SF - Agents of Change Lesson
Agents of Change
How Can You Practice Sustainability?
One task of environmental economics is to develop methods for evaluating intangibles that provide good guidelines, are easy to understand, and are quantitatively credible. Not an easy goal!
Watch the presentation below and note the staggering statistical cost of sustainability.
Environmental decision-making often involves analysis of tangible and intangible factors. A mudslide that results from altering the slope of land is an example of a tangible factor; the beauty of the slope before the mudslide and its ugliness afterward is an example of an intangible factor. Of the two, the intangibles are obviously more difficult to deal with because they are hard to measure and to value economically. One task of environmental economics is to develop methods for evaluating intangibles that provide good guidelines, are easy to understand, and are quantitatively credible. Not an easy goal!
Follow the Law!
Environmental policy/laws are the best agents of change when protecting the earth. Though many countries signed the United Nations Millennium Development Goals every country has different approaches.
How does a society achieve an environmental goal, such as preservation and use of a resource or reduction of a pollutant?
Means to implement a society's policies are known among economists as policy instruments. These include moral suasion (i.e. persuading people by talk, publicity, and social pressure); direct controls, which include regulations; market processes, which affect the price of goods and include taxation of various kinds, subsidies, licenses, and deposits; and government investments, which include research and education.
Public Policy
A multitude of major federal agencies are responsible for the establishment and implementation of environmental laws in the United States. These agencies are established by Congress and are overseen by the president as a part of the executive branch of government.
The following is a list of major federal agencies that are actively involved in environmental policy:
- Department of Health and Human Services: Health
- Environmental Protection Agency: Air and water pollution, noise, pesticides, solid waste, radiation, toxic substances
- Department of Justice: Environmental litigation
- Department of the Interior: Endangered species, energy, minerals, national parks, public lands, fish and wildlife, and water development
- Department of Agriculture: Soil conservation and forestry
- Department of Defense: Civil works construction, dredge and fill permits, and pollution control from defense facilities
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Licensing and regulation of nuclear power
- Department of State: International environment
- Department of Commerce: Oceanic and atmospheric monitoring and research
- Department of Labor: Occupational health
- Department of Housing and Urban Development: Housing, urban parks, and urban planning
- Department of Transportation: Airplane noise, mass transit, oil pollution, and roads
- Department of Energy: Energy policy, and petroleum allocation
- Tennessee Valley Authority: Electric power generation
Environmental Laws, Acts, and Policies Throughout History
Numerous laws, acts, and policies have been implemented since the late 1800's for the purpose of preserving the environment and its resources.
The following is a list of the key national and international environmental laws, acts, and policies.
- Forest Reserve Act (1891)
- Lacey Act (1900)
- Antiquities Act (1906)
- Public Health Service Act (1912)
- National Park Service Act (1916)
- Migratory Bird Act (1918)
- Taylor Grazing Act (1934)
- Soil Conservation Act (1935)
- Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (1947)
- Atomic Energy Act (1954)
- Water Pollution Control Act (1956)
- Wilderness Act (1964)
- Land and Water Conservation Act (1965)
- Clean Air Act (1970)
- Resource Recovery Act (1970)
- National Environmental Policy Act (1970)
- Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act (1972)
- Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (1972)
- Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972)
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (1973)
- Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)
- Energy Policy and Conservation Act (1975)
- National Forest Management Act (1976)
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976)
- Clean Water Act (1977)
- Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977)
- Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1978)
- Superfund Law (1980)
- Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (1980)
- Montreal Protocol (1987)
- National Environmental Education Act (1990)
- International Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
- International Treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2000)
- UN International Panel on Climate Change (2001)
Clean Water Act
Examine the Clean Water Act by watching the video below:
Sustainability Practice Challenge
Before You Go, You Need To Know
The following key points are from this explore section of the lesson. You must know the following information before moving to the next lesson. This is just a summary of the key points.
- Environmental Policies and Law are two different things
- Protecting the environment can cost a lot of money, but we cannot afford not to put policies and laws into place
- In a democratic society, change is made using a four-step process
- Recognize a problem
- Formulate a Plan
- Implement the Plan
- Evaluate the Plan
IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS OR OPEN SOURCE