Wilson 21 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY. Who Governs? Why have environmental issues become so important in...
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Transcript of Wilson 21 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY. Who Governs? Why have environmental issues become so important in...
Who Governs?Why have
environmental issues become so important in American politics and policy-making?
Does the public get the environmental laws it wants?
To What Ends?If we wish to have
cleaner air and water, how far should we go in making them cleaner when the cost of each additional gain goes up?
What is the best way for the government to achieve an environmental goal: by issuing orders or offering incentives?
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
Policies create winners and losersEnmeshed in scientific uncertaintyMobilizes decision-makers with strong, emotional
appealsPolicies aff ect states and other nations
Majoritarian appeal Entrepreneurial pressure Client benefits Interest group fights
CONTROVERSY
Policy is much more adversarial than it is in most European nations Conflicts, lawsuits, antagonistic – US Business and politics work together, flexible – GB
Local politics plays larger roleDependent on states to enforce rules
“science” plays larger role elsewhere
AMERICAN CONTEXT
Global Warming Earth Day, 4/22/1970 Public ground swell
Cuyahoga River EPA Clean Air Act Water Quality Improvement Act
Endangered Species Act Modern arguments
Conflicts between elites over ideologies
ENTREPRENEURIAL
Pollution Started as entrepreneurial Became majoritarian when localities had to meet air
quality standards Local rules Smog control Export competition
More targeted since the 1990s NEPA – environmental impact studies, low cost Gas tax – public push back when costs too high
MAJORITARIAN
Acid Rain High sulfur, coal burning power plants Natural resources and tourism
2 powerful lobbies Scientific uncertainty
Scrubbers added to smokestacks Carbon tax and offset market
Political stalemates More groups Less fervent than entrepreneurial Less deep than majoritarian
INTEREST GROUP
Pesticides Organized farmers
Balance costs and benefits Too many to test them all
DDT as example of winning entrepreneurial public campaign
EPA challenges Affects not clear cut Public opinion changes Strategies to reach goals
Command-and-control Offering incentives
CLIENT POLITICS
What is the problem?What are the goals?How do we achieve our goals?
Offsets – close a polluting factory to open another Bubble Standard – meeting total pollution goals Allowances or Banks – saving or selling credits
Superfund example and shift away from rules Tax and sue toxic waste dumpers Who is responsible Expensive clean-up Expansion of sites and standards
UNCERTAIN SOLUTIONS