What Role Should the Government Play in Protecting the Environment?

Since the environmental movement began four decades ago, there have been many differing opinions as to what role the government should play in protecting and preserving the environment. What standards should government set and at what expense? Most environmental or “green” issues are often presented as choices of either economic growth or environmental protection. This idea of having to choose between the environment and the economy has often delayed the green movement from making necessary strides. However, more and more Americans are currently looking toward options that include both environmental protection and economic growth.

During the 1970’s the war to protect the environment often focused on “point sources”—pollution that could be tied to a specific source. Some examples of “point sources” include smokestack industries, toxic waste dumping, and ocean discharge pipes. Knowing the source of the pollution made combating the problem easier. As a result, there were many victories. For example, lead emissions in the air were reduced by 90 percent between 1975 and 1985.

Currently, unlike the early environmental war, we are now mostly fighting against “non-point” pollution. This battle is significantly more difficult because the source is not tangible or easily identified; it is pollution caused by problems that are regional or even global in scale. For example, during the 1970s and 1980s the fight against ocean pollution was mainly against industrial outfall pipes, improving sewage treatments, and the dumping of garbage out to sea. However, the present fight against “non-point” pollution forces environmentalists to deal with problems such as “runoff”—pollutants washed into ...

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... protect natural resources. With the help of government regulations and the EPA, significant progress has been made. However, there is still more that needs to be done. For example, the Clean Water Act called for surface waters to be safe for swimming and fishing by 1983. Unfortunately, thirty years later, more than a third of the nation’s waters are still unsuitable for such proposes.

Unlike conservatives, moderates feel that when pertaining to our health and safety, there is wide spread public support in the battle for reducing environmental pollution without a regard to cost. Environmental progress has been slow. However, this has been due to inadequate and uneven enforcement of many regulations. Pollution can still most certainly be limited by enacting regulations; there is no need for radically changes in lifestyle as the liberals argue.