Environmental Problems and Politics

7/29/2019 Environmental Problems and Politics

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Environmental Problems and

Politics

Chapter 1


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Values and ethics

A dominant social paradigm of western

societies (Catton and Dunlap):

humans are fundamentally different from all other

species on earth over which they have dominion

The world is vast and provides unlimited

opportunities for humans

Human history is one of progress in which allmajor problems can be solved


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Energy in 2008

Gasoline prices rose rapidly

Politicians searched for ways to reassure the

public

The 2008 debate energy

Does the long-term solution lie more in

reducing demand than increasing supply? Americans DO change their behaviors if they

believe the price will remain high
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVhSQ8apV0Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVhSQ8apV0Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVhSQ8apV0Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVhSQ8apV0Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVhSQ8apV0Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVhSQ8apV0Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVhSQ8apV0E


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Environmental problems that

*many* agree on

Climate change

Pollution in general

Heavy reliance on fossil fuels

Destruction of critical lands, forest and species

Overconsumption

Global conferences include the Earth Summit, the Rioconference and others

The Brundtland Commission defined sustainabledevelopment as development that meets the needs ofthe present without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs.


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Population and

Since 1900, the worlds population has

multiplied more than 3x.

World economy has grown by a factor of 20

Consumption of fossil fuels by a factor of 30

Industrial production by a factor of 50

The first generation of environmental policywas the passage of strict environmental laws

Second generation policy is trickier to develop


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Science and technology

There is a gap between the worlds of science andpublic policy

Does the knowledge NOT exist or is it not beingput to good use?

Theres a difference between acquiring morescientific knowledge and communicatingscientific knowledge

How much responsibility does the public have tobecome scientifically literate?

Rachel Pike: The Science Behind a ClimateHeadline
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/rachel_pike_the_science_behind_a_climate_headline.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/rachel_pike_the_science_behind_a_climate_headline.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/rachel_pike_the_science_behind_a_climate_headline.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/rachel_pike_the_science_behind_a_climate_headline.html


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Economics and incentive structures

Economists, planners and policy analysts propose

that we redesign the economic and behavioral

incentives that unrealistic market prices create.

If a resource is cheap, does that mean its

plentiful?

Pricing sends inaccurate and inappropriate signals

to consumers and businesses, encouragingenvironmentally destructive behavior


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The Role of Government and Politics

Public policy shapes science by supporting certainresearch

Government affects the design and use of

economic incentives such as taxes or tax breaks Regulatory policy arises when society concludes

that market forces alone do not produce desiredoutcomes. It also sets limits.

A multiplicity of interest groups means that policygoals and instruments are subject to intensepolitical debate.


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Democracy, Politics and

Environmental Policy

Most environmental laws contain public

participation provisions

Critics of public participation argue that public

involvement can be problematic when

1) citizens dont understand complex

environmental issues and/or

2) adamantly oppose actions that may threatentheir way of life


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Defining Environmental Policy

Policy typologies Regulatory

Distributive

Redistributive

Regulatory: Example, the Clean Air Act. Seekingbenefits for the general population vs minimizingcosts and burdens on industry

Distributive: resource subsidies bestowed oncertain groups such as loggers, miners

Redistributive: shifting resources from one groupto another


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The Breadth of Environmental Policy

The collection of environmental, energy and

resource policies that have developed over

time defy common sense (Kraft)

Read the Dean Mann statement on page 15.

This is also true of human health and safety,

energy, transportation, building standards,

food

How do you start over?


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Forecasting Environmental Conditions

Forecasting environmental conditions meansmaking assumptions about economic, social andtechnological changes

The best studies set out assumptions clearly anddescribe the methodology

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changeputs forward the data, the analysis and the

scientific conclusions Some participants in an environmental debate

may exploit the inevitable uncertainties


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Assessing Risks:

Social and Technical Issues

Risk Assessment is a decision-making tool

The process has been established since the

1970s. New no; Evolving - yes

There is general support for the method

because regulations could become even

stricter without it

In simplest terms, R=PxC where R= risk,

P=probability and C=consequences


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Citizens often weigh the degree to which risks

are uncertain rather than the severity of the

consequences

Or, they may ignore scientists conclusions

that risks are low and oppose certain actions

anyway


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Susan Hadden (1991):

Technical rationality is a mindset that trusts evidence and

the scientific method, appeals to expertise for justification,

values universality and consistency, and considers

unspecifiable impacts to be irrelevant to present decision-

making.

Cultural rationality, in contrast, appeals to traditional and

peer groups rather than to experts, focuses on personal

and family risks rather than the depersonalized, statisticalapproach, holds unanticipated risks to be fully relevant to

near-term decision-making and trusts process rather than

evidence.


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Coping with Environmental Risks

Is government intervention necessary?

Alternatively, will private or voluntary actionachieve desired results?

How clean is clean? Superfund: the National Priorities List of

hazardous waste sites

Judgments about acceptable risk:

What is acceptable to society? Are we passing the buck?

Which issues will survive a legal challenge to theregulatory agency?


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Public Policy Responses

If government intervention is deemedappropriate, which level of governmentshould take the lead?

Command and control vs Voluntary Action How successful is our current mix?

Government can spur technical progress

through the power of the marketplace Environmental justice who pays the highest

externalized costs?

Environmental Problems and Politics

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