Environmental Policy

1. Class 10: Env Policy Making: Process CofC Fall 2010 Environmental Policy

2. Recap • Historical Drivers of Environmental Degradation (McNeil) • History of Environmental Change (McNeil, White & Diamond) • Environmental Decision Making (Wapner) • EP is about values and conflict of environmental values (Layzer) • Issue Framing • US Env History • Today: Env Policy Process

3. EPP: Wind ExampleFactors in Policy Outcome • President Obama’s “Energy Superhighway” • Local State (Wyoming) positioned geographically & economically to take advantage • Congress: Passing Stimulus package ($781b) of which $61b went to wind energy promotion • Job creation vs. aesthetics @ local level • Landowners received $10k/tower • Public divided • Econ, technological and political uncertainties • Can wind compete with oil/gas??? • Sage Grouse impact—”endangered species”? On list? • POLICY OUTCOME: dependent on interplay of conservation science, the energy market, fed policy decisions, public mood, tech innovation—how to assess and address risk!

4. Basic Definitions • Environmental Politics: “how humanity organizes itself to relate to the nature that sustains it.” • POLITICS: Who gets what, when and how • ”authoritative allocation of values” on human-nature interface • Environmental Policy: “any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on humans” --(Wikipedia, from McCormick 2001) • Why Government Intervention for Enviro Protection? Because of market failure in the form of externalities, including the free rider problem and the tragedy of the commons.

5. Environmental Policy is Broad • Covers: • Food production • Human population growth • National and international security • Protection of global ecological systems • Human health and safety • Energy use • Transportation policy • Agriculture • People from ecological change • Differs from Public Policy in that issues are: (i) more urgent, (ii) essential to human life, and (iii) often can have catastrophic or irreversible consequences

6. US History(Taking Sides Intro) Part III

7. 3 Waves of Environmentalism • 1. Conservation Wave: Began with conservation/preservation of ‘wilderness’ in early 1900s—setting up national parks, etc. (Muir, Leopold, Pinchot) • Wilderness: “biotic associations be maintained, or where necessary recreated, as nearly as possible in the condition that prevailed when the area was first visited by the white man.” • 2. Human Health Wave: Earth Day (1970) • Primarily Concerned with human health from environment--Rachel Carson (DDT) (beginning in late ‘60s); Air/Water pollution; population growth • Marked by fed legis & laws passed on enviro protection: Superfund, CWA, CAA, NEPA, Wilderness Act • In 1970, 53% of Americans viewed “reduction of air/water pollution as a nat’l priority” • Shift away from elitist, natural roots of environmentalism: NGOs. • 3. “Beltway Environmentalism” (late 80s) • Responding to antagonistic Reagan Admin, which attempted to roll back all legis/laws from the 2nd wave • Enviro NGOs focused on priorities of Wave 1 to accomplish this, rather than controversial industry practices (e.g. animal preservation) • Conclusion: This created a “disastrously incomplete picture of environmentalism” b/c it left out human communities, cities, post-industrial landscapes, and challenges of sustainability. • EJ in the 90s sought to correct this problem

8. 4th Wave of Environmentalism?? • Defined more by the problems than by the attempt to change/solutions • Concern over megatrends: Climate change, biodiversity loss, urbanization, modes of energy, globalization of environmental problems • Interconnection of Environmental change to larger scale problems: poverty, social problems, education, disease, inequality (gender, class), conflict, migration/displacement, etc. • Interconnection of paradigmatic approaches to problems: human rights, development, security, • Debate centers over solutions and scale • Sustainability, climate adaptation, econ development, renewable energy portfolios, security • Scale: global solutions vs regional or even local

9. Post Earth Day Success • Air/Water pollution decreased significantly • Ozone Regulation (new substitutes & policy) • Pesticides/Insecticide controls Failures • Food—GMOs, regulation, organics, chemicals • 60% + of US pop live w/in unhealthy pollution • More than ½ of US’ biologically essential estuaries and ½ rivers are “unacceptably polluted”—still largely unregulated • More chemicals in house, but little science/regulation—less than 6% of all chemicals • Exposure to enviro contaminants lacks scientific evid • Social and economic costs of enviro poll underestimated • Addressing waste issues—tradeoffs • Increasing power in interest groups and corporations

10. Continuing Challenges • Policy Implementation: changes to public mood, resources available, political parties in control, President, & State/local gov’ts • Rising Costs: US spends 2% of GDP on environmental control • Costs more for innovation—otherwise, “end of pipe” pollution treatment • Science/Technology: double edged sword, helps with Ozone, but contributes to uncertainty—changing particulate standards • Sustainability: Definition?? Implementation?

11. Primary Actors in US Enviro Policy-Making • Government Actors • President and Congress: powerful incentives to take on enviro policy issues; key variable is salience of issue (extent public cares about it) • Administrators: critical role b/c they implement laws passed by Congress. Based on science/economics, can modify policy goals (e.g. Forest Service, EPA, or BLM) • Judiciary: Fed Cts review agency decision; expanded purview with ‘standing’ in 70s • State & Local Officials: Imp b/c of Federalism, but often focused on econ impacts b/c of need to attract/retain industry (public op is important too) • Non-State Actors • Advocacy Orgs (NGOs): all governance levels: global to local; build broad coalitions • Experts: wide variety (lawyers, scientists, economists); not neutral; make value judgments like everyone else • Media: critical component; cover all aspects (inform, persuade, dictate); policy-makers and media have mutually reinforcing relationship (influence each other).

12. Climate change Example(Rosenbaum, pp 32-37) • Competing interests • Competing Institutions • Competing Discourses (“Issue framing”) • Competing values • Competing ideologies • All catering to develop policy choices/alternatives and to compete over public perceptions, values, and worldviews (that shape individual action—see our flowchart)

13. Enviro Policy-Making Process • Agenda Setting: getting problem on subject list • Alternative Formulations: possible solutions to prob • Decision-Making: choosing among alternatives to address prob • Implementation: translating decision into concrete action • Evaluation: assessing those actions for their constituency with a policy’s goals.

14. General Rules from Policy Process • Legis and Administrative Policy makers generally engage in routine decision-making, avoiding change • Constitutional Constraints • Checks and balances • Federalism • Organized interests—political activism at all levels • Substantial divergence from status quo only when the following “streams” converge: • Government concentration on a particular set of probs—window of opportunity opens • Policy community (experts, media, advocacy groups) initiate and refine proposals • Political events (change in admin or problem) induce change • In absence of convergence of 3 streams  policy makers prefer incremental change or no change. • Incrementalism is “politically seductive” (p42) and results in “policy adjustments at the margins”

15. Interest Group Politics • Organized interests that affect public policy • Have an increasing role in shaping policy • Access is granted in our political system for lobbying as a central component • Business/Corps are the most fundamental interest group—and most effective • 70% of all interest groups addressing Climate change were business interests (and over $70m spent) in ‘08 • Has a “special relationship with government” because the overall economy health is key to politics • Environmentalism as a “special interest” • Enlarging access • Have re-balanced interest group politics—more influence • But becoming increasing based on donor’s $$ • Narrower issues • Ideology of Enviro: “pluralism is still bounded by general values, attitudes and beliefs” that shapes worldviews in engaging political action

16. Rosenbaum’s Typology of Environmental Politics • Ideological Mainstream • Pragmatic reformers (Sierra Club, Nat’l Wildlife Fed) • Stress incrementalism • Deep Ecologists—lifestyle transformation • All forms of life have equal claim on existence • Biocentric vs. Anthropocentric • Radical Environmentalism • Active political activism through direct action toward environmental ends • NOTE: Our Typology (institutionalist, mktlibs, bioenviros, social greens) is probably a better construction of approaches to environmental issues or worldviews