Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
A major theme of this topic is that
individuals matter.
History shows that significant change usually comes
from the
bottom up
when individuals join with others to
bring about change (Figure 18-15). Without grassroots
political action by millions of individual citizens and
organized groups, the air you breathe and the water
you drink today would be much more polluted, and
much more of the earth's biodiversity would have dis-
appeared. Once environmental laws are passed, citi-
zens must insist that they be implemented and work
together to prevent them from being weakened and to
improve them.
Figure 18-16 lists ways you can influence and
change government policies in constitutional democ-
racies. Active political participation is guided by Aldo
Leopold's insight: “All ethics rest upon a single prem-
ise: that the individual is a member of a community of
interdependent parts.”
What Can You Do?
Influencing Environmental Policy
• Become informed on issues
• Run for office (especially at local level)
• Make your views known at public hearings
• Make your views known to elected representatives
• Contribute money and time to candidates for office
• Vote
• Form or join nongovernment organizations (NGOs)
seeking change
• Support reform of election campaign financing
Environmental Leadership
Each of us can play a leadership role in establishing
and changing environmental policy.
Each of us can provide environmental leadership in
four ways. First, we can
lead by example,
using our own
lifestyle to show others that change is possible and
beneficial.
Second, we can
work within existing economic and
political systems to bring about environmental improve-
ment.
We can influence political decisions by cam-
paigning and voting for candidates and by commu-
nicating with elected officials. We can also send a
message to companies making harmful environment
products or policies by
voting with our wallets
and let-
ting them know what choices we have made. In addi-
tion, we can work within the system by choosing envi-
ronmental careers.
Figure 18-16
Individuals matter:
ways you can influence envi-
ronmental policy.
Critical thinking: which three of these actions
do you believe are the most important? Which things in this list
do you do or plan to do?
Third, we can
run for some sort of local office.
Look in
the mirror. Maybe you are one who can make a differ-
ence as an office holder.
Fourth, we can
propose and work for better solutions
to environmental problems.
Leadership is more than be-
ing against something. It also involves coming up with
better ways to accomplish goals and persuading peo-
ple to work together to achieve such goals. If we care
enough, each of us can make a difference.
Case Study: Environmental Policy in the
United States
Formulating, legislating, and executing
environmental policy in the United States is a
complex, lengthy, and controversial process.
The major function of the federal government in the
United States (and in other democratic countries) is to
develop and implement
policy
for dealing with various
issues.
Policy
is typically composed of various
laws
passed by the legislative branch,
regulations
instituted
by the executive branch to put laws into effect, and
funding
to implement and enforce the laws and regula-
tions and oversight of the process by the judicial
branch. Figure 18-17 (p. 426) presents a greatly simpli-
fied overview of how individuals and lobbyists for and
against a particular environmental law interact with
the three branches of government in the United States.
Figure 18-18 (p. 427) lists some of the major envi-
ronmental laws passed in the United States since 1969.
There are continual efforts to weaken, abolish, or find
ways to get around these laws.
Figure 18-15
Global
outlook:
democracy
in action. Anti-logging
demonstration in the
Philippines. Deforesta-
tion caused by com-
mercial and illegal log-
ging led to flash floods
that wreaked havoc on
towns and communi-
ties near rivers. In one
night, 7,000 people
lost their lives from
such floods.
