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11. Environmental and Energy Policy

Study

Chapter 11 opens with a review of issues related to global climate change and how recent actions taken by President Barack Obama differ from those of George W. Bush. The text summarizes major federal policies that deal with environmental protection (largely pollution control and health-related issues), natural resources, and energy; how these policies came about; leading criticisms; and suggested reforms. This chapter reviews the developments that led to the adoption of the first generation of environmental policy and the movement from consensus over policy goals and the means used to achieve them (so-called command-and-control regulation) to today's partisan conflicts. It summarizes each of the landmark policies and notes the agency responsible for its implementation, as well as the nature of the current disputes over these policies. The chapter provides a roadmap that traces the arguments and studies on each side of this debate, from government agencies to environmental and corporate interest groups. It also reviews major natural resource and energy policies, as well as the prevailing critiques of these programs, and offers a variety of suggestions for policy change. The focused discussion deals with what is arguably the premier environmental challenge of the twenty-first century: climate change and its relationship to energy policy. This analysis of the risks of climate change and the corresponding consideration of policy options to deal with the problem demonstrate how science, analysis, ethical considerations, and politics intersect to shape policy decisions.