Politics, Environment,
and Sustainability
Chapter 24
24-1 The Role of Government in the
Transition to More Sustainable Societies
 Concept 24-1 A government can help to protect
environmental and public interests and help to
encourage more environmentally sustainable
economic development through its policies.
Government Can Serve Environmental
and Other Public Interests (1)
 Balance between government intervention and
free enterprise
 Is the government the best mechanism to deal
with
• Full-cost pricing
• Market failures
• The tragedy of the commons
Government Can Serve Environmental
and Other Public Interests (2)
 Policies and politics
 Environmental policy
 Policy life cycle: 4 stages
•
•
•
•
Recognition
Formulation
Implementation
Control
Recognition
Identify the problem
Nonpoint-source
water pollution
Indoor air pollution
Electronic waste
Mining wastes
Control
Monitor and adjust
Outdoor air pollution
Sewage treatment
problems
Drinking water pollution
Point-source water
pollution
Municipal solid waste
Some infectious
diseases
Groundwater contamination
Environmentally harmful
subsidies
Exclusion of
environmentally harmful
costs from market prices
Formulation
Look for solutions
Global warming
Urban sprawl
Nuclear wastes
Implementation
Implement solutions
Biodiversity losses
Toxic wastes
Aquifer depletion
Acid deposition
Ozone depletion
Municipal solid waste
Endangered species
Pest damage
Soil erosion
Stepped Art
Fig. 24-2, p. 636
Democracy Does Not Always Allow
for Quick Solutions (1)
 Democracy
 United States
• Constitutional democracy
• Three branches of government
• Legislative
• Executive
• Judicial
Democracy Does Not Always Allow
for Quick Solutions (2)
 Special-interest groups pressure the
government
• Profit-making organizations
• Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
 Politicians focus on problems with short-term
effects, not long-term
Certain Principles Can Guide Us in
Making Environmental Policy (1)
 The humility principle
 The reversibility principle
 The precautionary principle
 The net energy principle
 The preventive principle
Certain Principles Can Guide Us in
Making Environmental Policy (2)
 The polluter-pays principle
 The public access and participation principle
 The human rights principle
 The environmental justice principle
 How will these principles be implemented?
24-2 How Is Environmental Policy
Made? (1)
 Concept 24-2A Policy making involves law
making, program funding, rule writing, and
enforcement of rules by agencies—a complex
process that is affected at each stage by political
processes.
24-2 How Is Environmental Policy
Made? (2)
 Concept 24-2B Individuals can work with each
other to become part of political processes that
influence how environmental policies are made
and whether or not they succeed. (Individuals
matter.)
How Democratic Government Works:
The U.S. Model
 Three branches
• Legislative branch
• Executive branch
• Judicial branch
 Develop and implement policy
• Laws, regulation, and funding
• Lobbying
Laws
Legislative branch
Lobbyists
Public
hearing
Courts
Executive branch
Regulators
Lobbyists
Civil suits
Environmental
organizations
Corporations and
small businesses
Patronize or
boycott
Membership
support
Individuals
Purchase recyclable,
recycled, and
environmentally safe
products
Recycle cans,
bottles, paper,
and plastic
Plant a
garden
Donate clothes
and used goods
to charities
Use water, energy,
and other resources
efficiently
Use mass transit,
walk, ride a bike,
or carpool
Fig. 24-3, p. 639
Major Environmental Laws and Amended
Versions Enacted in the U.S. Since 1969
Developing Environmental Policy Is a
Controversial Process
 Funding needed
 Regulations and rules needed to implement the
law
 Policy: important role in environmental
regulatory agencies
Case Study: Managing Public Lands in
the United States—Politics in Action (1)
 35% of the U.S., ¾ in Alaska
 Federal public land
•
•
•
•
•
National Forest System
National Resource Land
National Wildlife Refuges
National Park System
National Wilderness Preservation System
Case Study: Managing Public Lands in
the United States—Politics in Action (2)
 Public land use
• Views of conservation biologists and
environmental economists
• Views of developers, resource extractors, and
many economists
 Since 2002: greater extraction of mineral, timber,
and fossil fuel resources on public lands
National parks and preserves
National forests
(and Xs) National wildlife refuges
Fig. 24-5, p. 641
What Can You Do? Influencing
Environmental Policy
Environmental Leaders Can Make
a Big Difference
 Lead by example
 Campaign and vote for informed and ecofriendly candidates
 Run for local office
 Propose and work for better solutions to
environmental problems
24-3 What Is the Role of Environmental Law
in Dealing with Environmental Problems?
 Concept 24-3 Environmental laws and
regulations can be used to control pollution, set
safety standards, encourage resource
conservation, and protect species and
ecosystems.
Environmental Law Forms the Basis for
Environmental Policy (1)
 Environmental law
 Body of law
• Statutory laws
• Administrative laws
• Common law
• Legal concept of nuisance or negligence
Environmental Law Forms the Basis for
Environmental Policy (2)
 Most environmental lawsuits are civil suits
• Plaintiff
• Defendant
• Class action suit
Open Ditch Containing Acid Runoff from
a Closed Coal Mine In W. Virginia, U.S.
Environmental Lawsuits Are Difficult
to Win (1)
 Has the plaintiff suffered health or financial
problems?
 Very expensive
 Public interest law firms: usually can’t recover
attorney’s fees
 Have you been harmed and did the company
cause the harm?
Environmental Lawsuits Are Difficult
to Win (2)
 Statutes of limitation
 Appeals: years to settle
 Strategic lawsuits against public
participation (SLAPPs)
 Major reforms are needed
Arbitration and Mediation Are
Alternatives to Battling in Court
 Arbitration
• Can save time, money, and the uncertainly of a
jury trial
 Mediation
• Can save money and time
• May not be legally binding
Major Types of Environmental Laws in
the United States (1)
 Set standards for pollution levels
 Screens new substances
 Encourages resource conservation
Major Types of Environmental Laws in
the United States (2)
 Sets aside or protects certain species,
resources, and ecosystems
 Requires evaluation of the environmental impact
of an activity proposed by a federal agency
U.S. Environmental Laws and
Regulations Have Been under Attack (1)
 Who is opposing the U.S. environmental laws?
• Some corporate leaders and other powerful
people
• Some citizens
• Some state and local officials
 Why are the opposition?
U.S. Environmental Laws and
Regulations Have Been under Attack (2)
 Since 2000, environmental laws weakened by
executive orders and congressional actions
 Prevent further weakening by
• Science-based education
• Education about the current state of the
environmental laws
• Organized bottom-up political pressure from
concerned citizens
24-4 What Are the Major Roles of
Environmental Groups?
 Concept 24-4 Grassroots groups are growing
and combining efforts with large environmental
organizations in a global sustainability
movement.
Citizen Environmental Groups Play
Important Roles
 Nonprofit nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) working at all levels
•
•
•
•
International
National
State
Local
 Grassroots groups to organizations
 Examples of NGOs and their global policy
networks
Case Study: The Natural Resources
Defense Council (1)
 NRDC
• Goes to court to stop environmentally harmful
practices
• Informs and organizes millions of environmental
activists to take actions to protect the
environment
• Website, magazines, and newspapers
Individuals Matter: Butterfly in a
Redwood Tree
 Julia Hill: Nonviolent civil disobedience
•
•
•
•
2 Years in a redwood tree, named Luna
Protested cutting down these ancient trees
Did not save the surrounding forest
Her message: protect biodiversity
Science Focus: Greening American
Campuses
 Accomplishments of environmental audits by
students at American colleges and universities
 Specific examples
•
•
•
•
Morris A. Pierce: energy management plan
Oberlin College, OH: nation’s greenest college
Northland College, WI: “green” residence hall
Buying local and organic food
• Yale University, CT
• Santa Clara University, CA
• Dartmouth, NH: bus fueled by waste cooking oil
24-5 How Can We Improve Global
Environmental Security?
 Concept 24-5 Environmental security is
necessary for economic security and is at least
as important as military security.
Environmental Security Is as Important
as Military and Economic Security
 Military security
 Economic security
 All economies supported by the earth’s natural
capital
 Failing states: rooted in ecological crisis
• Darfur, Sudan, Africa
Science Focus: Environmental Impacts
of War (1)
 Effects of a large bomb explosion
 Contamination of military sites
 Loss of biodiversity
 Air and water pollution
 Contaminated
• Soil, Groundwater, Fish and wildlife
Science Focus: Environmental Impacts
of War (2)
 Economic and job losses
 Displaced refugees
 Landmines
 Radioactive depleted uranium shells
 1998: U.N. Environment Programme
We Can Develop Stronger International
Environmental Policies (1)
 United Nations: most influential
• Family of global policy-making organizations
 Other influential groups
• E.g., the World Bank
 NRDC and China
 U.N. Conference of Environment and
Development: Agenda 21
We Can Develop Stronger International
Environmental Policies (2)
 Montreal and Copenhagen Protocols
 Yale and Columbia Universities, U.S.
• Developed the Environmental Performance Index
(EPI)
TRADE-OFFS
Global Efforts to Solve
Environmental Problems
Good News
Bad News
Environmental protection agencies
in 115 nations
Most international environmental
treaties lack criteria for evaluating
their effectiveness
Over 500 international
environmental treaties and
agreements
UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
created in 1972 to negotiate and
monitor international environmental
treaties
1992 Rio Earth Summit adopted
key principles for dealing with
global environmental problems
2002 Johannesburg Earth Summit
attempted to implement 1992 Rio
summit policies and goals and
reduce poverty
1992 Rio Earth Summit led to
nonbinding agreements with
inadequate funding
By 2008 there was little
improvement in the major
environmental problems
discussed at the 1992 Rio
summit
2002 Johannesburg Earth Summit
failed to deal with global
environmental problems such as
climate change, biodiversity loss,
and poverty
Fig. 24-9, p. 654
SOLUTIONS
International Environmental Treaties
Problems
Take a long time to
develop and are
weakened by requiring
full consensus
Solutions
Do not require full
consensus among
regulating parties
Poorly monitored
and enforced
Establish procedures
for monitoring and
enforcement
Lack of funding for
monitoring and
enforcement
Increase funding for
monitoring and
enforcement
Treaties are not
integrated with one
another
Harmonize or integrate
existing agreements
Fig. 24-10, p. 655
Corporations Can Play a Key Role in Moving
Toward Environmental Sustainability
 Eco-efficiency
 World Business Council for Sustainable
Development
24-6 Implementing More Sustainable and
Just Environmental Policies
 Concept 24-6 Making the transition to more
sustainable societies will require that nations
implement green plans and that people and
nations cooperate, agree on principles, and
make the political commitment to achieve this
transition.
Green Planning Can Be a National
Priority
 The Netherlands focused on four themes
• Implement life-cycle management
• Improve energy efficiency
• Invent more environmentally sustainable
technologies
• Public education
 Is the plan in the Netherlands working?
 EPI rank for the Netherlands is 55/149 countries
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