Chapter Eleven: Environmental and Energy Policy

1. Chapter Eleven: Environmental and Energy Policy

2. Introduction • What does environmental policy address and how has it evolved? • What are the major U.S. environmental policies? Have they been effective? • What natural resource policies are in place? • How does the U.S. use energy, and what is U.S. energy policy? • What is being done about climate change?

3. What Does Environmental Policy Address? How Has It Evolved?

4. Environmental Policy at a Crossroad Narrow View Modern, Broader View Set of natural systems that interact in complex ways Environment supplies humans (and other species) with necessities for life Policy implications Sustainable development • Humans’ relationship to nature • Human health and the environment Policy implications Protection through regulation

5. Environmental Policy: Overview • Definition: Government actions that affect environmental quality and the use of natural resources • Broad in scope, complicated, scientific • Three focus areas: • Pollution control/protection • Resource use and protection • Energy use and conservation

6. Environmental Policy (cont’d) • Many actors and interest groups • States have a very strong role: implement the federal policies • Regulatory solutions historically favored • command and control • Public opinion is a major player

7. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Independent executive agency • Reports to and follows lead of current administration • Largest federal agency • 10 regional offices work closely with states

8. History of Environmental Policy:From Consensus to Conflict • Early focus through 1960s: protect resources 1970s: control pollution • 1980s-00s: Incremental reform • policy enhancement • Clinton’s collaborative decision making • Since 1980s- mostly conflict and gridlock • Now, from domestic concerns to global concerns

9. Notice These Themes: • Tension between business and environmental interests • Partisan disagreement • Perspectives on the “truth” of science vary • Shift from domestic to global issues

10. Early Policies What Are the Major Federal Environmental Policies?

11. 1969: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) • States not protecting the environment • Focused on the process of decision-making • Required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) • Assess environmental effects of proposed action • Public scrutiny, consultation with affected parties • Changed the way decisions made about development; still in use today

12. How Does NEPA Work? • Video: (http://youtu.be/0DAWOui0UzU) • “NEPA Citizen’s Guide.” Letsbe7, September 24, 2008. Practical and informative video about what the National Environmental Policy Act requires and how it works. (Time: 7:05)

13. Seven Major Environmental Protection Statutes • Clean Air Act1970, amended 1990 • Air quality standards, auto emission limits (factories and vehicles), acid rain • Clean Water Act 1972 • regulates surface water; “fishable and swimmable” • Identified “impaired waters” • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 1972 • Food safety

14. Major Statutes (cont’d) • Safe Drinking Water Act 1974 • Health standards for public water supplies • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 1976 • Hazardous waste • Toxic Substances Control Act1976 • Regulation of commercial chemicals; red tape, ineffective • Superfund 1980 • Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

15. Common Themes of Policies of 1970s • They touch every aspect of our lives • EPA regulates release of pollutants • Emphasize EPA and state command regulations on business and industry • Political • EPA vs. commercial interests • Difficult issues • Science is rarely exact – room for debate • Balancing act between commerce and protection

17. Have They Worked? • Hard to evaluate: long term, many factors • Air quality • Overall- cleaner; localized problems • Urban air quality better • Water quality • Drinking water - better • Surface water - mixed • point-source pollution improved; non-point source • Superfund sites: progress, but costly

18. Conflict in the 1980s and 1990s • Conservatives – too much regulation • Industry: concerned effects on economy • Reagan and Bush policies • Attempted to roll back many statutes, but little happened • Public opinion: protect the environment • Congress strengthened air and hazardous waste policies • Conflict continues today

19. What Natural Resource Policies are in Place?

20. Natural Resource Policies • Traditionally: Conserve land, forests, parks, animals • Goals: effective, efficient, equitable use of resources • Major tool: government management • Continuing tension: commerce vs. environment • Mining, timber industry • Development

21. Major Natural Resource Policies • National Environmental Policy Act (1969) • Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976) • National Forest Management Act (1976) • Public input into land use planning • Manage public resources • Broader perspective on resource use issues – not just economic issues • Endangered Species Act (1973)

22. Endangered Species Act 1973 • Controversial • Conservation goals vs. economic interests • Government got broader authority to protect habitats • Bald eagles and wolves – coming back, new issues

23. Have Natural Resources Been Protected? • Acreage of protected land up • Some endangered animal species better off • Healthy ecosystems? • Mixed • How do you measure health of an ecosystem? • Difficult to measure • Emerging concern: water resources

24. Emerging Policy Tools for Protecting Natural Resources • Reduce subsidies for resource use (mining, timber, oil and gas exploration) • Impose user fees • More control for state and local governments • Sustainable development movement • Ecosystem-based management • Better measurements of environmental quality

25. Energy Policy and Climate Change

26. The Emergent Patterns of Climate Change • Video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrJJxn-gCdo)

27. Carbon Emissions • Video: (http://youtu.be/3Zo8YqQU2zg) • “Obama’s action on carbon emissions angers Congress.” CNN. June 2, 2014. News story about Obama’s use of executive orders on regulating power plant emissions. (Time: 2:47)

28. U.S. Energy Policy • No comprehensive energy policy • Gridlock...incremental • CAFE standards rose in 2007 • 2005 Energy Policy Act (Bush 2) • Domestic production of fossil fuels • Nuclear expansion (funding issue) • Protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from drilling

29. U.S. Energy Policy • Planned stricter regulations of emissions and a push for investment in renewable energy • EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and Obama administration’s response to climate change reports • Most progress led by Executive Orders by the President due to severe gridlock in Congress

30. How Do We Use Energy? • U.S. Energy Information Administration • Most energy used in U.S. comes from petroleum • Majority is imported • Yet - top U.S. export is refined petroleum • Most used for transportation or manufacturing • Alternative energy slowly increasing

32. Climate Change • Intergovernmental panel on climate change

33. Recent Policy Proposals • Increased bipartisan support for energy policy • Cap and Trade policy proposals • Government issues permits to businesses to release carbon (caps number of permits/level of emissions) • Companies can buy and sell the permits (trade) • Over time, reduce the emission permit levels available • Market incentives to reduce emissions

34. Climate Security Act proposal (2008) • Video: Bipartisan: Lieberman-Warner • Cap and trade market mechanism • Carbon capture and filtration – coal producers • Alternative energy investment • Cleaner cars • Research • One of largest spending bills ever considered by Congress (until then) • Ultimately failed. What happened? Why?

35. Obama’s Policy Initiatives • American Investment and Recovery Act, 2009 (Stimulus) • Environment and Energy –$50 billion • What the stimulus invested in • He has made enemies on both sides • Support for nuclear energy • Limited off-shore drilling US coastlines for oil

36. Emerging Energy/Resource Issues • Tragedy of the Commons and seafood • A major natural resource issue focuses not on energy, but on global food supply. With global collapses of the fishing industry, how does a very international issue get solved through domestic policy? Explain the tragedy of the commons as it concerns global fisheries and what dire outcomes have resulted.

37. Emerging Energy/Resource Issues • Policies to address the tragedy of commons • Shared benefits in the form of catch shares • International reciprocity agreements

38. Emerging Energy/Resource Issues Fracking for natural gas

39. Emerging Energy/Resource Issues • Tar Sands • KeystoneXLPipeline

40. Emerging Energy/Resource Issues • Nuclear Power • Zero greenhouse gas emissions and highly efficient - huge energy output • Hit and miss internationally in terms of policy • Majority of France’s energy needs come from nuclear • Germany is phasing out its nuclear power in the wake of Fukushima

41. Emerging Energy/Resource Issues Nuclear (cont’d) • Is it worth it? • What do we do with waste? • Have Chernobyl and Fukushima demonstrated it is unsafe?

42. Environmental Policy and Ethics • Many policies can be practical, but should we also consider whether we ought to adopt them for moral reasons? • Do we consider future generations (intergenerational equity)? • Is it right or fair that Kyoto puts the burden of emissions reduction on developed countries? • If we screwed things up, does that obligate us to fix it (think climate change)?

43. Wrap-Up • Three areas of focus: • Environmental protection: pollution control • Protection of natural resources • Energy policy and global warming • Themes: • Economic conditions prevent investing in environment • Expensive to wait • Science is central, but not 100% sure • Must transition from fossil fuels…but which policies to employ?