Kristina's Op-Ed

Environmental Policy Trends in the U.S: 1970’s to G.W. Bush Administration:
In the early years of the nation, environmental policy largely consisted of resource conservation and land management. During the 1960’s, under President Johnson, we started looking at the “growing scarcity in world resources.” (Vig, 10) Air and water pollution were long considered to be strictly local or state matters and were not high on the national agenda until the 1970’s. (Vig, 10)

Enter Earth Day:
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. The public was now demanding more federal attention be placed on environmental issues, the politicians eagerly supported the public’s wishes, and as a result, laws were enacted and implemented in the 1970’s. Congress set the stage for this new wave by passing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969. Shortly thereafter, President Nixon declared the 1970’s the “environmental decade.” (Vig, 11) According to Vig, the Democratic Party controlled the leadership on the issue of environmental policy during the Nixon and Ford administrations. (Vig, 11) It was during this time that we saw the first pesticide regulation, endangered species protections, control of hazardous and toxic wastes and ocean and coastline protection, among others. Furthermore, the 1970’s brought us the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Population and energy policy were largely caught in a “stage of gridlock” according to Vig. President Carter tried but was unable to secure a national energy policy because he could not reach consensus with the public or Congress on the issue.

The 1980’s and the Reagan administration brought new attitudes to environmental policy. President Reagan wanted smaller government and sought to have greater state control and privatization of environmental regulations. Initially Congress went along with the budget cuts but eventually criticized Reagan and his appointees for lack of action. (Vig, 14) Congress went on to strengthen the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Acts. Reagan ended up strengthening the environmental resolve of these national environmental groups; they began to appeal to the American public, successfully, and as a result, the membership in these organizations soared. Two broad functions that these interest groups provide is: 1) they aggregate and mobilize like-minded citizens, and 2) they represent aggregated interests in government. (Vig, 61) President George H. W. Bush was more environmentally motivated and pushed for Clean Air Act Amendments in 1990. (Vig, 14)

Moving into the 1990’s President Clinton was impressive to environmentalists by choosing environment-friendly running mate, Al Gore. Unfortunately, coalitions of environmental groups and business clashed regularly on all of the initiatives and congressional leaders and the White House were unsuccessful in resolving the disputes. (Vig 108-109) George W. Bush elected in 2000, shifted things back to federal control, nay-administrative control of environmental issues and policy. Bush appointed Christine Todd Whitman to administer the EPA. (The first of five appointees Bush would make to that post.) Whitman’s series of policies expanded the federal role over states. Some of these shifts could be blamed on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but appear to reflect a shift of power to the executive branch. Bush was dubbed “the most anti-environmental president in our nation’s history” by the League of Conservation Voters. (Vig, 43) His appointments to environmental and natural resource agencies were largely drawn from business corporations or from conservative think tanks and law firms. The Bush administration was repeatedly shown to have ignored the advice of scientific experts or distorted scientific information to justify policy decisions. (Vig, 87)

President Obama Elected and Reflected:
President Obama made it clear that he would depart radically from the environmental policies of Bush. (Vig, 90) He vowed in his campaign to make global warming a top priority, instead of the Bush reaction to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol. He further vowed to reinvigorate the EPA, respecting its professionalism and scientific integrity. (Vig, 91) Obama virtually promised to change all of the policies from the Bush era and adopt a more transparent approach, with collaboration in decision-making. A sampling of his policy proposals were: 1) to invest $150 billion over ten years in advanced energy technologies and to help to create millions of new jobs in clean energy; 2) to set national building efficiency goals toward making all new buildings carbon neutral (zero emissions) by 2030 and 3) to uphold the Roadless Area Rule and to increase funding for national parks and forest management and for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. (Vig, 91) Obama started early in making efforts to change the federal government's way of viewing greenhouse gas issues. He took the lead by having federal agencies mandated to reduce their emissions by 28 percent. President Bush, by comparison, (Vig, p. 132) refused to use his authority to meet the challenge of global warming.

As we sit here in 2012, looking back on his four years in office, President Obama held true to his promise to positive environmental agendas. Where he could initiate and make change he did. Unfortunately, even though Obama wanted to emulate the largely environmental presidents past, Carter and Clinton he was thwarted by the serious economic state in which he stepped into office. The economic recovery took center stage, followed closely by the Obama Health Initiative of 2011. Even though President Obama made promises toward an administration bent on environmental change, only baby steps were achieved.