Why Is It So Hard To Protect the Environment? A Long-View Approach in a Short-Sighted Era

Environmental protection has had a place in U.S. public policy since its earliest beginnings. This work highlights milestone events, from nineteenth-century set-asides of lands for “wilderness” value through twentieth-century natural resource development and pollution management, to today’s politically fraught policy reversals playing out in the administrative and judicial branches of the federal government. It covers analytical frameworks for policy discussions drawn from science, economics, and the political will to enact laws that set government action in motion. Beginning with an examination of the sources of environmental law across all three branches of government, it focuses specifically on administrative law and “the Administrative State,” which is currently under attack at the highest levels of each branch. Finally, it offers suggestions for reliable news and information sources and strategies for staying current. Despite ongoing challenges, the discussion identifies hopeful developments pointing toward a renewed commitment to science-based public policy.