Major Federal Environmental Laws Enacted in the US
Transcendentalism was a formal philosophical movement diminished during the 19th century that willingly stood as a far-reaching influence on the way society perceived itself in relation to the environment. "It is important to recognize that the transcendental redefinition of our social contract with the environment was holistic. Within it can be found not only a new appreciation of nature, but also the liberation of the human mind from convention and formalism, attacks on slavery, the need for racial equality, concern or universal suffrage and women's rights, and gender equity. These social concerns are represented today within the sustainability paradigm in the form of such issues as environmental justice, consumer behavior, and labor relations" (ch. 2 pg. 21-22). It was the starting belief of an inheritance of goodness and prosperity between the people and nature. This movement is such an honorable mention because it was how society began to start acknowledging our relationship with the environment and questioning how we could continue to take great care of it for sake of preservation and longevity for the future.
This idealization has seemed to have faded throughout time. In such a modern industrialized society, it is almost as if we have continued to develop whilst taking our environment for granted and sucking it dry. However, this also seemed to be the case during the period of American conservation. During that time, "the industries of the day, agriculture, timber, and mining enabled by the major transportation sector railroads and steamboats, had little incentive to manage their emissions to the environment responsibly, or to use natural resources wisely" (ch. 2 pg. 24). This happens to be why the role of our industry has continued to fluctuate as there were few regulations and a lack of science underpinning environmental impacts to change it. Because of the numerous human-created organizations, industries a have become extraordinarily sensitive to economic conditions. But how exactly does that happen? Well, our industrial forces are said to be the "engines that provide employment", and that control the large existing quantities of capital for investment. Therefore, the "products that turn raw materials into mostly waste are simply inefficient and reduce profitability" (ch.2 pg. 24), thus, making the industry even more sensitive to change.
After the 1920-1950 period of war that brought more environmental and health concerns, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970. Which, I have to mention, took place just eight years after the publication of Silent Spring, which was a historical book written and published by Rachel Carson in 1962. The reading discussed the huge impact of the widespread and indiscriminate use of pesticides and introduced society to a whole new set of controversies, questions, and opinions that were talked about for years after.
Thus, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA) was created to provide a legal basis for U.S. environmental policy. Every four to six years the U.S. NEPA releases its Report on the Environment that consists of a collection of data and an analysis of trends on the current environmental quality as well as the effects of our actions on human health (ch.2 pg. 34).
sources:
Russell, E., & Fairfax, S. K. (2014). Guide to U.S. Environmental Policy. CQ Press. Chapter 28
Theis, T., & Tomkin, J. (Eds). (2018). Sustainability: A comprehensive foundation.
Hey Thalia I liked how you when starting your blog first thing you bought up was Transcendentalism. Reason why is because not a lot of people listen to it or they don't know what it is. Furthermore, I like how you backed up your claim with the quote you have that then leads on to other problems and how you stated that it was causing a relationship between people and nature. Moreover, talking about Transcendentalism it's that it is no longer valued in our modern day American Life, the history behind being some one such as a Transcendentalism like the principals of the movement like Ralph Waldo, Henry David and Margaret Fuller. Overall, being in that mindset it shows why the government or people ended that mindset and it would seem because it looked like it was choosing feelings rather facts and actual evidence of what was happening. Regardless, through it 30 years of being active it's clear to say that there are still people who are in belief of this mindset, which is Transcendentalism. Overall, though yes unfortunately that era only lasted 30 years. If you'd like to read more about this I read it from this https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1225/romantic-and-transcendental-movements#:~:text=Transcendentalism%2C%20which%20lasted%20from%20about,the%20principals%20of%20the%20movement. if you'd like to read more about it.
ReplyDeleteForgot to add feedback on how on your second paragraph I like how you talked about that with all the industries and companies being made it shows sometimes how we take things for granted. The good thing is that even though it wasn't made such a big deal it some of the industries that are involved with for example cutting down tress have been put on restrictions. For example, there're companies that when they cut a tree they grow another one so that way they get used to not running on the edge for resources and at the same time not fully destroy the environment, it sound weird, but it has worked because it's like they've made their own zone where they could do what the want without cutting down the rest of the environment without permission and within the limit of what their company has. Overall, I believe that when you go to talk about the waste of resources that we're destroying it's good to mention how some industries have limits to as well help our environment.
ReplyDeleteThe most recent update to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that I could find happened on April 20, 2022. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued the Phase 1 Final Rule which restores regulations prior to their 2020 modifications. In 2020, the administration in place changed the original 1971 rule to make way for faster construction of infrastructure and job security. This modification allowed the glossing over of indirect and long term environmental consequences of infrastructure projects. The current administration has reversed that modification back to the original language, forcing infrastructure projects to consider their effects more in depth. I personally would rather have infrastructure projects be done well and be fully thought out than ignore environmental effects for the sake of time and profit. However, due to other laws and restrictions concurrently in place, I am not sure if either of these changes will make a big difference overall.
ReplyDeletehttps://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20200716Final-NEPAPress-Release.pdf
https://www.bdlaw.com/publications/ceq-reverses-first-set-of-trump-era-nepa-regulatory-reforms/