The United States - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 35

took on characteristics of a delegated one. As the bill was speeding through
Congress, the chemical industry lobbyists tried to block it, because it would
cost them money, but enthusiasm was too great, and they capitulated.
Along with domestic legislation, the United States entered into a num-
ber of international treaties to protect the environment. It often took the
lead, such as for the 1972 World Heritage Convention. The first sites to
be listed were overseas like the Galápagos Islands and Simien Park in
Ethiopia, but eventually American sites were listed like Yellowstone,
Grand Canyon, and Independence Hall. Sites can be both natural and
man-made. Although the United Nations Education, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which administers the program, has
little power, many Americans do not like the idea of it being able to have
any influence on domestic policy. The following year the United States
signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES). To implement it, Congress amended the Endangered Species Act
to include nondomestic animals. For example, Americans are not permit-
ted to buy and sell skins, horns, tusks, and so forth of protected animals.
Later it passed several laws such as Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation
Act. In 1975 the United States signed the Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance, known as the Ramsar Convention after the city
in Iran where it was negotiated.
With the passage of the Superfund law, the Environmental Decade was
over. Under three presidents, both Republican and Democratic, Congress
had passed over a dozen major laws. Most of these passed with large
bipartisan majorities. Nixon had established EPA, and the Department of
the Interior had shifted its mission toward a more environmental orienta-
tion. When Gerald Ford became president after Nixon's resignation due to
the Watergate scandal, he continued Nixon's pro-environmental policies.
Carter solidified the policies, added the surface mining program, and
established five big parks as part of the Alaskan Lands Act. This biparti-
san support changed abruptly with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.
The Reagan Revolution: Reagan won the Republican Party nomina-
tion as the champion of its conservative side. Since at least 1940 it had
always nominated moderates, but that changed. Reagan described him-
self as conservative, and was surrounded by advisors and friends who
opposed environmental protection and favored business. Reagan was like
an empty vessel, into which those around him poured information and
policies. Advice from outside came from the Chamber of Commerce and
the Heritage Foundation. This think tank was sponsored by businessmen,