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Background on Environment
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Environment topics in the 2024 election cycle:
OnTheIssues a decade ago had an issues category called "Energy & Environment" -- but we split that into two because for several election cycles both topics were important. In the 2024 election cycle we considered re-collapsing into one topic because environmentalism has come to mean nothing more than "energy & oil policy". Many current poltiicians have nothing to say on envirnomental policy other than their energy policy -- and hence are omitted from this page.
Environmental Regulation
The basic debate in the 2024 election cycle focuses on "What is the government's environmental role?" The answer has become "A very limited role", much more so than in the past. There once was a strong refrain that "people of all parties want clean air and safe water" (citing Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, I-HI). Liberals reminded conservatives that Teddy Roosevelt (a Republican) started the National Parks, and Richard Nixon (another Republican) started the EPA.
The new partisan split on environmental topics is a difference in basic attitudes towards the EPA and any environmental action.
The current Republican attitude is "Deregulate!", exemplified by Gov. Burgum (R, ND) and Sen. Vance (R, OH). The current Democratic attitude is "Duck!" exemplified by the lack of outspokenness on environmental issues (with more "ducking" below on other topics).
For the Republicans, the purpose of deregulation is to reduce the "regulatory burden" that the EPA imposes on corporations -- the Republican attitude focuses on the costs to businesses of deregulation.
For the Democrats, the purpose of regulation is protect people and the environment via the EPA imposing rules -- the Democratic attitude focuses on the benefits to people of regulations.
In inflationary times, such as the leadup to the 2024 election, people demand an improving economy instead of improving environmental health. Hence the Democrats have de-emphasized their environmental goals ("ducked").
Green New Deal
The biggest "ducking" by the Democrats is the name of the "Inflation Reduction Act" (IRA). Hardly anybody knows that name, but everyone remembers the name "Green New Deal." The Inflation Reduction Act IS the Green New Deal -- the Democrats chose to call it the "IRA" because it would never pass Congress as the "Green New Deal."
The IRA is the next phase of COVID relief, after CARES and ARPA. CARES focused on pandemic costs; ARPA focused on economic recovery; and IRA focuses on rebuilding post-pandemic. That means a lot of infrastructure investment, which Biden and the Democrats chose to focus on environmental goals. The economic goals are detailed in our Budget & Economy section.
These Green New Deal policies ended up in the IRA:
- Decarbonizing the U.S. energy mix via $30B for wind & solar.
- Accelerating electric vehicle development with $7500 tax credits.
- Buy American: local content rules for both of the above.
Joe Biden (D-DE): Green New Deal is in platform and it's not too much (Sep 2020)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (I-NY): Good environmental policy identical to good economic policy (Jun 2023)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): Inflation Reduction Act is down payment on Green New Deal (August 2024)
Kamala Harris (D-CA): Supported both Inflation Reduction Act & Green New Deal (August 2024)
Donald Trump (R-FL): Terminate both Inflation Reduction Act & Green New Deal (Oct. 2024)
Environmental Justice
"Environmental Justice" means dealing with the pattern that pollution disproportionately affects low-income and high-minority communities.
Had the Biden/Harris not felt the need to focus on COVID recovery and the IRA, this is where they would have focused.
The Flint Water incident, detailed below, was a key environmental justice issue of 2014, with a follow-up in 2020.
Chevron deference
Perhaps the most important -- and most obscure -- development in environmental policy is the "Chevron deference," which was overturned by a Supreme Court ruling in June 2024. The Chevron deference meant that the EPA (and other regulatory agencies) could decide the details of what to regulate and what to enforce, after Congress authorized regulation of an issue (Congress would "defer" to the executive branch). The Chevron deference was established in 1984 -- it was the law of the land for 40 years. Now, regulatory agencies must defer to the courts when Congressional laws are ambiguous.
U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle (chair of the House Administration Committee), published a thorough analysis of the Chevron Deference after the Supreme Court ruling. That didn't make it to the presidential level, nor into the mainstream media at all -- it's too wonky an issue for all but the most hard-core policy wonks. Nevertheless, this ruling will stand as a landmark case for the indefinite future.
Clean water & PFAS
The Biden/Harris administration did succeed in establishing a new widespread regulatory regime, lowering the drinking water limits for PFAS from 20 ppt to 4 ppt.
"PFAS" means "perfluoroalkyl substances" but are more commonly known as "forever chemicals" because they persist in the environment indefinitely.
PFAS causes cancer, and it accumulates in human bodies from exposure in drinking water -- which is where the new EPA regulation applies.
The new lower PFAS limits will cost between $1.5 billion and $3.8 billion annually -- how that gets paid will be determined as the regulation kicks in by 2026.
The presidential candidates have limited views because PFAS enforcement and cleanup has been left to the states (hence VP nominee Walz has a lot to say, as Governor).
Also linked below are other candidates' views on other cleanup issues, including cleanup from natural disasters. Dealing with health effects of pollutants is a relatively new approach to environmental policy -- as evidenced by the new PFAS rules.
Environment topics in the 2020 election cycle:
Drinking Water
- Flint 6 years later:
While years have passed and tests show the water quality in most areas is now acceptable to drink, many people are scared to drink it. The city has inspected more than 25,000 service lines and has replaced 85% of the pipes. (Click On Detroit)
- Flint accountability:
Ten months ago, a bombshell announcement that all criminal charges in the Flint Water investigation dropped. The announcement came shortly after the attorney general's new Flint water investigative team took over. People who live in Flint are still waiting for someone to be held accountable for the man-made disaster that poisoned their city. (ABC-12)
- Environmental prosecution:
A new report finds that criminal prosecutions for polluting the environment in violation of the Clean Water Act or the Clean Air Act have dropped to their lowest levels in decades under the Trump administration. In the first two years of the Trump administration, criminal prosecutions for violations of the Clean Water Act dropped 70%. Similarly, prosecutions for violations of the Clean Air Act dropped 50% in the first two years since Trump took office. (EcoWatch)
- TRUMP: Partner with environmentalists when undertaking projects (Apr 2010)
- BIDEN: Will bring polluting country leaders to US to find solutions (Feb 2020)
- PENCE: Stop considering manure as pollutant or hazardous (Sep 2011)
- HARRIS: Prosecuted polluters for illegal dumping and air pollution (Aug 2017)
- Socialist Party nominee Gloria LA RIVA: Environmental racism pollutes our neighborhoods (Feb 2016)
Plastic Waste
- Plastic straws:
Plastic straws are really bad for the ocean. It's estimated that we use over 500 million every day in America, and most of those end up in our oceans, polluting the water and killing marine life. If we don't act now, by the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish (by weight). (Strawless Ocean)
- Microplastics:
Because they're made of relatively thin material, straws break down into smaller plastic particles known as microplastics more quickly. Plastic has become so common in oceans that it's being found in large quantities in the bellies of sea birds, whales, and even fish sold at supermarkets. (Eater.com)
- Plastic Garbage Patch:
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water. These patches are almost entirely made up of tiny bits of plastic, called microplastics. (National Geographic)
- Garbage Patch Cleanup:
Myth #1: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch can be seen from space.
Myth #2: It's twice the size of Texas.
Myth #3: Ocean cleanups can solve the garbage patch problem.
Because of the complex forces of nature at work and the miniscule size of microplastics, ocean cleanups are not a feasible solution. According to NOAA, it would take 67 ships an entire year to clean up less than 1% of the North Pacific Ocean. (Oceana.org)
- TRUMP: Don't micromanage every rain puddle and drainage ditch (Sep 2019)
- BIDEN: Pay to put farmland in land banks, for open space & carbon (Sep 2020)
- HARRIS: Ban plastic straws & bags; limit single-use plastic (Sep 2019)
- News on Plastic Waste (Candidates' recent excerpts)
Transportation & Mass Transit
- Cash for Clunkers:
Cash for Clunkers was a U.S. government program that provided financial incentives to car owners to trade in their old, less fuel-efficient vehicles and buy more fuel-efficient vehicles. [Ed.: It ran July and August 2009] (Investopedia)
- PRO-Cash for Clunkers:
Supporters of the program have argued that the program was a success because it provided a stimulus to the economy and removed over 677,000 fuel-inefficient cars from the road.
- ANTI-Cash for Clunkers:
Analysts partly blamed the program for a shortage of used vehicles. While the program was partly intended as a stimulus for domestic auto manufacturers, only about 49% of new vehicles purchased were manufactured in the U.S.
- Amtrak Stimulus:
Amtrak submitted a letter to Congress formalizing our ongoing request for up to $4.857 billion this fiscal year for Amtrak and our partners. Additionally, as Congress considers programs for stimulating the economy, Amtrak has identified $5.193 billion in additional investments as part of an economic recovery proposal to help the nation recover from the impacts of the pandemic, for a total federal investment of $10.050 billion. (Amtrak)
- Amtrak Ridership:
Ridership - Amtrak 2013-2019," by E. Mazareanu, Nov 20, 2019
In the fiscal year of 2019, Amtrak transported some 32.5 million passengers in North America. (Statista)
- TRUMP: (Sep 2019)
- BIDEN: Voted NO on restoring $550M in funding for Amtrak for 2007 (Mar 2006)
- PENCE: Voted NO on $9.7B for Amtrak improvements and operations (Jun 2008)
- HARRIS: All electric cars and school buses by 2045 (Sep 2019)
- PENCE: Voted NO on $2 billion more for Cash for Clunkers program (Jul 2009)
- News on Mass Transit (Candidates' recent excerpts)
- Click for more on Transportation in the Technology/Infrastructure background page.
WOTUS
- WOTUS:
In June 2014, the EPA released a proposed rule (known as Waters of the United States, or WOTUS) in order to describe which waters can be federally regulated under the Clean Water Act. (ALCC)
- PRO_WOTUS:
WOTUS covers two million miles of streams and 20 million acres of wetlands. These waterways provide drinking water for one third of Americans. The fossil fuel industry has stood beside farmers and property developers � and Republicans � in opposing the rule, which is aimed at holding polluters of water accountable. (Greenpeace)
- ANTI-WOTUS:
The 2015 rule grants the federal government regulatory control over virtually any waters � and many land areas that only temporarily hold water � assuming a scope of authority Congress never authorized. It effectively eliminates any constraints the term "navigable" previously imposed on the agencies' Clean Water Act jurisdiction, and few, if any, waters would fall outside of federal control. (Farm Bureau)
- Repealing WOTUS:
The EPA suspended the Obama rule. The agency revealed its replacement. "For the first time, we are clearly defining the difference between federally protected waterways and state protected waterways," said EPA acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. (Vox.com)
- TRUMP: WOTUS 2018: limited definition of protected waterways (Dec 2018)
- BIDEN: WOTUS: clean water rules create rural jobs (Sep 2020)
- PENCE: Our water and air are cleaner than ever; proud of our record (Oct 2020)
- HARRIS: Declare drinking water emergency on Day One (Sep 2019)
- Constitution Party Nominee Don BLANKENSHIP: Repeal wetlands protection & Endangered Species Act (May 2020)
Amazon rainforest
- Amazon fires : Fires in Brazil's Amazon increased 13% in the first nine months of 2020 compared with a year ago, as the rainforest region experiences its worst rash of blazes in a decade. Satellites in September recorded 32,017 hotspots in the world's largest rainforest, a 61% rise from the same month in 2019. (The Guardian)
- Biodiversity at risk: Losing our forests means losing the fight against the climate crisis, putting biodiversity at risk of extinction, and threatening the lives of Indigenous Peoples who depend on the forest standing for their survival. (Greenpeace)
- Deforestation:
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro denied the existence of fires in the Amazon rainforest, calling it a "lie." Experts say that fires are not a natural phenomenon in the rainforest, but are usually man-made in order to clear deforested land for pasture. (Reuters)
Clean Air Mercury Rule
- Mercury: The Clean Air Mercury Rule was built on EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) to significantly reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants -- the largest remaining sources of mercury emissions in the country. (EPA)
- Cost vs. Benefit:
The Environmental Protection Agency changed the way the federal government calculates the costs and benefits of dangerous air pollutants, a shift that could restrict the ability of regulators to control toxins in the future. Some coal executives lobbied for the rollback, calling the Obama-era rule one of the worst examples of what President Trump has labeled the "war on coal." (Washington Post)
- Health effects:
The EPA move leaves in place standards for emissions of mercury, which damages the developing brains of children and has been linked to a series of other ailments. But the changes greatly reduce the health benefits that regulators can consider in crafting futures rules for power plant emissions. That undermines the 2011 mercury rule and limits regulators' ability to tackle the range of soot, heavy metals, toxic gases and other hazards from fossil fuel power plants. (MarketWatch)
- TRUMP: We're going to put regulation industry out of business (Feb 2017)
- BIDEN: EPA must do better on mercury clean-up (Apr 2004)
- PENCE: Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects (Nov 2003)
- HARRIS: Take on interests with profit motive to pollute (Sep 2019)
- News on Natural Resources / Pollution (Candidates' recent excerpts)
Environment topics in the 2016 election cycle:
Energy issues have so dominated the 2016 election that all other environmental issues have fallen aside.
In fact, the term "environmental issues" in this election cycle has come to mean "energy issues."
In this section, we stick to non-energy environmental issues -- see our Energy & Oil section for the energy-based issues.
Some hot topics in the 2016 election cycle:
Flint Water
- In 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan, switched their water supply from using Detroit's system from Lake Huron, to their own system from the Flint River.
- In 2015, residents saw discoloration, and thousands of children were exposed to lead contamination.
- In early 2016, Gov. Rick Snyder and Pres. Obama both declared emergencies, and provided $58 million for cleanup.
- As of April 2016, four city, state, and federal officials had resigned, and criminal charges were filed against three others.
Animal Rights
- Animal rights is a growing issue in the environmental movement, underlying issues ranging from vegetarianism to closure of dog tracks. The core concept is to apply some rights to animals that apply to humans, at some cutoff level of animal intelligence. Most people agree on ending whale hunting, for example, because whales are intelligent; a majority of people agree that animal abuse should be prosecuted; some people apply those rules to all animals and would ban hunting or eating meat. The counterpoint considers the entire animal rights movement to be "political correctness."
- Endangered Species Act (ESA): 1973 law prohibiting activities that harm endangered plants or animals or their habitats. Which species are threatened & endangered are listed or �delisted� by the Secretaries of Interior & Commerce. The controversy comes from limitations on private property to protect one species.
Eminent Domain
Eminent domain is the government's power to force landowners to give up private property "for public use," [traditionally for roadways or public buildings like schools], while receiving "just compensation," as the Fifth Amendment puts it. In other words, when the government builds a highway through your land, it has to pay you the market value for that property.
- Kelo: In its landmark 2005 Kelo decision, the Supreme Court, with a 5-to-4 majority, extended eminent domain to the seizure of property for the use of business. In that particular case, Susette Kelo was being forced from her modest New London, Conn., home so that an urban village of hotels and stores could be built near a massive pharmaceutical research center. Local government strongly supported and assisted the project; local homeowners did not.
- Takings: The federal government is allowed to take private property when it serves the public interest (via �eminent domain�) but must pay fair market value.
For example, when the Endangered Species Act regulates private property use (such as disallowing development), the value is decreased even though the property is not fully taken.
The �takings� controversy concerns how much the government should pay to property owners when their property is only partially taken.
Farm Policy
Federal farm policy in the United States is based heavily on politics, rather than being based on the free market. For example, see our description of the subsidized and regulated milk market in our book review of Milk Money. Progressives generally push for the subsidies and regulations to favor small farmers over large agribusiness. Democratic moderates generally push for more farm exports and more programs that favor domestic production over imports (such as ethanol in gasoline, which is made from corn crops). Republicans are often conflicted about farm policy because they feature the conservative-favored goal of helping businesses and the economy, while they use conservative-opposed methods of government subsidies and regulations. Hence the ethanol subsidy is controversial among Republicans, but generally favored by all Democrats.
Some older topics from previous election cycles:
Hurricane Katrina:
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005, and breached the levies surrounding the city.
Much of New Orleans was flooded, resulting in over 700 deaths and thousands of permanently lost homes.
At issue politically is who was responsible for ignoring the warnings about levy breaches.
Democrats blame President George W. Bush, who infamously claimed about FEMA director Michael Brown, while visiting New Orleans, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
Republicans blame Louisiana's Democratic governor and New Orleans' Democratic mayor.
Lessons learned focus on more preparedness; in later hurricanes, the federal and state governments have both been much more cautious, some say over-cautious.
Hurricane Sandy:
Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, just south of New York City, on October 29, 2012.
Much of the NYC metropolitan area was flooded, resulting in about 150 deaths and about $100 billion in damages.
President Obama declared a state of emergency prior to landfall, part of the cautiousness resulting from Hurricane Katrina.
Questions persist about whether global warming caused the intensity of Hurricane Sandy, and hence will cause future hurricanes of similar intensity.
Some hot topics persisting from the 2012 election cycle:
Yucca Mountain:
A federally-owned mountain in Nevada which the federal government has proposed as a long-term repository for nuclear waste. Yucca Mountain was selected because, in theory, it is geologically stable enough to survive intact for the tens of thousands of years until the nuclear waste becomes harmless. The site was first proposed under President Reagan in 1985-1987; Congress approved it under President Bush in 2002; and then Congress canceled the program under President Obama in April 2011.
Big Dig:
The "Big Dig" refers to Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel Project, conducted in large part while Mitt ROmney was governor of Massachusetts.
The Big Dig converted an elevated highway, I-93, into a 3.5 mile tunnel through central Boston, and added a third tunnel under Boston Harbor to Logan Airport. The original cost of the project in 1998 was proposed at $3 billion; it grew into a $22 billion project by the latest 2012 estimate. In addition to several construction deaths, a motorist was killed when a section of ceiling collapsed in 2006, attributed to inappropriate glue to hold up the concrete ceiling. The project was also plagued by water leaks for several years, attributed to failure to meet contract specifications.
Conservation Easements:
Refers to land deeds which restrict future usage of the parcel of land to protect habitat, ban hunting or logging, or otherwise meet conservation goals.
Also known as "Land Trusts," they have been tremendously successful in preserving open space and wildlife habitat.
To assure that open space and habitat will be there for future generations, Congress provided targeted income tax relief to small farmers and ranchers who wish to make a charitable contribution of a qualified conservation easement.
Green Jobs:
"Green Jobs" refers to subsidizing environmentally-friendly industries, usually alternative energy.
Every recent president, including Obama, has promised "green jobs" in their State of the Union speeches; but the only action so far has been to mention it again in the subsequent year's State of the Union message.
"Solyndra" has become shorthand for "cronyism in the name of green jobs." Solyndra declared bankruptcy in Sept. 2011 after receiving a $527 million federal loan to support commercial-scale manufacturing for its solar photovoltaic panels. Romney visited the abandoned Solyndra factory in May 2012 to criticize Obama's policy.
Pollution Control vs. Cost Control
- The Clean Air Act: (CAA) regulates industrial smokestacks and other sources of smog, acid rain, and other air pollutants. The CAA uses numerous market incentives, including �pollution permits� that are traded on open markets, to minimize costs.
- The Clean Water Act: (CWA) regulates �point-source� (sewage pipes) and �non-point-source� (land and road runoff) water pollution. The EPA�s approach since the early 1990s is �watershed-based,� which means cooperating across political boundaries.
- CAFE standard: The �Corporate Average Fuel Economy� requires that all automobile manufacturers maintain an average of 28 miles per gallon (mpg) for all vehicles sold.
- Command-and-control: Standardized regulations with central enforcement (usually by EPA), as opposed to market-based incentives.
Federal Lands
The federal government owns 27% of all US land (more than the combined area of Alaska, Texas, & California).
- BLM: The Bureau of Land Management owns 270 million acres of cattle grazing land.
- USFS: The US Forest Service owns 185 million acres of timber land.
- FWS: The Fish & Wildlife Service owns 90 million acres of waterways and surrounding lands.
- NPS: The National Park Service owns 75 million acres of national parks and national rivers.
- States: State and local governments own 200 million acres of land (another 9% of total US land area).
Land Use Buzzwords
- Devolution: Some candidates believe that land use decisions should �devolve� from the federal government to state or local government, to encourage community involvement.
- Wise Use: A code word which means �stop federal land use restrictions.� It comes from the Forest Service�s founding doctrines, which say that wise land use includes commercial use plus recreational use.
- Land Trusts: Privately-held land which has restrictions on development (e.g., wildlife sanctuaries).
- Suburban Sprawl: Uncontrolled development that fosters automobile usage rather than mass transit.
- Urban Redevelopment: Restoring inner-city �blighted� communities via �empowerment zones,� etc.
- Brownfields: Locating industrial development on former waste sites (versus wide-open �greenfields�).
- Superfund: EPA cleanup of toxic waste sites.
Amendment V to the US Constitution
...nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.(1791)
Environmental science
Environmental health
Environmental justice
Click here references and citations on Environment
The Guardian, "Brazil's Amazon rainforest suffers worst fires in a decade," 1 Oct 2020
Greenpeace, "Fires are raging in the Amazon—again," by Diego Gonzaga, 21 July 2020
Reuters, "Brazil's Bolsonaro calls surging Amazon fires a 'lie'," by Jake Spring & Maria Carolina Marcello, Aug 11, 2020
U.S. Energy Information Administration, "FAQ: How many nuclear power plants are in the United States, and where are they located?," Jun 9, 2020
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, "Don't let nuclear accidents scare you away from nuclear power," by Bulat Aytbaev, Dmitry Grigoriev, Vladislav Lavrenchuk, & Noah Mayhew, August 31, 2020
EPA, "Clean Air Mercury Rule," downloaded Oct. 2020
Washington Post, "EPA overhauls mercury pollution rule, despite opposition from industry and activists alike," by Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin, April 16, 2020
MarketWatch, "EPA guts rule credited with cleaning up toxic air from coal and oil power plants," by Associated Press, April 16, 2020
Click On Detroit, "6 years later: Where things stand in the Flint water crisis," by Hank Winchester, April 24, 2020
ABC-12, "Flint water prosecutors committed to 'professional prosecution' of anyone responsible," by Ann Pierret, Apr. 21, 2020
EcoWatch, "Pollution Prosecutions Plummet to Lowest Level in Decades Under Trump," by Jordan Davidson, Oct. 14, 2020
Strawless Ocean, "For a Strawless Ocean," downloaded Oct. 2020
Eater.com, "Why the World Is Hating on Plastic Straws Right Now," by Brenna Houck, Jul 12, 2018
National Geographic, "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," downloaded Oct. 2020
Oceana.org, "3 misconceptions about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch," by Emily Petsko, September 9, 2019
Investopedia, "Cash for Clunkers," by Julia Kagan, Jul 31, 2020
Amtrak, "Additional Funding Needed Soon to Avoid Additional Service and Employment Reductions," Oct 8, 2020
Statista, "Ridership - Amtrak 2013-2019," by E. Mazareanu, Nov 20, 2019
Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, "What is a WOTUS?", downloaded Oct. 2020
Greenpeace, "Energy & industry lobbyists plot to undo water pollution protections," by Christine Ottery, 25.11.2015
Farm Bureau, "Clean Water Act, WOTUS," downloaded Oct. 2020
Vox.com, "Why Trump wants to repeal an Obama-era clean water rule," by Brad Plumer and Umair Irfan, Dec 11, 2018