Public Policy Study Guide Final Exam Chapter 11 Environmental and Energy Policy Environmental Policy o All government actions that affect or attempt to affect environmental quality and the use of natural resources o May occur at any level of government may even be pan government international in its scope o Often evokes collective action issues o Moments that capture attention and highlight the existence of a Focusing Events problem o An event that puts an issue directly on the agenda o Examples Death by Air Inversion pollution Cuyahoga River Fire Three Mile Island near Meltdown Three Mile Island o 1979 o A mechanical failure and human error at a power plant in Pennsylvania combined to permit an escape of radiation over a 16 mile radius GW Bush s position on climate change o Claims that science was too weak to document meaningful change in climate o Encourage use of fossil fuels to encourage economic development o Sought to deregulate environmental protecting through a new era of voluntary flexible and cooperative programs And to transfer more responsibility of federal laws to the states Sustainable Development o Economic growth that is compatible with environmental systems and social goals UN goal from 1987 Problem is that not all agree on what is best for the environment or on social goals o Despite early support US under GW bush DID NOT agree with the policy Conservative groups within the GOP see it as blocking income growth in the US o Sounds harmless but politically fraught Partisan differences on environment o Everyone wants a clean environment o Mainly party conflicts over right to regulate o Democrats Want strong government role to protect o GOP private property economic development are most important issues National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 o Requires environmental impact statement EIS public review creation of Council on Environmental Quality CEQ Clean Air Act o 1970 1990 o Ambient air quality standard o emission limits stationary and mobile sources o Acid Rain Command and Control Regulation o Direct Regulation Traditional approach o Government sets and enforces laws using the best science as a guide o Seek to reduce the level of risk to a point that is reasonable in light of costs Environmental Protection Agency EPA o Underfunded o An independent federal regulatory agency charged with enforcement of most environmental protection pollution laws Alternatives to Regulation o Market Incentives Allowing marketable permits for emission of sulfur dioxide clean air act Improve economic efficiency by reducing the overall cost of environmental improvement Government reduces the number of permits over time to ensure that goal of lower emission is reached o Information Disclosure Nation uses this strategy by compiling the Toxic Release Inventory by publishing fuel efficiency standards and by promoting appliance efficiency standards Hoped that information will be used to press industry and government to mover faster on environmental and energy improvements o Cooperation v Conflict Reduce conflict between regulators and those being regulated and to work cooperatively to develop appropriate environmental standards regulations and action programs Intention is to move from contentious legalistic system of regulation to one in which steak holders work together to see solutions Decentralization to states o Policy makers in both parties favor increased decentralization but many analysts are skeptical about whether this will improve effectiveness ANWR years for oil Evaluation of Policies o Hard to say what does and doesn t work o Moving target problem problem shift o Air pollution seems to be down water quality improved in past 40 o Now concerned about other toxins in food etc o Bush wants to open the Arctic wildlife refuge up for drilling in Alaska Argues that opening the refuge will benefit towards the war but the bill still fails Shows that even with the rally around the flag effect and same party in both Houses the President can still fail domestically o Streamlined Weakened environmental requirements affecting energy pollution PRO Economic development energy tax collections CON Dirty costs to tourism o Republicans more supportive than Democrats or Independents o Men more favorable that women support is highest among elderly Energy Policy o US energy policy is haphazard o Goal since 1970 has been energy independence from OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countires o Carter tried but public was disinterested a pattern that is repeated over the years This makes it hard to get an Energy Policy o Individual and corporate decisions in the market place largely determine energy use with each sector of energy influenced by a variety of government subsidies and regulations Cap Trade o A pollution policy that caps allowable pollution at a certain amount distributes the rights to engage in that pollution then allows the owners of the rights to trade them o People who favor it tend to not know a lot about it Pollution Credits o Credits that can be earned and then sold by companies that emit pollutants below established standards Chapter 12 Foreign Policy and Homeland Security Land Use Regulation o Protects against uncertainty Property Values quality of life o Addresses core property rights issues o Expression of local regulatory authority o Encourages desirable development Zoning o Establishes a class of activities that are allowable in an area o Zoning is generally more popular than planning More productive and less intrusive o Establishes a long term plan for what s to occur in an area More specific than zoning Planning Property Rights o The right to have to the exclusive use of their property including the right to buy or sell it o A fundamental building block of a capitalist system Tragedy of the commons illustrates the absurd outcome of no property rights Zoning and Property Rights o Zoning both protects and threatens property rights Protects them by ensuring that someone s use of nearby property doesn t devalue them Threatens them by limiting what a person may do with their property Changes in zoning may affect properties rights Regulating Developments o Seek to regulate pace location and extent Methods Impact fees monitoring concurrency Limits on permits Urban containment growth boundaries Regulating Housing o Goals to reduce or increase housing supply Exclusionary zoning reduces supply Inclusionary zoning increases supply o Subsidized housing Problem of Exclusionary Zoning
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