Environmental Science 1401
Environmental Laws, Economics and Ethics
Chapter 2
The Northern Spotted Owl
Northwestern US within old-growth forests.
< 10% - 15% remain; biological habitats; 41 T&E species
Environmental laws – Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Logging suspended for 3 m acres
Safeguard for watersheds
Economics – jobs threatened by suspension; BUT ~12,000 jobs eliminated due to automation in the industry; industry not operating sustainably
Ethics – more than jobs vs. the environment
EIS not done? 2008 23% reduction in protected area due to pressure from timber industry on the FWS.
How do we balance Environmental law, Economics and our Ethics?
How do we balance Environmental law, Economics and our Ethics in a manner that will benefit both the environment and the human population?
How has it been done in the past?
Possible Solutions?
A Brief Environmental History of the United States
A Frontier Attitude
During the 18th and 19th centuries, most Americans had a frontier attitude toward nature and resources.
Conquering nature - manipulating the landscape
Exploiting nature – overharvesting
Then, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries mentality Changed from destruction to protection of some resources.
Protecting the environment
Utilitarian Conservationist
A person who values natural resources because of their usefulness for practical purposes but uses them sensibly and carefully
Biocentric Preservationist
A person who believes in protecting nature because all forms of life deserve respect and consideration
Protecting the Forests
Numerous men contributed to the protection of American forests throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
They helped in arising widespread public interest in wildlife, ecology and environmental change.
John James Audubon
Henry David Thoreau
George Perkins Marsh
John Muir
General Revision Act 1891
Gave the president authority to establish forest reserves on federally owned land.
Harrison, Cleveland, T. Roosevelt removed 43 million acres from logging.
Theodore Roosevelt
(1858 – 1919)
designated 21 new national forests (16 million acres) before he signed the bill that rescinded GRA 1891.
Establishing and Protecting National Parks and Monuments
1872 – Yellowstone National Park was established.
The world’s first National Park.
1916 – Congress created the NPS (National Parks Service) to manage the national parks and monuments for the enjoyment of the public “without impairment”.
Today – 58 national parks, 73 national monuments under the NPS.
Sierra Club and the Hetch Hetchy Valley
Yosemite National Park
Dammed in 1913 for San Francisco residential drinking water. 1934, water arrived.
Controversy generated sentiments for better protection of the national parks system – 1916 National Parks Service created to manage for the public “without impairment”.
Dinosaur National Monument, CO
1950’s.
Conservationists won battle against a dam construction within area.
Drowning 400ft would impair it, aesthetics, science.
Established the use without impairment clause
may aid in restoration of the Hetch Hetchy.
CA est. 10 billion to repair
Devastation of the Land
Landscape Alteration:
Wetlands drained
Everglades, Florida
90% bird loss (2 million)
Dredged rivers and built canals beginning 1883
“Eutrophication” excessive growth of plant life.
Loss of forests and vegetation erosion/silt build-up.
1904 - Napoleon Bonaparte Broward elected Governor: promised to create "Empire of the Everglades" by wringing the last drop of water out of that "pestilence-ridden swamp"
Misperception of soil
1909 – U.S. Bureau of Soils
“. . . soil is the one indestructible, immutable asset that the nation possesses.
It is the one resource that cannot be exhausted; that cannot be used-up.”
Early stages of the Dust Bowl
Biggest Ecological Disaster in the U.S.
Setting the Stage for Disaster
1889 Oklahoma settled
40 m acres virgin land drought-resistant wheat planted
Great Plains land not suitable for intensive usage:
Thin topsoil…Drought…Overuse… High Winds
1917 - Russian Revolution
wheat imports to US ceased/US now biggest producer.
American Farmers increased production
2.5 times the 1914 level
Added 5 million acres 1925 to 1930
1932 – rains ceased, (<12 in that year)
Conservation in the mid-20th Century
Franklin Roosevelt – acted in response to the dust bowl by forming the Soil Conservation Service.
Aldo Leopold – argued for a land ethic through his writings.
Wallace Stegner – wrote an essay that helped create support for the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Rachel Carson – wrote about the impacts of pesticides.
Aldo Leopold
(1886 – 1948) - Work with U.S. Forest Service in Southwest
Preservationist
LAND ETHIC - All forms of life have right to health existence
Environment does not belong to people, must be shared
“Father of modern Wildlife Ecology"
His ideas & work pioneered the field of Ecology
With Robert Marshall, founded The Wilderness Society
Researcher with US F&W Service
1962, Silent Spring
Effects of pesticides through food chain, esp. DDT
DDT banned in U.S. in 1972
“…the speed of change in society was based not on natural factors, but on the impetuous pace of human inventiveness.”
Most popular book of the 1960s
Modern Environmental Movement
Spurred debate
Call for increased pollution control
John Maddox (Theoretical Physicist) said Carson was “prophet of doom”
1960s Reaction - Rachel Carson
DDT
ILLEGAL?? - June 14, 1972, William D. Ruckelshaus, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Long Term Effects of DDT
Moderately hazardous (WHO), based on the rat oral LD50 of 113 mg/kg
Organochlorine compound
Diabetes
Developmental and reproductive toxicity: endocrine disruptor
Carcinogenic
Breast cancer
Bioaccumulation through the trophic levels.
Species declining
Still used after ban:
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in October 1972. EPA granted use under Act.
Douglas fir moth epidemic in NW 1974
1979 CA, flea vectors of bubonic plague
The Environmental Movement of the late 20th Century
The First Earth Day! April 22nd, 1970
Senator Gaylord Nelson urged Dennis Hayes to organize an national day to address environmental concerns.
Educated the US about issue associated with population growth, overuse of resources, and pollution and environmental degradation.
Environmental Policy After 1970
1969 – NEPA (effective as of January 1 of 1970)
1970 – Clean Air Act
1973 – Endangered Species Act
1974 – Safe Drinking Water Act
1976 – Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
1976 – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
1977 – Clean Water Act
1980 - CERCLA
William Ruckleshaus
“command & control” of
6,000 employees & $1.3 B budget
New Environmental Legislation
1970 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Required environmental impact assessments
Established EPA to enforce law
Unified environmental authority
National Air Pollution Control
Bureau of Water Hygiene
Bureau of Radiological Health from HEW
Pesticides from USDA
etc….
Summarizes potential/expected adverse impacts on the environment associated with a project and alternatives to the proposed project.
Environmental Impact Statement
The nature of the proposal and why it is needed.
The environmental impacts of the proposal, including short-term and long-term effects and any adverse environmental effects if the proposal is implemented.
Alternatives to lessen the adverse effects of the proposal, mitigating potential adverse impacts.
Clean Air Act (1963 – enacted 1970, 1977, 1990)
Law that defines EPA's responsibilities for protecting and improving the nation's air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer.
Endangered Species Act of 1973
Authorizes the listing of species as endangered and threatened.
Prohibits unauthorized taking, possession, sale, and transport of endangered species.
Provides authority to acquire land for the conservation of listed species.
Authorizes States t0 establish and maintain active and adequate programs for endangered and threatened wildlife and plants.
Authorizes civil and criminal penalties for violating the Act or regulations.
Authorizes the payment of rewards to anyone furnishing information leading to arrest and conviction for any violation of the Act.
Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974
EPA sets standards for drinking water quality to protect public health by regulating the nation's public drinking water supply.
Amended in 1986 and 1996
Requires many actions to protect drinking water and its sources: rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells.
SDWA does not regulate private wells which serve fewer than 25 individuals.
Toxic Substances Control Act - 1976
Act granted EPA authority to collect data on chemicals in order to determine risks posed by their manufacture, processing, and use.
TSCA standards may apply at any point during a chemical's life cycle.
Among the chemicals EPA regulates under Section 6 authority are asbestos, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), lead, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
A large number of chemicals were grandfathered in, requiring no testing for risks.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - 1976
RCRA created the framework for the management of non-hazardous solid wastes.
RCRA gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from the "cradle-to-grave."
Generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.
The 1986 amendments to address environmental problems that could result from underground tanks storing petroleum and other hazardous substances.
Clean Water Act - 1972
CWA establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters.
1948 was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972 to become the CWA.
NPDES permits
1980s --- CERCLA
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, & Liability Act
enacted Dec 11, 1980
“Superfund”
closed & abandoned haz sites
liability of persons responsible
trust fund for cleanup
Short-term removals
Long-term remedial response actions
NCP = National Contingency Plan = “how to fix it”
NPL = National Priorities List
How Does Being Green = $$$
Economics in the Environment
Finite resources for infinite wants.
Fossil Fuels vs. Alternative (Renewable) Energy
Negative Externalities:
Pollution due to???
Optimal amount of pollution? How do we decide?
Cost-Benefit Analysis:
Clean air vs. cheap gas; Aesthetic views vs. cheap electricity
Command and Control Solutions?
EPA placing limits on pollution
Incentive based regulations
Finland CO2 tax
Sweden CO2 and SO2 tax, BUT decreases income taxes.
Tradable pollution permits:
AKA: Marketable waste-discharge permits
Cap and Trade a bust!