THE ISSUES OF OUR ENVIRONMENT
Fred Johnson, The Madison Institute
I. Statement of Philosophy
Environmental policy should be approached from an ecological perspective; in that all living things and their physical environment are interrelated. Humans are a part of this system, and technology cannot sever them from their dependence on this relationship. With an ecological approach, we cannot reduce our analysis of environmental issues by looking at each component separately, since they do not exist separately. Neither can we separate environmental policy from that of economics, international relations, public health, social justice, or electoral politics. This will be obvious as individual issues are discussed later in this document.
Environmental policy must be approached in this way because the environmental problems we face result to a large extent from man’s historic attitude toward nature, as described by Aldo Leopold in the forward to his classic, A Sand County Almanac:
“Conservation is getting nowhere because it is incompatible with our Abrahamic concept of land. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. There is no other way for land to survive the impact of mechanized man, nor for us to reap from it the esthetic harvest it is capable, under science, of contributing to culture.”
II. Scientific Foundation of Policy
Environmental policy must be based on sound, open, and peer-reviewed science. To this end, it is critical that environmental research not be directed by, funded by, or otherwise influenced by those industries or individuals who have a vested interest in slanting the results towards conclusions not supported by the facts. There should be an increase in taxpayer funding to public educational research institutions so that they have the resources to conduct objective environmental research without having to rely on the corrupting influence of corporate sponsorship. Science education must be supported at all levels, and engineering and more technical disciplines should not be emphasized at the expense of the natural sciences.
III. Cross-Boundary Cooperation
The natural environment does not recognize man-made borders, including private property lines and political boundaries. Environmental policy will not be effective unless there is cross-border understanding and cooperation. Private property rights, while important, cannot be a defense for actions that are detrimental to the environment. Regional and international trade agreements must include provisions that support the environmental laws of all parties involved. These agreements should not serve to undermine governmental environmental regulation at any level.
IV. Need for Government Regulation
History provides overwhelming evidence that industry cannot and will not regulate itself. Through the implementation and enforcement of landmark environmental laws that arose after Congress passed The National Environmental Policy Act in 1969, much progress was made in reversing the serious degradation of our environment that had occurred without those protections in place. This progress is being reversed by both the loosening of and lack of enforcement of these same laws, which has happened at an alarming rate in the last several years. Effective regulations must be in place, established through scientific research and public discourse, that ensure the environment is protected. Administration of environmental regulations should be through a combination of:
V. Economic Development and the Environment
Economic development is only compatible with the protection of the environment if it is done in a sustainable manner. This will require a re-thinking of how we define successful economic outcomes. Economic models that equate success with continual growth in production and consumption are not realistic if we hope to achieve and sustain a quality environment. In biological systems, the most striking example of a continuous growth system is the pathological growth exhibited by a cancer cell. This same pathology can occur on a much larger scale. Economic models must include feedback mechanisms that limit growth when the environment shows signs that it is being taxed beyond capacity.
VI. Land Use
It is impossible to discuss land use independent of individual environmental issues. Informed, long-term land use planning is essential in dealing with all of these issues. If market forces are not sufficiently restrained through thoughtful, comprehensive, and enforceable land use planning, significant negative environmental consequences can and do occur. These consequences can include the elimination of natural areas and farmland, limited and resource-intensive transportation options, and a decline in the quality and quantity of regional water resources. Development resources should be concentrated in areas that already have a history of development, while embracing conservation and green building techniques, to both protect the environment and enhance the quality of life.
VII. Natural Areas and Recreation
Everyone should have opportunities to enjoy the benefits of interacting with the natural world. We recognize that there are many ways that people choose to do so – including hiking, camping, skiing, snowshoeing, swimming, fishing, hunting, boating and other vehicular activities, both motorized and non-motorized. We also recognize that some of these activities are not compatible with each other. Some activities, various “silent sports” and other low-impact activities for example, cannot be effectively enjoyed without restrictions on other activities. The best way to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to enjoy his or her respective recreational pursuits is to maximize the amount of land set aside for the full spectrum of natural areas, from managed urban parkland and greenspace to wilderness.
VIII. Water Resources
There is no substance more important to life on this planet than water. There is already a shortage of drinking water in much of the world, and this problem will continue to increase as sources are being depleted or contaminated through waste and mismanagement. It is critical that we manage our water resources wisely. The foundation of this management strategy should be conservation. Water-conserving technologies should be used in all of our pursuits that involve this precious resource.
We should not be subsidizing development in arid regions through the provision of water at artificially low prices. These subsidies have led to overpopulation of such fragile environments as the arid Southwestern United States, resulting in the dangerous depletion of groundwater aquifers and salinization of surface waters. Development in these areas, when it occurs, must incorporate state-of-the-art water conservation technologies. Water diversion projects, such as exporting Great Lakes water out of its basin, can be very deleterious to aquatic ecosystems and must be avoided.
The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, funded thousands of new sewage treatment plants, established
wetlands protection, and placed restrictions on industrial waste discharges. Provisions of this act and subsequent legislation have also been utilized to help control pollution from non-industrial sources such as farms, feedlots, and residential areas. Although much has been accomplished, much more needs to be done. Our water resources continue to be contaminated by historic and ongoing discharge (direct or insufficiently treated) from industrial sources as well as agricultural uses in which animal wastes, fertilizers, and pesticides are not used wisely.
The Clean Water Act has proven effective and has led to significant improvements in the nation’s water resources. These gains are being lost through attacks on the provisions of this act and its enforcement; attacks that have greatly accelerated in the last several years. These provisions must be defended, fully funded, enforced, and strengthened as necessary.
IX. Air
Air pollution can be man-made or naturally occurring. Natural sources include volcanic eruptions, forest and prairie fires, plants and trees, and dust storms. Given that there is a certain amount of natural pollution, it is very important to control pollution caused by man’s activities.
Air pollution can cause several adverse health effects. These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, and breathing problems, including asthma. Some air pollutants can cause cancer, birth defects, brain and nerve damage, and long-term injury to the lungs and breathing passages. Above certain concentrations and lengths of exposure they can cause severe injury or premature death.
The release of certain organic compounds into the air has led to the thinning of the earth’s ozone layer that protects us from the harmful effects of ultra-violet radiation.
Air pollution can also reduce visibility and can sometimes interfere with aviation.
Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the combustion of fossil fuels form acids in the atmosphere that later are deposited onto our land and waters. This “acid rain” has resulting in damaged forests and fish kills, and can also damage a variety of buildings and other man-made structures. Acid rain can increase the mobility of mercury , a toxic element that is also emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels, into aquatic systems and subsequently into the food chain.
Most scientists agree that the primary cause of global warming is the release of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. Unless these emissions are reduced, the resultant increase in average global temperature will most certainly lead to several serious problems. These include worsening air pollution, rising sea levels and the flooding of coastal areas, more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts and wildfires in some regions and heavy rains and flooding in others. Species will begin to disappear from their historic ranges and habitats will be lost. Many of these changes have already begun.
Electric power plants are the largest industrial source of some of the worst air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and mercury. This dispels the perception of some that electricity is necessarily a “clean power” option. Refineries and other industrial facilities are also significant contributors.
Vehicles powered by the burning of fossil fuels contribute greatly to air pollution by emitting many of the same pollutants. Individuals should be encouraged to and provided options for limiting their driving, use public transportation, walk, use carpools, and ride bicycles. Historically, public policy has encouraged and subsidized the use of individual vehicles as the main mode of transportation. Incentives should be in place to encourage the production of vehicles that are fuel efficient or operation on alternative, more environmentally friendly energy sources.
The upshot from the above discussion is that we must implement public policies that reduce the burning of fossil fuels.
The U. S. Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970. Its implementation and subsequent amendments have lead to significant improvement in the air quality of many regions of our country. In recent years many of the provisions of this act have been under attack; either directly or in the form of detrimental initiatives masquerading as advancing clean air goals. The Clean Air Act and other federal, state, and local air quality laws must be supported and vigorously enforced.
X. Environmental Toxins
One of the major challenges to environmental protection results from the production and widespread use of man-made industrial chemicals, the rate of which sky-rocketed after World War II. Many of these chemicals do not readily break down after they are released into the environment. Several laws, such as The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Superfund Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act were passed in the 1970s and 1980s. These laws have done much to reduce the release of these hazardous chemicals to the environment, clean up contaminated sites, and provide the public with information on chemical production, use, storage, and management. These laws also incorporated the “polluter pays” concept of environmental cleanup. The system established under these laws has been under attack by powerful industrial interests and allied lawmakers, resulting in the delay of cleanups, lack of enforcement, shifting of cleanup costs from industry to the taxpayers, and the withholding of information from the public. The responsibility for safe management of these substances must be returned to the industries that manufacture and use them, with rigorous enforcement action taken against those who fail to do so responsibly.
XI. Agriculture
Note: Some of agriculture’s impact on the environment have been discussed in earlier sections of this paper, and will largely not be repeated here.
While agriculture does have some very serious effects on the natural environment, with a strong commitment from landowners and well thought out public policy, these effects can be minimized.
Excessive use of pesticides and fertilizer (both synthetic and naturally-produced) can lead to serious contamination of both ground and surface water. Contamination of sources of drinking water with nitrogen compounds causes serious health effects, especially in young children. Nutrients discharged into surface waters from agricultural runoff causes excess production of aquatic vegetation, leading to the clogging of waterways and, through the breakdown of plant matter, the depletion of dissolved oxygen necessary for aquatic life. Pesticide contamination of both ground and surface water has made sources of this resource unfit for many uses as well as causing environmental degradation. Poor management of farm land can cause significant, essentially irreversible losses of topsoil as well as air pollution.
Technologies already exist to prevent most of these problems; some of which are in use today. Often their implementation is impeded by policies that support and encourage less environmentally-friendly methods. Agriculture policy must favor the use of sustainable best management practices, based on sound science, that work in the greatest harmony as possible with the natural environment.
XII. Endangered Species and Biodiversity
The purpose of The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is to provide a means of conserving the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend, and provide a program for conserving those species. We believe that the strength and vitality of the human environment is inextricably linked to the health of all species and their habitats and that species extinction and habitat destruction are a serious threat to our own welfare. The elimination of any species can have severe negative environmental effects that may not be realized until well into the future. It may also preclude the development of medicines that may be developed utilizing species that is no longer in existence. By protecting all species, we help preserve the biodiversity necessary for all life to survive and adapt to the ever-changing physical environment. The Endangered Species Act has served this country well for over 30 years and deserves the full support and enforcement of its provisions.
XIII. Environmental Justice
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” This must be a sincere goal in our approach to environmental policy, not just empty rhetoric. For too long, management of the negative by-products of society’s activities has disproportionately fallen on communities of the poor and people of color, who generally do not have the political clout to resist the siting of these activities. For example, waste disposal sites and industrial production areas have often been located near these communities. Everyone deserves the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.