8.13 Environmental Policy: 1968-1980

Environmental Policy (1968-1980)

Learning Objective

  • Explain the development and changes in environmental policies from 1968 to 1980 and the reasons behind them.

Natural Resources Outside the U.S.

  • Oil: The most significant natural resource.
    • The United States was heavily dependent on oil.
    • Much of the world's oil came from Middle Eastern nations.
OPEC
  • Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC):
    • Formed by oil-producing Arab nations to control oil prices.
    • In 1973, OPEC reduced oil exports to the U.S. and raised prices.
    • This led to fuel price increases and shortages in the U.S.
  • Impact:
    • American policymakers realized their energy resources were not under their control.
    • The U.S. began to consider alternative energy sources.
Alternative Energy: Nuclear Energy
  • Benefits:
    • Uranium was plentiful and cheap.
    • Nuclear reactions do not produce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2CO_2) during processing.
      *The US invented it.
Three Mile Island
  • 1979: A partial meltdown occurred at a nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.
    • Radioactive waste was released into the environment.
    • The government worked to clean it up.
    • The incident raised fears about the safety of nuclear energy.
  • Impact:
    • The accident, along with Chernobyl, increased public fear regarding nuclear energy.
    • National policy on energy did not gain much traction.
    • Gave momentum to the environmental movement.

Environmental Movement in the U.S.

Rachel Carson and Silent Spring
  • Silent Spring (1962): By Rachel Carson
    • Explained how modern society was poisoning the earth.
    • Focused on the use of DDT pesticides in agriculture.
Earth Day
  • First Earth Day (1970): Gained significant exposure for the environmental movement.
    • Focused on the dangers of nuclear energy after the Three Mile Island.

Environmental Policy

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • Established in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.
    • Tasks:
      • Manage pollution control programs, including pesticides.
      • Oversee the regulation of polluting industries.
Cuyahoga River Fire
  • 1969: The Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire due to heavy pollution from upstream factories.
    • The river had caught fire multiple times (about 14 times).
  • Impact:
    • Increased public demand for environmental protection.
    • Americans were fed up with environmental degradation.
Clean Air Act
  • Passed in 1963: Aimed at controlling air pollution on a national scale.
    • The EPA took over the regulatory work of this policy after its creation.