court to stop environmentally harmful practices
  • Informs and organizes millions of environmental activists to take action to protect the environment
  • Website, magazines, and newspapers
• BioGems Network: Informs subscribers of environmental threats
• 2005: blocked the EPA from finalizing a “blending” proposal for untreated sewage
• 2001: protect a vast area of Great Bear Rainforest from logging

Grassroots Environmental Groups Bring About Change from the Bottom Up

• Global sustainability movement
  • Citizen-based
• Conservation land trusts
  • Property owners agree to protect the land from development and harmful activities
• Nonviolent, nondestructive tactics

The Environmental Transformation of Chattanooga, TN

• In the 1960s – one of the dirtiest cities in the U.S.
• 1984 – Vision 2000 process
  • Build consensus on what the city should be
• The city:
  • Encouraged zero-emission industries
  • Renovated low-income housing
  • Launched an innovative recycling program

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
  • What are some examples of student groups and what they can accomplish?

24.5 How Can We Improve Global Environmental Security?

Why Is Global Environmental Security Important?

• Countries are legitimately concerned with national security and economic security
• All economies supported by natural capital
• Failing states – rooted in ecological crisis
  • Darfur, Sudan, Africa

We Can Develop Stronger International Environmental Policies

• United Nations – most influential
  • Family of global policy-making organizations
• Other influential groups
  • The World Bank, etc.
• U.N. Conference of Environment and Development – Agenda 21
  • Rio+20 Earth Summit Conference in 2012

Corporations Can Play a Key Role in Environmental Sustainability

• Corporations have the profits to provide funding
• Eco-efficiency: Finding ways to create economic value with less harmful impacts
• Nature Conservancy program: Help companies include the monetary value of natural capital in goals and strategies

24.6 How Can We Implement More Just Environmental Policies?

We Can Shift to More Environmentally Sustainable Societies

• Emphasize preventing or minimizing environmental problems
• Use market-place solutions
• Win-win solutions or trade-offs to environmental problems or injustices
• Be honest and objective
• Making this shift involveS
  • Economic, political, and ethical decisions

Three Big Ideas

• An important outcome of the political process is environmental policy
  • The body of laws, regulations, and programs that are designed, implemented, funded, and enforced by one or more government agencies
• All politics is local
  • Individuals can work with each other to become part of political processes that influence environmental policies
• Environmental security is necessary for economic security and is at least as important as national security
  • Making the transition to more environmentally sustainable societies will require that nations cooperate just as they do for national security purposes

Tying It All Together: Greening College Campuses and Sustainability

• It is possible to create sustainable environmental policies
• National and international policymakers should:
  • Try for win-win solutions
  • Make each decision with future generations in mind

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