REFLECTIONS ON EARTH DAY 2010
04.22.10 1:26 PMEarth day 1970 ushered in the field of Environmental Law as we now know it. It is truly amazing how the field has grown since then and reflecting on the sea change that has occurred since that time. What many thought would be an “ephemeral fad” turned out to be the beginning of our modern day environmental regulatory process. In his book The Making of Environmental Law, (University of Chicago Press 2004) Professor Richard Lazarus describes the formation of some of the key environmental laws. He notes that President Richard Nixon, who later vetoed the Clean Water Act and stated that environmentalists were going crazy, created much of the environmental regulatory infrastructure largely out of what appears to be political ambition.
Professor Lazarus notes that in the 1968 election environmental protection was not an issue at all. But by late 1969 and 1970 both parties were trying to gain political clout with supporting environmental measures. Senator Muskie was poised to be Nixon's next political rival, and the Democratic Party was beginning to use environmental issues to gain political strength. Politically, President Nixon could not let that happen and began to establish his environmental agenda. He signed the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) which was dubbed the “Magna Carta of environmental law” on January 1, 1970. Earth day happened on his watch in 1970. In July 1970 he appointed the Council on Environmental Quality. He created by Executive Order the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He signed the Clean Air Act into law later in 1970. By the end of his administration, interestingly enough, he had attempted to dismantle nearly all the environmental programs he tried to initiate. Professor Lazarus’ book The Making of Environmental Law is a must read to gain valuable insight into how our environmental laws were developed.
Turning to Earth Day 2010, it is clear that what began in 1970 as an apparent “movement” is now ingrained into our daily lives so much that many people do not even think about the impact. We drink water that meets the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act, passed in the 1970s. We drive automobiles whose emissions were first regulated by the Clean Air Act of 1970. Our sewage service is regulated through permits first required by the Clean Water Act Amendments in 1972. And we should recall that NOAA, created in the 1970s, was one of the first agencies to raise questions about climate change. The EPA is now a household name to most people who see their energy star label or fuel efficiency standards on automobiles. So, here’s to Earth day 2010 and the development of environmental law!
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