F530

Introduction

 

Topics to be covered include:

· Why environmental and energy policy is important

· Laws guiding environmental and energy policy

· Fracking

· Climate change

· Why homeland security and foreign policy is important

· Organizations involved in homeland security and foreign policy

· The USA PATRIOT Act

· National Security Strategy (NSS)

 

 

In this lesson, we are tackling two large policy areas: environmental and energy policy, and homeland security and foreign policy. While, we could easily spend weeks on each policy topic, the course is intended to give you a “taste” of each area and to provide the framework for you to understand the policy process and to begin to independently analyze policy and its alternatives.

 

Why Environmental and Energy Policy Is Important

Regardless of any developments in science and technology, humans will always remain dependent on the resources that the Earth provides. Likewise, it is important that human activity not be allowed to impact the natural environment too severely. Growing population and economic activity create waste that can potentially damage the Earth and its resources to the detriment of all life on the planet—humans included.

THE FUTURE OF ENERGY

As the world becomes more technologically advanced and urban, energy poses itself to be the foremost concern in environmental policy in the future. Feasible energy choices are largely defined by scientific and technological advancement—and at this point in history, those advances are far greater than they have ever been. Efficient patterns of energy use are crucial in conserving energy so that all can enjoy it for years to come, and through policy it is possible for the government to play its role in ensuring this conservation.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY POLICY

Policymakers are not the only decision-makers where the environment and energy are concerned. A simple choice such as whether to ride a bicycle or drive a vehicle to a destination, or to take a quick shower or a long, hot bath, can have a great impact on conservation of resources. Policy goals that foster efficient use of land, water, and air resources may require changes in laws, tax policies, public service provisions, and even international agreements.

Energy policy is important for reasons other than environmental ones. The current stores of traditional fossil fuels, such as oil, coal, and natural gas, will eventually expire, and renewable forms such as solar power, biomass, and wind power will be not the alternative sources but the primary sources of energy, along with those that we have yet to discover.

Laws Guiding Environmental and Energy Policy

Environmental and energy policy encompasses concerns such as alternative energy, the protection of parks and conservation areas, clean air and water, and a myriad of other environmental issues. Significant federal regulatory policies in this category include the following: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.

1. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)- The National Environmental Policy Act  (NEPA), passed in 1969, was one of the first laws ever written to establish a national framework for protecting the natural environment. NEPA’s basic goal assures that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major action that may significantly affect the environment. Its requirements are invoked when airports, buildings, military complexes, highways, parkland purchases, and other federal activities are proposed. It requires federal agencies to submit environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs), which estimate the likelihood of impacts from alternative courses of action.

2. Clean Air Act (CAA)

3. The  Clean Air Act  (CAA) of 1970 regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources, authorizing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health by regulating hazardous air emissions

3. Clean Water Act (CWA)- The Clean Water Act  (CWA) of 1972, implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry as well as water quality standards for surface water contaminants.

4. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)-The  Safe Drinking Water Act  (SDWA) of 1974 established minimum health standards for public water supplies, implementing various technical and financial programs to ensure drinking water safety.

5. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)-The  Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act  (FIFRA), passed in 1974 and amended in 1996, regulates pesticide distribution, sale, and use. Under this law, all chemicals used to kill insects, fungi, and rodents must be approved and registered by the EPA. Chemicals known to cause unreasonable risk to humans or the environment or to create residues that pose dietary risks to humans are not approved. 

6. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)-The  Resource Conservation and Recovery Act  (RCRA) of 1976 grants the EPA the authority to control the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste and also created a framework for the management of non-hazardous wastes.

7. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)-The  Toxic Substances Control Act  (TSCA), also passed in 1976, grants the EPA the authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and mixtures.

8. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980-The  Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act  (CERCLA) of 1980, also known as “Superfund,” regulates the identification, assessment, and cleanup of contaminated sites.

Fracking

 

One very controversial issue surrounding environmental and energy policy in the United States today is hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking.” Fracking is a type of drilling that has been used in the United States for 65 years. Today, fracking has boosted U.S. oil and natural gas production by tapping shale and other tight-rock formations. The process involves drilling over a mile below the surface of the rock before turning the drills horizontally and continuing for several thousand more feet, allowing a single surface site to accommodate multiple wells (EnergyFromShale.org, 2017).

1. How Fracking Works-Once the well is drilled, cased and cemented, small perforations are made in the well pipe’s horizontal portion. A mixture of water, sand, and additives (called “fracking fluids”) is pumped through the pipe at high pressure. Typically, the mixture is 90 percent water, at least 9 percent sand, and the remainder fracking fluids. The fracking fluids help to reduce friction, reducing the amount of pumping pressure from diesel-powered sources and in turn reducing air emissions. They also prevent corrosion in the pipes, boosting the efficiency of the wells. However, fracking fluids are highly toxic, and the industry has refused to identify the chemicals that comprise these fluids.   (Energy from Shale.org, 2017)

2.  Underground Injection Wells-Greenpeace offers the following information: Over 3.6 million gallons of water are used every time a well is fracked, and a well can be fracked multiple times over the course of its lifetime. In states such as Colorado and Texas, where water is scarce, this is a large amount of clean water to sacrifice when other means of producing energy are available. The chemicals that are pumped underground are at risk of entering water supplies as well. Underground injection wells are dug for the purpose of disposing of the contaminated water after the fracking process is over. These wells, and the wells dug for fracking, have been held responsible for increased rates of earthquakes in already-prone states such as Oklahoma and Arkansas. However, that is one side of the argument. Take some time to review this  American Enterprise Institute article  on the Benefits of Fracking. Which arguments are more persuasive?

3. Exemptions-With the fracking industry claiming that the process is clean and efficient, and with environmental and consumer groups claiming the opposite, the issue has been hotly debated by policymakers. Many federal safeguards governing oil and gas production exempt fracking altogether on the grounds that its effects are still so debatable. Fracking is exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act’s pollution control measures (except where diesel gas is used in the process), and oil and gas operations are exempt from important permitting and pollution control requirements of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. The EPA does have authority to limit emissions of some pollutants released during the fracking process. Oil and gas waste is exempt from the testing, treatment and disposal provisions that govern the assessment control and cleanup of hazardous waste under the RCRA and Superfund, and fracking performed on federal land is also exempt from the NEPA’s environment assessments and impact statements. (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2013)

Climate Change

A review of the efforts of the Obama administration regarding climate change will provide an example of how many and how closely executive branch agencies work together. On November 1, 2013, President Barack Obama issued an executive order entitled “Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change.” This order terminated the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, replacing it with the newly-established Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience (TFCPR).

The new Task Force was co-chaired by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. The TFCPR’s staff included senior officials from thirty other departments and agencies, including the Department of Energy (DOE), the EPA, and the Department of Agriculture. The senior officials used their agencies and departments to compile information and data to help form suggestions to report to the Chairs of the task force.

In June of 2013, President Obama created a special task force to deal with climate change, the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force. This task force included representatives from over 20 federal agencies. The task force was in charge of recommending how federal policies and procedures can prepare the United States for climate change. The White House Council on Environmental Quality was one of the co-chairs of the task force, along with the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

This demonstrates how the agencies in charge of climate change were intertwined.

During his second term, President Obama altered the National Security Council to include a focus on climate change, declaring that climate change is a threat to the nation’s security. However, the Trump administration moved swiftly in June 2017 to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords among other actions. To see his reasoning,  review the address  he made. What are the implications of this action? Nationally? Internationally?

Why Homeland Security and Foreign Policy Is Important

The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001 served as an eye-opener for the millions of Americans who stood watching in terror on that day. This act of terrorism showed the importance of protecting the homeland from those who consider the United States their enemy. It also demonstrated the need for a foreign policy that emphasizes neither control of, nor withdrawal from world affairs, but that instead assumes a middle ground.

All Americans should be concerned about world affairs and the role that the United States plays on the global stage. It impacts jobs, the supply of gasoline, taxes, and virtually every other aspect of life. It does not only involve how actions on the international scale affect Americans, but also how the United States’ policy actions affect other nations. U.S. foreign policy can be used to assist other peoples (as well as our own) or to bring pain, fear, and anger against our country. Some feel that building American global supremacy is the only path to American security, while others feel that the United States has no business meddling in any affairs other than its own.

Organizations Involved in Homeland Security and Foreign Policy

 

The issues that fall under foreign policy are wide, deep, and expansive, thus we will not focus on major programs or policies. Instead, this discussion will emphasize key issues and address questions about how the effectiveness of new policies enacted since 9/11 can be assessed. Essentially,  defense policy  constitutes a part of foreign policy and refers to the goals set to conduct national security affairs. A number of organizations are involved in the making and enacting of foreign policy, including the following:

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL (NCS)

The  National Security Council  (NCS) is chaired by the President and includes Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, the President’s National Security Advisor, and many invited national-level players. The NSC’s function is to advise and assist the President on national security and foreign policy and to serve as the President’s principal arm for coordinating these policies among executive branch agencies.

NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)

The  North Atlantic Treaty Organization  (NATO) was established as an alliance between the United States and several Western European nations. Today, it includes 27 countries from throughout Europe as well as the United States and Canada. NATO’s purpose is to promote democratic values and enable members to consult and cooperate on defense and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust, and prevent conflict.

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)

The  World Trade Organization  (WTO) is an international organization that helps governments negotiate trade agreements and settle trade disputes. The WTO’s primary purpose is to open trade for the benefit of all.

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA)

The  Central Intelligence Agency  (CIA) is the United States’ chief intelligence agency, and the only independent agency within the intelligence community (IC). The CIA correlates, evaluates, and disseminates vital information on economic, military, political, scientific, and other developments abroad to safeguard national security.

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE (DNI)

The  Director of National Intelligence  (DNI) leads the IC (including the CIA), but without personnel or budget authority.

NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY (NSA)

The  National Security Agency  (NSA) is a component of the Department of Defense as well as the IC. The NSA’s duties involve protecting the U.S. government’s information systems and collecting foreign signal intelligence information (SIGINT).

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)

The  U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) distributes and manages economic aid that is sent by the US directly to other nations. USAID partners to end extreme poverty and to promote resilient, democratic societies while simultaneously advancing the nation’s security and prosperity.

Homeland security is an issue related to foreign policy but also firmly separate from it. While international affairs and foreign policy are directly tied to the security of our borders and the policy associated with protecting our country, the focus of homeland security policy is tied more specifically to defense policy, law enforcement, and other efforts made to protect the nation’s citizens.

INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY (IC)

The  Intelligence Community  (IC) is a collection of 17 government agencies that work both independently and collectively to collect and interpret key pieces of information for the purpose of maintaining viable relationships with foreign countries and for ensuring national security.  The IC was not established until 1981, under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan.  It is led by a Director of National Intelligence, who reports to the President of the United States, and focuses its efforts on a wide range of issues including drug trafficking, human trafficking, proliferation, counterintelligence, and terrorism, among others.

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE (DNI)

The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) serves as the head of the IC. This individual oversees and directs the implementation of the National Intelligence Program. It is also his or her responsibility to act as the principal advisor to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council for intelligence matters related to national security. Working together with the Principal Deputy DNI and with the assistance of Mission Managers and Deputy Directors, the ODNI’s goal is to effectively integrate foreign, military, and domestic intelligence in defense of the homeland and of U.S. interests abroad.

 

Department of Homeland Security

· PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

· Created in response to the attacks of 9/11, the  Department of Homeland Security  (DHS) is the nation’s primary agency charged with protecting the homeland. Its primary responsibility involves defending the American homeland from future attacks, including man-made crises or natural disasters. But protecting the American people from terrorist threats is the founding principle and highest priority of the DHS. Its counterterrorism goals are threefold: preventing terrorist attacks, preventing the unauthorized acquisition or use of weapons of mass destruction within the United States, and reducing the vulnerability of infrastructure and resources.

· Three key concepts form the foundation of the DHS’s mission to protect the homeland from these threats: security, resilience, and customs and exchange. Hundreds of thousands of personnel from across all levels of government as well as the private sector are involved in executing these missions. These people are responsible for public safety and security, own and operate critical infrastructures and services, perform research, develop technology, and keep watch, prepare for, and respond to threats to homeland security as they emerge.

· DHS AGENCIES

· The DHS was informally established eleven days after 9/11, when Tom Ridge was appointed the first Secretary of Homeland Security (a cabinet-level post). This department was immediately charged with the oversight and coordination of a comprehensive strategy to prevent future terrorist attacks and to respond to any attacks that did occur. The Homeland Security Act was passed by Congress in November 2002, and the DHS formally came into being; it officially opened its doors on March 1, 2003.

· That year, DHS acquired the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In all, 22 existing agencies were absorbed into DHS. One of DHS’s better known sub-agencies is the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which was established to secure the traveling public in the United States in order to prevent another attack on the nation’s transportation infrastructure. DHS employs over 200,000 employees, making it the third largest department in the President’s cabinet (after the Departments of Defense and Veteran’s Affairs).

· OTHER DHS RESPONSIBILITIES

· Beyond terrorism and border control, DHS also responds to cyber attacks, natural disasters, and organized crime within the borders of the United States. Thus, homeland security is not restricted to attacks from outside. Instead, this policy topic is much broader and covers most activities within our country that impact the security, life, and liberty of American citizens.

The USA PATRIOT Act

Within the IC, the DHS plays a critical role in collections and in overall intelligence activities. To help bolster all IC agencies’ abilities to collect and coordinate domestic intelligence, President George W. Bush signed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, better known as the USA PATRIOT Act, into law in 2001.

The  USA PATRIOT Act  was passed by Congress barely a month after the events of 9/11 with very little debate. When it became law in 2001, many congressional representatives complained that they didn’t have time to read the bill before they were forced to vote on it, and were worried that not passing it would lead to future attacks. The constitutionality of the law and its potential efficacy were not widely disputed at the time, and the American public perceived the law as an effort by the government to preserve national security.

· CRITICISM

· This act has been the subject of intense criticism since its inception. Most controversial are its provisions that allow for the collection of phone and business records. One little known section of the USA PATRIOT Act, Title II, made an expansive list of crimes which did not require a warrant or court order for monitoring that included cybercrime, terrorist-related crimes, the activities of hackers, and crimes involving interstate and foreign commerce. Today, its constitutionality has been questioned repeatedly and many groups demand that it be reformed.

· EDWARD SNOWDEN

· The USA PATRIOT Act was controversial from the beginning but in its earliest years most Americans considered the compromises to privacy that it called for to be necessary and unsubstantial. For over a decade, most Americans had little knowledge of how the government interpreted this lengthy and broad law. That changed in 2013, when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed that the U.S. government had been collecting the phone records of millions of Americans, and these actions had been carried out under the guise of the USA PATRIOT Act.

· The reality of this law’s contents shocked even some of those who voted to pass it. In 2014, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the U.S. government over this provision of the USA PATRIOT Act, and in May of the following year a federal appeals court ruled unanimously in their favor. The law has been reauthorized (albeit not indefinitely) and continues to be reviewed, debated, and evaluated for infringements of the civil liberties of U.S. citizens.

· In 2015 The  USA Freedom Act  was signed into law. This Act reauthorized parts of the Patriot Act but did not reauthorize the mass collection of American’s phone and internet records.

National Security Strategy (NSS)

The United States’ foreign policy is outlined for Congress by the White House as a requirement of the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act in the form of a document entitled the National Security Strategy (NSS). This document is reissued every few years, with the  most recent version  (as of 2017) having been issued in 2015. Check out page 2 of the link. You can see the priorities in a nutshell. President Trump, as of the end of 2017, has not produced one yet. But that does not mean others are not thinking about what it should contain.

Please take some time to view the Center for Strategic & International Studies session on the 2018 US National Security Strategy.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we looked at some of the national policies made regarding the environment and national security. The natural world is a place where Americans will always be citizens, and environmental and energy policy will always be crucial in protecting it. Today, issues such as fracking and climate change have confounded policy makers due to the varying views and opinions on these subjects. Equally important is policy related to homeland security and to our relationships with foreign nations. While the inherent value of policies to protect the homeland and promote democracy throughout the world is recognized, the most effective (and constitutional) ways to put these policies into place has yet to be resolved.

References

EnergyFromShale.org. (2017) What Is Fracking? Retrieved from http://www.what-is-fracking.com/what-is-hydraulic-fracturing/.

Hasset, K. A., & Mathur, A. (2013). Benefits of hydraulic fracking. Retrieved from http://www.aei.org/publication/benefits-of-hydraulic-fracking/

H.R.2048, 114th Cong. (2015) (enacted). USA FREEDOM Act of 2015. Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2048/text

H.R.3162, 107th Cong. (2001) (enacted). Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001. Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/03162

Member Agencies. (n.d.). Retrieved 2017 from https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/icmembers.html

National Security Strategy (2015). Retrieved from http://nssarchive.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015.pdf

Office of the U.S. President. (2015) National Security Strategy. Retrieved fromhttp://nssarchive.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015.pdf

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). (2017). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/sdwa

Summary of the Clean Air Act. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act

Summary of the Clean Water Act. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act

Summary of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund). (2017). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-comprehensive-environmental-response-compensation-and-liability-act

Summary of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act

Summary of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-resource-conservation-and-recovery-act

Summary of the Toxic Substances Control Act. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-toxic-substances-control-act

Trump, D. J. (2017). Statement by President Trump on the Paris Climate Accord. Address presented in The White House, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/06/01/statement-president-trump-paris-climate-accord

U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/