Environmental Issues Essay Example

The environmental issues have for a long time been regarded as technocratic and scientific issues, but currently, these have changed and are now regarded as political problems. Therefore, tackling environmental issues today is a difficult task, this is because of the change in nature of the problem. Since 1960's America has witnessed an increase in Environmental concerns. When Rachel Carlson wrote an article named spurred public anxiety and silent spring that illuminated on the wide use of DDT pesticide. His work had a huge impact both on chemical fertiliser regulation and how it brought the issue of the environment into the politics of America. The publication of silent spring had a major impact where public attention was heightened, and DDT was banned. This action also led to President Nixon signing new legislation which led to the creation of Environment Protection Agencies. Moreover, environmental concern found a significant place in political agenda.

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Environmental issues such as climate change and global warming are one of the key challenges for lawmakers in America. On the other hand, ninety-seven per cent of climate scientists argues on the basis that greenhouse effect is as a result of human actions. However, a public official who is said to be guided by ideological rigidity and American citizens ensures that the issue of climate change will remain to be a divisive issue that is guided by inaction rather than overall progress. (Daynes, Sussman & West, 2016). The technical dilemma on the decision making has created an impact as it moves from national to global arena. This dilemma has led to the creation of disputes that includes how to address environmental issues framed within conflicts that emerge between various stakeholders. The stakeholders argued that it was important to preserve public land for future generations. By the year the 1970s, there then emerged various analysts who brought new explanation regarding of value changes and nature values in post-industrial democracies. Early to mid-1990s saw a change in national environmental protection policymaker where the president and Congress sought to reduce the burden that is termed as regulatory on localities and states where the Supreme Court questioned views that were long held on national regulatory authorities.

Environmental policy controversies present a comprehensive analysis of the decision making politics that includes environmental problems such as toxic waste management, land use, economic incentive, and new federalism. This controversy recognizes environmental policymaking is a mixture of technology, politics, and economics. It thus provides an understanding of the three environmental policy blend interrelationship.

Environmental organizations have achieved a lot of victories, and their efforts have protected regulatory accomplishments from counter attacks of politics. Since the creation of Environmental Protection Agencies there emerged environmental debate which became less rational and more political. Moreover, regarding the indiscriminate manner in which we are affected and affect the environment, a debate that emphasizes the future of the environment protection is now a campaign concern. However, being green is regarded and equated to being liberal, and there is an expectation from the conservatives to denounce conservation. The environment is among the debated issues that have been forced to pick a side where a democrat comes to the defence of the environment and Republicans' prioritizing coal and big oil interest. The environmental movements over the last four decades have consolidated into a large set of professionally managed Washington DC focused organizations. Some organizations example, Natural resource defence council are said to be good in the use of Law policy, science and influence lobbying debates. However, these organizations are not set up to mobilize public support and organize coalitions. They focus on influencing regulatory and lawmaking policy.

The 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development suggested poor resource use and rise in scarcities lead to environmental conflicts, and sustainable development was regarded as a necessary measure to curb this issue. 1990s critical work that examined environmental conflicts suggested the importance of understanding the way global political economy drove environmental change. However, it has become clearer that the development processes are frequently disruptive to traditional ways of life and rural communities a matter which is now understood as slow violence in particular resource project that are regarded as extractivist.

The application and design of the modern environmental laws have been shaped by numerous concepts and principles that were outlined in our common future 1987 publication by Rio Declaration Earth Summit 1992 and World Commission on Environment and Development. An international environmental laws area remains to be underdeveloped. However, the international agreements have contributed to making the laws and regulations applicable to some activities that are said to be environmentally harmful in various countries to be more or less consistent. This is because the damage that is caused by harmful environmental activities that cannot be handled in national boundaries.

Therefore there is a need for every individual with responsibilities in American environmental politics to ensure that they rethink on effective strategies. Otherwise, there will emerge a challenge in mobilizing public support for measures that counter environmental threats that include energy production shift pattern and global warming in the US and the entire global economy.

References

Daynes, B., Sussman, G., & West, J. (2016). American Politics and the Environment (2nd ed.). New York: State University of New York Press.