Download Environmental Policy: Decision Making and Problem Solving

7
Environmental Policy:
Decision Making and
Problem Solving
Chapter Objectives
This chapter will help students:
Describe environmental policy and assess its societal context
Identify the institutions important to U.S. environmental policy and recognize major
U.S. environmental laws
Categorize the different approaches to environmental policy
Delineate the steps of the environmental policy process and evaluate its effectiveness
Discuss the role of science in the policy process
List the institutions involved with international environmental policy and describe
how nations handle transboundary issues
Lecture Outline
I.
Central Case: San Diego and Tijuana: Sewage Pollution Problems and Policy
Solutions
A. In 2007, San Diego officials closed public beaches 27 times, issued 668 days’
worth of health advisories, and kept one area off-limits to swimming the entire
year. Of these beach closures, 76% were due to pollution from the Tijuana
River. A river’s watershed consists of all the land from which water drains
into the river. The Tijuana River’s watershed covers 4,500km2 (1,750 mi2) and
is home to 2 million people of two nations, making this a transboundary issue.
100
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
B. This problem also occurred across the border in the Mexican city of Tijuana,
as raw sewage leaking from old sewer systems overflowed into streets,
beaches, and the Tijuana River, directly affecting people’s day-to-day lives.
C. The rise of U.S.-owned factories, or maquiladoras, on the Mexican side of the
border has contributed to the river’s pollution, both through direct disposal of
industrial waste and by attracting thousands of new workers to the already
crowded region.
D. As impacts have intensified, many people in the San Diego and Tijuana areas
have worked with policymakers to address this problem.
II.
Environmental Policy: An Overview
1. A policy is a formal set of general plans and principles intended to address
problems and guide decision making.
2. Public policy is made by governments, and consists of laws, regulations,
orders, incentives, and practices intended to advance societal welfare.
3. Environmental policy pertains to human interactions with the
environment.
4. Forging effective policy requires input from science, ethics, and
economics.
A. Environmental policy addresses issues of equity and resource use.
1. Government interacts with individual citizens, organizations, and the
private sector in a variety of ways to formulate policy.
2. Environmental policy aims to protect environmental quality and the
natural resources people use, and to promote equity in people’s use of
resources.
3. The tragedy of the commons, as explained by Garrett Hardin, is when an
unregulated resource held in common eventually becomes overused and
degraded.
4. Although public oversight through government can alleviate the tragedy of
the commons, this dilemma can also be addressed in other ways, including
a cooperative approach and privatization.
5. If a community agrees to reduce use, or pollution, in a common resource
while one or two groups or individuals do not participate, they are free
riders on the efforts of others; this can collapse the system.
6. External costs are harmful impacts borne by people not involved in the
market transactions that created them.
7. Some policies, such as the polluter pays principle, specify that the party
responsible for pollution should also be held responsible for covering the
costs of its impacts. This helps avoid a tragedy of the commons.
101
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
B. Many factors can hinder environmental policy.
1. Some people see government policies that regulate the environment as
restrictive, inconvenient and an economic loss in their implementation.
2. Another reason people sometimes do not see a need for environmental
policy stems from the nature of most environmental problems, which often
develop gradually.
III.
U.S. Environmental Law and Policy
A. Federal policy arises from the three branches of government.
1. Legislation is created by Congress, which consists of the Senate and the
House of Representatives.
2. Legislation is enacted (approved) or vetoed (rejected) by the president,
who may also issue executive orders, specific legal instructions for
government agencies.
a. Regulations are specific rules or requirements intended to help
achieve the objectives of the more broadly written statutory law.
3. The judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Court and various lower courts,
is charged with interpreting legislation.
a. Courts interpret laws because over time social norms, societal
conditions, and technologies change.
b. Decisions made by the courts are known as case law.
c. Previous rulings then serve as precedents for new cases.
B. State and local governments also make environmental policy.
1. States, counties, and municipalities all generate environmental policy of
their own, and interact to address environmental problems.
2. States with higher population densities often have more strict
environmental laws and tend toward more regulation because citizens
observe the damage from unregulated activities.
3. State laws cannot violate principles of the U.S. Constitution, and if state
and federal laws conflict, federal laws take precedence.
C. Some constitutional amendments bear on environmental law.
1. One of these is the clause from the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting
states from denying ―equal protection of its laws‖ to any person.
2. The Fifth Amendment ensures, in part, that private property shall not ―be
taken for public use without just compensation.‖
a. A regulatory taking occurs when the government, by means of a law
or regulation, deprives a property owner of some or all economic uses
of that property.
102
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
D. Early U.S. environmental policy promoted development.
1. The early environmental laws were intended to promote settlement and the
extraction and use of the continent’s abundant natural resources.
a. Among these early laws were the General Land Ordinances of 1785
and 1787. It gave the federal government the right to manage
unsettled lands, and it created a grid system for surveying them and
readying them for private ownership.
b. This law wholly displaced the Native Americans who were inhabiting
these lands.
c. All of these policies encouraged settlers, entrepreneurs, and land
speculators to move west.
E. The second wave of U.S. environmental policy encouraged conservation.
1. In the late 1800s, as the continent became more populated and its
resources were increasingly exploited, public perception and government
policy toward natural resources began to shift.
2. During this time, the government created national parks, wildlife refuges,
and the forest system.
F. The third wave of U.S. environmental policy responded to pollution and
public outcry.
1. The publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring awakened the American
public to the negative impacts of pesticides and industrial chemicals.
2. The burning of the Cuyahoga River moved the public to prompt Congress
to do more to protect the environment.
3. Earth Day, first celebrated on April 22, 1970, continues to be supported by
millions of people worldwide.
G. NEPA gives citizens input into environmental policy decisions.
1. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was signed in 1970 and
requires that an environmental impact statement (EIS) be prepared for
any major federal action.
2. The EIS process uses a cost-benefit approach typical of neoclassical
economics, and generally does not halt development projects, while
providing incentives to lessen the environmental damage resulting from a
development or activity.
H. Creation of the EPA marked a shift in environmental policy.
1. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with
conducting and evaluating research, monitoring environmental quality,
setting and enforcing standards, assisting the states in meeting standards
and goals, and educating the public.
I. Other prominent laws followed.
103
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
1. This included the Federal Water Pollution Control Acts (1965 and 1972)
and Clean Water Act (1977).
2. In the 1980s, Congress strengthened, broadened, and elaborated on the
major laws of the 1970s. For example, major amendments were made to
the Clean Water Act in 1987 and to the Clean Air Act in 1990.
J. Many people reacted against regulation.
1. From 1994 through 2006, the Republican-controlled Congress, and the
White House under George W. Bush, sought to weaken or eliminate hard won environmental protection measures.
2. In a departure from the former environmental advocacy stance that relied
on technological fixes, consultants argued that arguments based on
people’s core values were more effective in gaining public support for
environmental protection.
3. New perspectives helped contribute to the election of Barack Obama as
president in 2008.
K. Today’s environmental policy focuses on sustainability and climate change.
1. With Obama’s election and enhanced Democratic majorities in Congress
came widespread optimism that the United States might reestablish its
international leadership in environmental policy.
2. We may now be embarking on a fourth wave of environmental policy, one
focused on sustainability and sustainable development.
IV.
Approaches to Environmental Policy
A. Conflicts can be addressed in court.
1. Prior to the legislative push of recent decades, most environmental policy
questions in the United States were addressed with lawsuits in the courts
through tort law, which is law that deals with harm caused to one entity
by another.
B. Command-and-control policy has improved our lives.
1. Most environmental laws of recent decades, and most regulations enforced
by agencies today, use a command-and-control approach where a
regulating agency prohibits certain actions, or sets rules, standards, or
limits, and threatens punishment for those who violate these terms.
2. The command-and-control policy has largely been effective.
3. Despite these successes, many people have grown disenchanted with the
top-down, sometimes heavy-handed nature of the command-and-control
approach.
C. Economic policy tools can help achieve environmental goals.
104
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
1. Political scientists, economists, and policymakers today are exploring
alternative policy approaches to channel the innovation and economic
efficiency of the market in directions that benefit the public.
D. Green taxes discourage undesirable activities.
1. Green taxes, or taxes on environmentally harmful activities and products,
discourage undesirable activities.
2. Today there is debate worldwide about whether ―carbon taxes‖—taxing
gasoline, coal-based electricity, and fossil-fuel-intensive products
according to the carbon emissions they produce—should be instituted to
fight global climate change.
E. Subsidies promote certain activities.
1. Subsidies are government giveaways of money or publicly owned
resources. They are intended to encourage a particular industry or activity.
a. A tax break is a common form of subsidy.
b. Plenty of environmentally harmful subsidies remain.
F. We can harness market dynamics to promote sustainability.
1. We may also pursue policy goals by establishing financial incentives and
then letting marketplace dynamics run their course.
G. Permit trading can save money and produce results.
1. Permit trading is where the government creates a market in permits for
an environmentally harmful activity, and then companies and utilities are
allowed to buy, sell, or trade rights to conduct the activity.
a. For instance, to decrease emissions of air pollutants, a government
might grant emissions permits and set up an emissions trading
system.
2. In a cap-and-trade emissions trading system, the government first
determines the overall amount of pollution it will accept (i.e., it caps the
amount, at a level below what it would be in the absence of the program),
and then issues permits that allow each entity to emit a certain fraction of
that amount.
a. Polluters may buy, sell, and trade these permits with other polluters.
b. Although cap-and-trade programs can reduce pollution overall, they do
allow hotspots of pollution to occur around plants that buy permits to
pollute more.
H. Market incentives also operate at the local level.
1. At all levels, from the local to the international, market-based incentives
that are well planned and implemented can reduce environmental impact
105
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
while minimizing overall costs to industry, easing concerns about the
intrusiveness of government regulation.
I. The public and private sectors can work as partners.
1. In a public-private partnership, a for-profit entity takes charge of
performing the work, while operating within confines agreed upon with a
public entity that acts as an overseer.
V.
Science and the Environmental Policy Process
A. Environmental policy results from a step-wise process.
1. Identifying the problem is the first step.
2. Pinpointing causes of the problem is the second step in the policy process.
3. The third step is envisioning a solution.
4. Getting organized is the fourth step.
5. Cultivating access and influence is the fifth step.
a. Lobbying is spending time or money trying to influence an elected
official’s decision.
b. Making campaign contributions is another way to get voices heard.
c. The movement of powerful officials between the private sector and
governmental agencies helps gain political influence and is called the
revolving door.
6. Shepherding a solution into law is the sixth step in the policy process
7. The final steps are to implement, access, and interpret policy.
B. Science plays a role in policy formulation.
1. Economic interests, ethical values, and political ideology all influence the
policy process; yet effective environmental policy is generally also
informed by scientific research.
2. The more information a policymaker can glean from science, the better
policy he or she will be able to create.
C. Science can be ―politicized.‖
1. Sometimes policymakers choose to ignore science and instead allow
political ideology alone to determine policy.
2. In 2004, the nonpartisan Union of Concerned Scientists released a
statement titled, ―Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policy Making,‖ which
faulted the Bush Administration for manipulating scientific information
for political ends: censoring, suppressing, and editing reports from
government scientists; placing people who are unqualified or who have
106
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
clear conflicts of interest in positions of power; ignoring scientific advice;
and misleading the public by misrepresenting scientific knowledge.
VI.
International Environmental Policy
A. International law includes conventional and customary law.
1. Conventional law is international law arising from conventions, or
treaties, into which nations enter.
2. Other international law arises from long-standing practices, or customs,
and is known as customary law. U.S. law, in contrast, rises from the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
B. Cross-border cooperation helps address environmental problems.
1. Often, nations make progress on international issues not through
legislation or treaties, but through creative multilateral agreements
hammered out after a lot of hard work and diplomacy.
C. Several organizations shape international environmental policy.
1. The United Nations (UN) sponsors environmental agencies, including the
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). Created in 1972,
UNEP helps nations solve environmental problems with sustainability as
the goal.
2. The World Bank holds the purse strings for development. Funding
environmentally destructive development programs is one of the chief
criticisms of the World Bank.
3. The European Union (EU) is active in environmental affairs.
4. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has recently attained surprising
power. Among these new powers is the ability to circumvent and even
overturn national environmental protection laws of sovereign nations if
those statutes are barriers to trade and profit-making.
5. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also exert influence.
a. A number of NGOs are international in scope and influence
international environmental policy.
b. The World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation International,
Greenpeace, Population Connection, and others attempt to shape
policy through research, education, lobbying, and protest.
D. International institutions wield influence in a globalizing world.
VII.
Conclusion
A. Environmental policy is a problem-solving tool that requires science, ethics,
economics, and the political process.
107
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
B. The United States has historically often led the way with environmental policy, but
environmental issues often span political boundaries and require international
cooperation.
Key Terms
cap and trade
command-and-control
conventional law
conventions
customary law
emissions trading
environmental impact
statement (EIS)
environmental policy
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)
European Union (EU)
free rider
green tax
legislation
lobbying
National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA)
North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA)
permit trading
policy
polluter pays principle
public-private partnership
public policy
regulation
regulatory taking
revolving door
subsidy
tort law
treaties
United Nations (UN)
watershed
World Bank
World Trade Organization (WTO)
Teaching Tips
1. The chapter briefly describes three major impacts of raw sewage on humans and the
environment: pathogens that cause illness, lowered dissolved oxygen levels, and
economic impacts caused by reduced tourism and recreation. Discuss these impacts in
more detail in class and ask the students to rank those impacts in order of importance
to them. Is human health most important? The economy? The environment?
2. Assign students to read Garrett Hardin’s paper, ―The Tragedy of the Commons,‖
published in Science 162:1243–1248. The article can be found on the Science
magazine website at www.sciencemag.org. Ask them to answer the following
questions:
a. Why does the ―economic man‖ behave differently in a commons than on private
property?
b. What are the implications of this behavior on public lands?
3. Ask students to conduct Internet research for updates on San Diego’s sewage
problem. Is the Tijuana River Valley Estuary and Beach Sewage Cleanup Act being
implemented? What has been done so far? Has it been successful?
108
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
4. Discuss some of the environmental laws that were passed in the late 1960s and early
1970s to emphasize that the ―third wave of U.S. environmental policy responded
largely to pollution problems.‖ The Clean Water Act; the Clean Air Act; the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and the Wilderness Act are just a few.
Summaries of the major environmental statutes are available on the U.S. EPA website
(www.epa.gov/epahome/laws.htm).
5. Ask students to create a concept map that illustrates the three branches of the federal
government and the components of each. Concept maps graphically illustrate
relationships among pieces of information. Maps can be drawn by hand or designed
using computer software such as Inspiration. For more information about concept
mapping, see www.inspiration.com.
6. Monitor the local news, print, broadcast, and Web outlets to learn if there are any
local environmental issues that are of concern to a wide range of individuals. Have
students research the topic and use the steps outlined in the text for the environmental
policy process. The goal of this exercise is to create a flow chart that will culminate
with ―shepherding a solution into law,‖ as per the text.
Additional Resources
Websites
1. Major Environmental Laws, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(www.epa.gov/epahome/laws.htm)
This resource provides full text and summaries of the major environmental laws.
2. NEPA: Project Development Process, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal
Highway Administration (http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/projdev/index.htm)
This listing is an overview of NEPA and its impacts on projects planned by the
Federal Highway Administration.
3. International Environmental Law and Policy: A Comprehensive Reference Source,
Washington College of Law, American University
(www.wcl.american.edu/environment/iel/)
This site provides a comprehensive list of links to international environmental issues
as online support for an environmental law and policy textbook.
Audiovisual Materials
1. Motor, 2000, video distributed by Bullfrog Films
(www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/motor.html)
This video is a summary of the controversy surrounding the use of offroad vehicles on
public lands.
109
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
2. The God Squad and the Case of the Northern Spotted Owl, 2001, video distributed by
Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/gsquad.html)
In this video, the God Squad investigates the Endangered Species Committee
proceedings that selected economic interests over the survival of a species.
3. Borderline Cases: Environmental Matters at the United States–Mexico Border, 1996,
video distributed by Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/bc.html)
This video investigates the environmental impact of factories (maquiladoras) situated
on the United States–Mexico border that are run by U.S., Asian, and European
multinational corporations.
4. Greenplans, 1995, video produced by John de Graaf and distributed by the Video
Project (www.videoproject.com)
This program, hosted by CNN’s Jack Hamann, takes viewers to the Netherlands and
New Zealand to see how national plans for sustainable development have been
developed using a national environmental policy called a Green Plan.
5. Strange Days on Planet Earth, 2005, National Geographic, distributed by the Public
Video Store (www.publicvideostore.org)
This program examines the cause-and-effect relationship between what we as humans
do to Earth and what that does to our environment and ecosystems.
Weighing the Issues: Facts to Consider
Regulatory Takings
Facts to consider: The original intent of the takings clause of the U.S. Constitution was
to prevent the acquisition of private land by the government for the public use without
fair compensation. The ―taking‖ of land is not prohibited, but the Constitution requires
just compensation if land is taken. Over the years, there have been two interpretations by
the U.S. Supreme Court of this clause that are critical to how the takings clause is viewed
by the U.S. legal system: (1) If an action by the government directly or indirectly
eliminates most or all the economic value of land, then the land has been ―taken‖ and
compensation is required; and (2) the use of private land cannot injure the neighbors of
the landowner or the community at large. Such ―noxious use‖ is an exception to the
takings clause, and a taking under the ―nuisance exception‖ does not require
compensation. The main decision to be made by the courts is whether governmental
action constraining land use is a ―taking,‖ and, if so, whether the owner should be
compensated. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that overregulation of land use is a
taking, and owners should be compensated. Overregulation has come to mean that too
many local and state laws constrain land use. eliminating the economic value of the land.
In terms of environmental policy, court decisions have decreased the power and influence
of many of the nation’s most progressive environmental laws, such as the Clean Air and
Water Acts and the Endangered Species Act, by granting exceptions to landowners for
land development that violates the word and intent of the acts.
110
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
A Licence to Pollute?
As stated in the chapter, in a cap-and-trade emissions trading system, the government first
determines the overall amount of pollution it will accept, and then issues permits to
polluters that allow them each to emit a certain fraction of that amount. Polluters may
buy, sell, and trade these permits with other polluters. In this regard, a pro is that an
overall pollution limit is established. A con is that a cap is not necessarily issued to each
individual polluter—the more they are willing to spend, the more that one company can
pollute. In a command-and-control approach, a regulating agency prohibits certain
actions, or sets rules, standards, or limits, and threatens punishment for those who violate
these terms. The pro is that a company cannot pay to pollute more—these companies
would be penalized by the rules, standards, limits, etc., just as any other company. The
con is that this would be much harder to regulate.
Trade Barriers and Environmental Protection
Facts to consider: The foundation of this issue lies in the tragedy of the commons and
the fact that environmental issues recognize no political boundaries. By allowing Country
B to export environmentally hazardous materials to Country A, Country B is spreading a
potential environmental risk to Country A. On the one hand, the citizens of Country A
will need to absorb the economic, environmental, and health consequences of the
material’s use. On the other hand, if Country A is a wealthy industrialized nation, it is
better able to properly handle or develop the technologies needed to work with the goods.
Allowing the export of Country B’s goods to Country A will boost the economy of
Country B and then allow Country A to export the technology back to Country B in an
effort to reduce the environmental risk of the goods. However, this system requires that
both countries maintain the attitude that sustainability of resources and environment is a
priority, as opposed to the priority of maximization of profits. In addition, free-trade
agreements and corporate outsourcing of factories from Country A to Country B may
aggravate environmental conditions in either or both countries.
The Science behind the Stories:
Thinking Like a Scientist
Comparing Costs and Benefits of Environmental Regulations
Observation: Protecting environmental quality benefits the planet greatly, but comes at
a cost.
Question: Is protecting the environment worth the cost?
Hypothesis: The benefit to public good justifies the cost of environmental protection and
restoration.
Experiment: A study, conducted by the White House Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), weighed the economic costs and benefits of 107 federal regulations enacted in
the United States from 1992 to 2002, many of which dealt with environmental issues.
111
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
Results: The economic benefits of these regulations far exceeded their costs. Moreover,
of all the regulations, those dealing with environmental protection were found to be
especially cost-effective.
Assessing the Environmental Impacts of NAFTA
Observation: Treaties not aimed specifically at environmental concerns may still have
major environmental consequences. The North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) is one such treaty.
Question: Would free trade threaten to undermine protections for workers and the
environment?
Hypothesis: The feared consequences are not associated with the actions of NAFTA.
Results: In response to these fears, two side agreements for labor and environmental
concerns were negotiated. The environmental agreement, known as the North American
Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, set up a tri-national Commission on
Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The CEC has monitored NAFTA’s effects on the
environment over the years, testing several hypotheses about the impact NAFTA was
predicted to have. The CEC has held four symposia for which dozens of researchers have
published over 50 papers analyzing different aspects of the topic. This research suggests
that, for the most part, the feared consequences have not occurred, or have not been due
to NAFTA.
Answers to End-of-Chapter Questions
Testing Your Comprehension
1. Justifications for environmental policy include protecting resources and environmental
quality and promoting equity and justice among citizens. Specifically, environmental
policy aims to deal with three problems: the tragedy of the commons, the free rider
predicament, and external costs. External costs are those that result when one party
avoids paying costs by making another party pay, either now or in the future.
2. The legislative branch is charged with writing law, the executive branch with
administering it, and the judicial branch with interpreting it. Administrative agencies
within the executive branch are sometimes considered the “fourth branch” of
government. They issue regulations based on the broader written laws, monitor
compliance, and enforce these laws and regulations.
3. A regulatory taking refers to an instance in which the government, by means of a law
or regulation, deprives an owner of some or all of the economic uses of his or her
property.
4. The first wave of environmental policy in the United States dealt mainly with the
management of public lands during the period of westward expansion. The second
wave dealt with the recognition that our resources were limited and so required legal
112
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
protection for their preservation and conservation. The third wave dealt with the
pollution problems that became apparent in the mid 20th century. Today, sustainable
development (a largely international effort) may comprise a fourth wave.
5. The National Environmental Protection Act of 1970 (NEPA) required that an
environmental impact statement (EIS) be prepared for any major federal action. To
comply with this requirement in a coordinated way, many of the federal agencies with
environmental oversight were consolidated into the new Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). The EPA conducts and evaluates research, monitors environmental
quality, sets and enforces standards, assists states in meeting those standards, and
educates the public.
6. Prior to the legislative push of recent decades, most environmental policy questions in
the United States were addressed in the courts through tort law, which is law that deals
with harm caused to one entity by another. Most environmental laws of recent decades,
and most regulations enforced by agencies today, use a command-and-control approach
in which a regulating agency prohibits certain actions, or sets rules, standards, or limits,
and threatens punishment for those who violate these terms. Like regulation and like the
tort law approach, economic policy tools aim to “internalize” external costs, taking costs
to the public and building them into the prices paid in the marketplace. Each of these
three major approaches has strengths and weaknesses, and each is best suited to different
conditions. These three approaches may, however, be used together.
7. A subsidy is a government giveaway intended to encourage a particular activity.
Similarly, a tax break may be offered as an incentive as well. A green tax is a
disincentive on an activity or product that is detrimental to the environment.
Marketable emissions permits allow polluters to buy and sell government permission
to produce a certain amount of pollution. This allows the government to cap the total
emissions from an industry, but still lets industry allocate its emissions in an
economically efficient way through the free market.
8. Environmental policy begins with identifying the problem. Once the problem is
identified, then, the cause of the problem can be pinpointed. Third, a solution is
envisioned. Then, the parties involved get organized, and strive to cultivate access and
influence. At this point, the solution can be shepherded into law, and finally,
implementation, assessment, and interpretation of the policy can occur.
9. Conventional law arises from conventions or treaties that nations agree to enter into,
such as the Kyoto Protocol. International customary law arises from long-standing
practices or customs held in common by most cultures. Transboundary environmental
problems can be difficult, as long-standing practices and customs in one or more
countries can clash with conventions and treaties that the other country or countries
adopt.
10. One nation’s stringent environmental laws may prevent the import and sale of
environmentally harmful products from other nations, and thereby act as trade barriers.
113
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc
Calculating Ecological Footprints
Name of Congressperson
How he/she voted on
your bill of interest
A representative from the
House from your state
A senator from your state
A member of the
Congressional leadership
Answers to questions #1-4 will vary depending on the vote choice of the student.
114
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc