M
mryan
Guest
Why?
Hi Uphill Climber:
Here's what the government needs to do in regards to environmental law and regulation: stop gutting it. anyone who's been paying even a small amount of attention has realized that major environmental laws(clean air, water, nepa) are being stripped and declawed. this is troubling in that i suspect it has something to do with that ultra secret energy policy meeting cheney had a couple years ago. this is troubling. since the inception of NEPA under Nixon, a Republican(!), several landmark environmental laws have been created: clean air, water, superfund, etc. what these do is protect the natural resources--air, water, food, animals, trees, minerals, oils, trails, forests--we humans, as animals depend on. what i see is the subversion of these laws by special interests(i.e. energy producers: oil, coal, timber, etc.). what am i asking the government to do? stop gutting landmark environmental regulations. let me give a specific example. under nepa regulations, any proposed development within a publicly held land--be it state, local, or federal--is subject to a public comment period of 180 days. in this comment period, the public--that evil word to republicans-- submit feedback and these are taken into account in the decision to grant such development. under this administration(no other administration has done this) many of these public comment periods have been stripped. they're non-existent, meaning the use of decision as of to the use of public lands is being stripped of the public and being handed to......well, you connect the dots. please connect the dots. so many people fail to do so.
why? because environmental regualtions, though to republicans an impediment to the economy, are a requirement. we need regulations. ever hear of the "tragedy of the commons"? without regulation, individuals or concerned parties, by nature, will seek to maximize their benefits regardless of the impacts on others and, intrinsically, him or herself. this was common in feudal england. natural resources--crops, water ways, trees--were often plundered because there were no enforced regulations or a means of simply stopping people from using everything they possibly could. as a result, feudalism collapsed. resources were plundered, livestock died. trees were cut down willy nilly for timber. look at england now: i challenge you to find a sizeable stand of trees. so they import their timber and paper products at great environmental and economic cost.
also, we have made and are, under the reigning ideology in d.c., making the mistake of believing that that thing called the economy is independet of and seperate from that thing called the environment. it's not. it's interconnected and interdependent. our economy--jobs, products, services--are reliant on our ability to harness and transform natural resources into useable and valueable products. don't you realize that? that steel came from the ground. that starbucks cup came from some tree. that coffee came from some tree. oxygen comes from some tree. i'm not a tree hugger. environmental laws and regulations are meant to provide the means to preserve and conserve the very things on which this thing called and economy is based. let's hope our politicians teach our citizens that.
that's all. have a good day.
Hi Uphill Climber:
Here's what the government needs to do in regards to environmental law and regulation: stop gutting it. anyone who's been paying even a small amount of attention has realized that major environmental laws(clean air, water, nepa) are being stripped and declawed. this is troubling in that i suspect it has something to do with that ultra secret energy policy meeting cheney had a couple years ago. this is troubling. since the inception of NEPA under Nixon, a Republican(!), several landmark environmental laws have been created: clean air, water, superfund, etc. what these do is protect the natural resources--air, water, food, animals, trees, minerals, oils, trails, forests--we humans, as animals depend on. what i see is the subversion of these laws by special interests(i.e. energy producers: oil, coal, timber, etc.). what am i asking the government to do? stop gutting landmark environmental regulations. let me give a specific example. under nepa regulations, any proposed development within a publicly held land--be it state, local, or federal--is subject to a public comment period of 180 days. in this comment period, the public--that evil word to republicans-- submit feedback and these are taken into account in the decision to grant such development. under this administration(no other administration has done this) many of these public comment periods have been stripped. they're non-existent, meaning the use of decision as of to the use of public lands is being stripped of the public and being handed to......well, you connect the dots. please connect the dots. so many people fail to do so.
why? because environmental regualtions, though to republicans an impediment to the economy, are a requirement. we need regulations. ever hear of the "tragedy of the commons"? without regulation, individuals or concerned parties, by nature, will seek to maximize their benefits regardless of the impacts on others and, intrinsically, him or herself. this was common in feudal england. natural resources--crops, water ways, trees--were often plundered because there were no enforced regulations or a means of simply stopping people from using everything they possibly could. as a result, feudalism collapsed. resources were plundered, livestock died. trees were cut down willy nilly for timber. look at england now: i challenge you to find a sizeable stand of trees. so they import their timber and paper products at great environmental and economic cost.
also, we have made and are, under the reigning ideology in d.c., making the mistake of believing that that thing called the economy is independet of and seperate from that thing called the environment. it's not. it's interconnected and interdependent. our economy--jobs, products, services--are reliant on our ability to harness and transform natural resources into useable and valueable products. don't you realize that? that steel came from the ground. that starbucks cup came from some tree. that coffee came from some tree. oxygen comes from some tree. i'm not a tree hugger. environmental laws and regulations are meant to provide the means to preserve and conserve the very things on which this thing called and economy is based. let's hope our politicians teach our citizens that.
that's all. have a good day.