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Chapter 15LectureOutline

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

–Mahatma Gandhi

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Learning OutcomesAfter studying this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions:

• What is environmental policy, and how is it formed?• Why are public policies sometimes unfair or irrational?• Why do some people want to modify or do away with the NEPA?• What are some of the most important U.S. environmental laws, and what

do they do?• What are adaptive management and ecosystem management? How do

they work?• Why are international environmental laws and conventions sometimes

ineffective?• What is citizen science, and what opportunities does it offer?• What can individuals do to contribute to environmental protection?• How can we work together for these same ends?• What is sustainability, and why is it important?

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15.1 Environmental Policy and Law

• A policy is a rule or decision about how to act or deal with problems.

• Environmental policy is both the official rules and regulations concerning the environment that are adopted, implemented, and enforced by government agencies, as well as the general public opinion about environmental issues.

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How is policy created?

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National policies play a criticalrole in environmental protection

• The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the cornerstone of U.S. environmental policy.

• NEPA does three important things: 1. It authorizes the Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ), the oversight board for general environmental conditions:

2. It directs federal agencies to take environmental consequences into account in decision making; and

3. It requires an environmental impact statement (EIS) be published for every major federal project likely to have an important impact on environmental quality.

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Laws affirm public policy

• Environmental law includes official rules, decisions, and actions concerning environmental quality, natural resources, and ecological sustainability.

• Federal laws (statutes) are enacted by Congress and must be signed by the president. They originate as legislative proposals called bills, which are usually drafted by the congressional staff, often in consultation with representatives of various interest groups

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The executive branch enforces administrative law

• The executive branch oversees more than 100 federal agencies. Also, thousands of state and local boards and commissions have environmental oversight.

• The EPA is the primary agency with responsibility for protecting environmental quality in the United States.

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How can we manage complex systems?

• Managing ecosystems is a complicated and controversial affair.

• A classic example of the difficulty brought about by clashing human and natural interconnections can be seen in the Florida Everglades.

• In 2000, the state of Florida and the Army Corps agreed to begin a restoration project that would remove many levees and canals, build new reservoirs to store water, dechannelize rivers, and construct 14,000 ha of new filtration wetlands.

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15.2 International Treaties and Conventions

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15.3 What Can Individuals Do?

It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While it is

still there. So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz,

climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the

precious stillness, that lovely mysterious and awesome space.

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What Can You Do? Reducing Your Impact• Purchase Less

– Ask yourself whether you really need more stuff. Avoid buying things you don’t need or won’t use.

– Use items as long as possible (and don’t replace them just because a new product becomes available).

– Use the library instead of purchasing books you read.

• Reduce Excess Packaging– Carry reusable bags when

shopping and refuse bags for small purchases.

– Buy items in bulk or with minimal packaging; avoid single-serving foods.

– Choose packaging that can be recycled or reused.

• Avoid Disposable Items• Conserve Energy

– Walk, bicycle, or use public transportation.

– Turn off (or avoid turning on) lights, water, heat, and air conditioning when possible.

– Put up clotheslines or racks to avoid using a clothes dryer.

– Carpool and combine trips to reduce car mileage.

• Save Water– Use water-saving devices and fewer

flushes with toilets and don’t leave water running.

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Based on material by Karen Oberhauser, Bell Museum Imprint, University of Minnesota, 1992. Used by permission.

Environmental education is an important tool

• In 1990 the United State Congress recognized the importance of environmental education by passing the National Environmental Education Act. The act established two broad goals:1. To improve understanding among the general public

of the natural and built environment and the relationships between humans and their environment, including global aspects of environmental problems,

2. To encourage postsecondary students to pursue careers related to the environment.

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Environmental careers rangefrom engineering to education

• The World Wildlife Fund estimates, for example, that 750,000 new jobs will be created over the next decade in the renewable energy field alone.

• Scientists are needed to understand the natural world and the effects of human activity on the environment.

• Lawyers and other specialists are needed to develop government and industry policy, laws, and regulations to protect the environment.

• Engineers are needed to develop technologies and products to clean up pollution and to prevent its production in the first place.

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15.4 How Can We Work Together?

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National organizations are influentialbut sometimes complacent

• Among the oldest, largest, and most influential environmental groups in the United States are:– the National Wildlife Federation,– the World Wildlife Fund, – the Audubon Society, the Sierra

Club,– the Izaak Walton League, – Friends of the Earth, – Greenpeace, – Ducks– Unlimited, – the Natural Resources Defense

Council, and – The Wilderness Society.

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15.5 Sustainability Is a Global Challenge

• As developing countries become more affluent, they are adopting many of the wasteful and destructive lifestyle patterns of the West.

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Practice Quiz1. What is a policy? How are policies formed?2. Describe three important provisions of NEPA.3. List four important U.S. environmental laws (besides NEPA), and briefly

describe what each does.4. Why are international environmental conventions and treaties often

ineffective? What can make them more successful?5. Why is the World Trade Organization controversial?6. List two broad goals of environmental education identified by the

National Environmental Education Act.7. What is citizen science, and what are some of its benefits? Describe

one such important project.8. List five things each of us could do to help preserve our common

environment.9. Describe some things schools and students have done to promote

sustainable living.10. Define sustainability and describe some of its principal tenets.

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