Organizers Look to Lessen Marathon's Environmental Impact

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/04/19/organizers_look_to_lessen_marathons_environmental_impact/

Across the country, numerous marathon organizer's are finding ways to make their operations more sustainable and to lessen the impact of the environment.  In this article, the Boston Marathon, one of the least environmentally friendly marathons in the country, is taking strides to improve its image as a more ecologically friendly event.  

To understand the depth of environmental degradation that occurs in order to hold the marathon, here is a description.  During the marathon, they will use more than 1,000 gallons of diesel in 525 buses to transport the runners. 1.4 Million non-biodegradable cups will be distributed by 8,000 volunteers filled with either water or gatorade. As the pre-race meal, organizers will serve 11,300 lbs of pasta and 3,400 lbs of vegetables. 

This isn't a clear example of one specific level of sustainability planning.  I would tend to classify it under neighborhood planning only because it is being spearheaded by a specific community.  It is clear, however, that local and state planning also influenced the event.  In order to inhabit more sustainable practices, marathon organizer's are buying more than 22,440 carbon emission credits.  They replaced the pace-setting motorcycles that carry the elite runners with electric scooters that average 357 miles per gallon and they plan to compost all left over food and biodegradable refuse.  In association with the State Department of Corrections, "green teams" assembled of inmates will collect discarded cups, bottles and blankets.

This is primarily an energy and waste problem.  It would seem that local government planning would be the natural second choice for affecting issues such as that of the Boston Marathon.  The City of Boston could implement restrictions on large events.  Policies could be passed that would cap the amount of waste produced by any single event, and emission or waste credits would have to be purchased in order to exceed that level.  This could prove problematic, and possibly cause the city's tax revenue to drop significantly if such large events chose to relocate to another city that has looser restrictions.  

Sustainable practices could be implemented at the state level, but this could prove to be even more politically problematic.  Consensus over sustainable practices could be achieved locally, but state consensus over policies that could potentially conflict or slightly prohibit economic development would be much more difficult to pass.  Elements of sustainable planning, especially event planning, could be handled by several levels of government in order to achieve maximum results.  We already see this in this story, with the State partnering with the event organizers in order to collect waste discarded by runners.  Indeed, collaboration of multiple levels of government would seem to be the optimal choice for sustainability planning.

Experts look to balance desert-river flows

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/03/29/20090329rivers-runoff.html

This article examines the degradation of the Arizona river system and how experts are currently trying to find a way to return rivers such as the Salt River back to a healthy riparian system of native vegetation and wildlife.  Currently, the Salt River has renewed water flow that has spawned fresh habitat that was once a permanent system.  This is a result of the Salt River Projects release of water to keep the reservoir below the federal flood control limit.  

Experts are faced with the central question of determining just how much water must be released in order to sustain this suffering riparian system of Arizona rivers.  Desert rivers do not run year round like in wetter climates, but the rivers in this region have been drained by farm and city growth and are faced with dangerous ecological consequences.  

This problem effects virtually all habitants of Arizona and the southwest region as a whole.  When ecosystems start to die, it will naturally alter the wildlife and vegetation associated with that environment.  This, in affect, can produce harmful health and safety issues for the population that relies on this land.  Determining the amount of water necessary to sustain these rivers is, therefore, crucial to the vitality of the desert region.

This article deals primarily with setting a sustainability indicator of achieving and sustaining a thriving riparian river system.  In determining the survival threshold for desert rivers, the Salt River Project is also determining specific standards and benchmarks that the rivers must meet in order to meet the minimum requirements of this goal. This is part of a long term planning process where people will be essentially managing the desert rivers.

Archeologist Hired for Environmental Study on Water Transmission Line

http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/local/local_story_103115713.html

This article is about the Tahlequah Public Works Authority Board hiring Dr. Donald O. Henry, a Tulsa University professor, to perform an environmental impact assessment on a proposed water transmission line from Lake Tenkiller to Tahlequah.  The board has used Dr. Henry in previous land use ventures, and had tabled a resolution for a proposed water treatment and distribution system improvements.

This article deals with more logistical land use planning.  Unlike the previous article, it doesn't propose any direct impacts on the ecosystem, but it does pose a threat to the overall environmental health that would be damaged if the current plan was implemented.  The people of Tahlequah would be directly affected by the water quality being pumped in through the transmission line. 

This is a clear example of how Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Reporting are successfully used in environmental regulation and land use planning. Dr. Henry had previously determined through his assessment that there were far to great of risks associated with the previously proposed water treatment and distribution system.  By the board hiring him again, it demonstrates a commitment to environmental quality.  

Assignment 11

1. How do you believe sustainability should be defined for policy-making?

In "Sustainability: An Economist's Perspective," Robert M. Solow points out the values that are associated with sustainability. "Pretty clear is the notion of sustainability is about our obligation to the future. It says something about a moral bokigation that we are supposed to have for future generations." (Sorow 180) This notion of moral obligation must be translated into a modernized, rational, and systemic definition that can be applied to the various areas of policy-making. Sustainability in terms of policy and program implementation must be exact, measureable, and clearly demonstrate a commitment to uphold the moral obligation to future generations.

In terms of policy-making, it is imperative to include both short and long term approaches, or definitions, to sustainability. A short term, strong sustainabilty definition would be appropriate in order to achieve immediate environmental goals such as air, water and land pollution. Restrictions need to be set in order to protect the physical resources that are currently endangered. A weak sustainability definition could be used to plan for long-term, politically feasible sustainable practices that allow room for change in order to adapt to new knowledge.

2.) What are the difficulties associated with making sustainability a policy goal?

It is evident by the multiple definitions of sustainability offerred in the Wheeler text that it is difficult, to say the least, to identify the best methods to approaching comprehensive sustainable practices. This complex concept must be appropriately defined in order to meet the demands raised by the various issues currently plaguing our environment today. Also, it is difficult to gather all of the information associated with a problem in order for policy-makers to make informed and correct decisions.

Because of the relative vagueness associated with sustainable policy-making, it is rather easy to debate the restrictions set by policy-makers by those who are more focused on economic development. Conflict among policy-makers may also arise due to various and conflicting ideas of what sustainability means. Wheeler points out the varying problems policy-makers might associate with sustainability, such as land growth management, automobile dependence, energy and resource use, pollution, inequality and poverty, and sense of community.

3. If you had to design a practical framework to help a state environmental agency achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability, what would that framework look like?

A practical framework for achieving comprehensive sustainability must involve a multitude of political, expert and civil strategies in order to achieve optimal results. Civic engagement must be implemented in order to inform and educate the public on the status and importance of sustainable practices. Political debate must take place in order to ensure that the voice of the public is heard and the democratic process is maintained. This should only take place, however, once the public has been informed on the summaries, findings, and proposed solutions assembled by experts in the various fields of the environment.

Experts should set the parameters on which policy can be debated on in the public. A certain level must be maintained, and it would be the administrators of the agency that would need to define these standards before debate on the specifics of sustainable policy are discussed. This would gaurantee civic participation while ensuring a level of rational via expert analysis.

4. Voters and politicians often want short term results, but many argue that sustainable development calls for a long-term policy plan. How do we take the long term view that sustainable development requires in this political environment?

It is imperative to the sustainable movement that short term results are strived for in order to stress the importance of the deteriorating health of the environment. Policies, however, need to acknowledge the need for consistant re-evaluation to account for the arrival of new knowledge, problems, issues and concerns. As hare as adopting a long-term view in the political environment, it is important that the focus be placed on the immediate and permanent subscription to the mission of sustainable practices. This ensures istantaneous action at the same time as it adopts a long term approach to the sustainable movement.

Cohen's Framework and the City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2009

Values

The City of Oxnard’s Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2009 deals with the problem of public health and environmental safety due to tremendous water contamination. There is a clear consensus that new water treatment facilities are necessary, but the municipal economic values seem to slightly heed the implementation of this project.

Oxnard is an economically depressed city that has struggled to battle issues of environmental health and safety due to a lack of tax dollars and a greater value of economic development. This bill allows for federal involvement in the design and implementation of the new water treatment facility with a federal commitment to pay for 25% of the project. The proposed solution doesn’t require a tradeoff between ecological well-being and human well-being, nor does conflict with ethical or religious precepts.

Politics

The bill was referred to House Subcommittee on Power and Water from the House Committee on Natural Resources on February 4th. The stakeholders in this issue are the Secretary of the Interior, the House Representatives from California, the Oxnard Local Public Officials, the Oxnard Water Department Employees and the Oxnard City Residents. The Secretary of the Interior is involved based on the interest of design, funding and implementation. The house reps and local public officials are involved based on implementation and to what percent of the project will be funded by local vs. federal government. Employees in the water department are involved based on to what level they will have control over the design of the facility. The residents of Oxnard are involved based on their interests to have the water treatment facility successfully implemented

The politics of this issue are primarily a concern over what level of fiscal responsibility and authority will be shared by the federal and local government. All stakeholders involved are committed to the establishment of the facilities. This bill only addresses the specifics of ownership, so there are really no potential winners and losers. It appears that the Oxnard Local Government is considered primarily responsible for addressing the issue. There is a high level of consensus and little controversy surrounding this bill.

Science and Technology

There is absolute scientific certainty that the City of Oxnard water quality is very poor and, if no action is taken, would result in harmful health effects. The current practices to treat the water are substandard and contribute significantly to the problem. There are several examples of highly successful water treatment facility programs that provide a technological blueprint for the city to model its new program after. Although Oxnard’s water quality is in very poor shape, the execution of technology used by cities with successful water treatment facilities would drastically improve the problem.

Policy Design

This bill doesn’t offer any incentives of disincentives to influence behavior pertaining to water quality. It does, however, demonstrate strategic thinking based on stakeholder compromises. The bill divides up responsibility based on funding, allocating no more than 25% of the project cost to be paid by the federal government. It seems that, in return for funding, the Secretary of the Interior is allowed a certain level of influence in the design of the facility and is given authority over the project for a certain level of time. This clearly demonstrates stakeholder tradeoffs. It isn’t clear if the other unregulated stakeholders support the policy design in its entirety but it would seem that, as long as the facility is constructed and improvements are made, they are satisfied. The policy design is likely to generate a significant progression in water quality for the City of Oxnard.

Management

It would appear that the organizational capacity may not exist yet. The bill, however, will release funding to develop whatever organizational capacity is lacking in order to build and operate the facility. It would appear that the quality of leadership is relatively good due to the fact that the planning of the project seems to be collaborative. It is clear, however, that local leadership may be relatively uninformed on the best practices for water quality. This makes the involvement of the Secretary of the Interior an optimal solution. It would appear that the federal government is committed to a certain level of funding until the local capacity to manage the facility has been established. Standard operating procedures will need to be established immediately and tests will need to be done to evaluate their effectiveness.

Conserving Resources in Developing Countries

Early 20th Century Industrialization allowed for mass exploitation of the present economic giants to build their economic empire and develop their infrastructure.  These are now the same countries that are demanding other economically depressed countries to discontinue the harvesting of scarce resources to improve environmental qualities.  It is ridiculous for such wealthy nations to call for third world countries to voluntarily withhold from the use of these resources without great economic incentives.  As much as I would like for these countries to preserve these forests, they do not have the luxury to comprehend the long term benefits of sustainability when they are struggling to provide for their communities from day-to-day.  The United States cannot promote market capitalism and not expect economically depressed countries to maximize their trade industry. It is the responsibility of wealthy, industrialized nations to provide assistance in whatever means necessary to make the preservation of forests an economically attractive option.

I believe the only expectations that industrialized nations should have for developing nations in the climate change debate is their commitment to cooperation in the creation of alternatives.  They should not be required to make any sacrifices when it comes to their economic vitality.

 Countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom should strive for equity as a goal, but what equity means should be carefully discussed and clarified.  Sacrifices made on the part of industrialized nations are miniscule in comparison to that of economically developing nations. What is equitable will likely affect wealthy nations much more than economically developing ones.  

Most third world countries will value economic development more than slowing down global warming.  This is to be expected since the people of these countries are often not having their basic needs met.  It is important to require these countries to participate  in order for the industrialized nations to understand their needs.  To exclude these nations would do little to solve the problem, as most nations who value global warming over economic development are already involved in finding a solution and conserving resources.  

Final Paper Topic

I will be writing my paper on H.R. 88 bill in the 111th Congressional Meeting, also known as "The City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2009." This bill was introduced in order to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design of the GREAT project to reclaim, reuse, and treat impaired waters in the City of Oxnard.  

This bill would allow the Secretary of the Interior to provide insight and to use influence in the planning of new water treatment facilities in the Southern California city that has suffered from tremendous amounts of water contamination. This bill designates that the federal government will pay for no more than 25% of the Great Project.  It also places sunset restrictions on the Secretary of the Interior's authority.  The Secretary of the Interior will be able to infuse federal guidelines into the implementation of the plan. 

Oxnard, California has long battled environmental issues, especially water contamination and air pollution.  It is also a suburb plagued with poverty, and has steadily declined in the past two decades.  It should be interesting to evaluate the City of Oxnard's plan for treatment of water, and what influence and perspective the Secretary of the Interior will bring from a federal standpoint.  

"Decades later, asbestos-ravaged town has its day in court."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/03/02/corp.pollution.trial/

The town of Libby, Montana had suffered in silence for years as a result of extreme levels of air pollution due to the W.R Grace mining plant, located close by. The town was subject to extremely high levels of asbestos that visibly plagued the air quality for decades. After numerous accounts of illness and death as a direct result of the asbestos exposure, this extreme injustice is finally being taken to court.

A federal trial has now begun in which the W.R Grace Plant is charged with being the primary cause of more than 1000 illnesses and more than 200 deaths. There's never been a case where so many people were sickened or killed by environmental crime: says David Uhlmann, a former top prosecutor for the U.S Justice Department.

The plant was in operation until 1990, and produced vermiculite, a substance used in all sorts of products, from insulation to fertilizers. This substance is linked to linked to numerous illnesses including mesothelioma, a cancer that can attack the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart. The U.S Government claims that the plant knowingly released the toxic chemical into the environment while hiding the dangers of exposure from employees and the town people.

Although this doesn’t represent racial environmental injustice, it is a clear example of environmental injustice in the sense that the W.R Grace plant was a polluting facility located in an impoverished community. W.R Grace was a large entity that established itself in a community with little social power. (Vig 249) For years, the town of Libby suffered from the affects of the plant, yet they learned to cope with these conditions due to the lack of political resources and the need for the industry. Many victims of the exposure are still waiting for a settlement that seems to be miles away. The case has become riddled with stagnation as the high-powered representatives of the plant refute the claims of the EPA.

The town of Libby is a perfect example of the great disparity of environmental health risks between the poor and the affluent. Although recent policy changes aimed at amending such gross environmental injustices are evident in the case of W.R. Grace, we can see that wealth, power and economics are still playing an all to large role in the battle for environmental equity.

Contingency Evaluation

Contingency valuation must pertain to a problem where the public can directly see the implications of action or inaction.  In Phoenix, one of the most "visible" environmental problems is air visibility.  Due to the affects of urban sprawl and relatively relaxed emissions standards, the Phoenix air visibility is one of the worst in the country.  Several factors could be discussed in relation to the results of both action and inaction would produce successful and reliable survey results.  Another environmental problem that contingency evaluation would accurately address is the amount of noise pollution stemming from the combination of an urban revitalization and airport proximity.  The lack of sound barrier structure has been an issue discussed for several years, but little has been done to address the problem.  Once again, this is an issue where the affects of both action and inaction can clearly be demonstrated.  The public responds to issues that are apparent and has significant impact on their daily lives.  These two issues would allow for contingency valuation to successfully place non-use existence values.

Noise pollution and air visibility issues are environmental problems that are clear and immediate to the public.  Broader issues, such as the protection of endangered animals and the long term impact of global warming would not benefit from the use of contingency valuation because they cannot easily be translated into a theoretical market scenario.  The inability to do this causes poor results from CV because the public cannot accurately determine the rate at which they would pay for a program that they cannot comprehend.  Other means need to be taken to establish the non-use existence values for such environmental problems.

Public Engagement in Environmental Planning

As in all areas of government, there is a requirement and a duty to have transparency in the decisions made concerning public policy and planning.  In any area of government work there is not a requirement for the public to be fully informed on the issue in order to participate in the process of public decision making.  It is ridiculous to debate whether environmental planners should or should not engage the public when they know that the public's knowledge is limited on environmental issues.  It is, however, relevant and necessary to debate how and to what extend environmental policy makers are infusing public participation in the development and implementation of environmental programs.  Often the public is only involved once the structure of a program or policy has been created.  At this time, environmental planners and those involved within the government have already developed a sense of ownership and are not as open to re-evaluating their policy.  It is the public manager's duty to involve citizens in the process of program formulation in the beginning in order to develop a sense of awareness within the community.  If the public does not feel as if they are included in the process, the public trust will greatly dissipate, resulting in unsuccessful environmental programs in the long run.

A New Chapter in Environmental Policy-Making

Much to the nation’s surprise, it seems that President Obama has been able to uphold his faintly distant 2008 campaign promises on environmental issues. Despite concerns that the economic crisis that has plagued the Obama administration since day one, significant headway has been made on increased emission standards and the incentives for diversification of energy resources.  In the past two years since the Democrats have held a filibuster prove congress, Obama has aggressively pushed for new policy supporting the recommendations from the National Environmental Protection Agency.  This has been a marked change from the Bush administration, and a welcome addition to the environmental trends that have been tabulated since the creation of the NEPA in 1969.

            Environmental policy was first centralized under President Nixon’s Administration with the creation of NEPA and the requirement for virtually every federal agency to develop some form of environmental analysis. (Vig 18)  This caused great change within the federal government and illustrated a much greater focus on environmental issues than had ever been seen before.  This reflected national and international efforts to affect environmental causes and increase awareness primarily for pollution. Several major issues, such as population control and energy policy, were relatively ignored despite reports that urged for attention During this time there were many complications and administrative setbacks, yet it was a dramatic departure from the severely limited role the federal government had previously played in environmental policymaking. (Vig 11)

            The 1980’s brought the arrival of Reagan economics and a call for fiscal conservatism.  This naturally resulted in significantly reduced budgets for the EPA and drastic reorganization of all environmental programs.  Issues that were of great importance were now seen as secondary to economic stability and private market freedom.  Environmental policy regulations were drastically reduced in favor of economic development.  Still, all was not lost under the Reagan Administration.  Public support on environmental issues continued to increase and congress began to defend existing environmental policy, and was even successful in strengthening the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and enacting the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, the Safe Water Drinking Act and the Clean Water Act. (Vig 15)

            The end of the 1980’s and the beginning of the 1990’s under President H. W. Bush brought a minimal return to the presidential policy focus on environmental issues.  This is most evident in the president’s adoption of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. (Vig 15) Still, economic conservatism and pro-development ideology was clearly present in H.W. Bush’s policy agenda. During the 1992 presidential elections, H.W Bush demonstrated this ideology by criticizing supporters of strong environmental policy for putting Americans out of work. (Vig 15) His opponent, President Bill Clinton, notably took a far more progressive approach to environmental policy.  This was greatly demonstrated by his selection of Senator Al Gore, author of the book Earth in the Balance. Once Unfortunately, President Clinton did not make the dramatic change in environmental policy that he had promised during his campaign.  Still, he and Gore were able to quietly promote significant environmental policy reform.  Clinton unnoticeably made a considerable return to the policy-making initiatives of the 1970’s. 

            Not since the Reagan had a president’s administration harmed the post-NEPA environmental efforts as much as President George W. Bush.  He primarily focused on representing the interests industrial corporations and timber, mining, agricultural and oil. These interests were clearly represented in his EPA appointments, and drastic cuts in EPA regulations soon followed.  Like his father and President Reagan, Bush was extremely pro-development.  The most drastic examples of Bush’s environmental stance were his withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change and his proposed national energy policy, which called for an increase in the development of fossil fuels. (Vig 16.)

            Now a new chapter has been added to U.S environmental policy-making.  President Obama entered into office with a failing economy, two extremely unpopular wars, a negative international reputation, and large environmental policy campaign promises.  As he had promised in 2008, Obama focused on long-term change, and has been successful in passing several new federal policies and the increase in sustainable energy development.  His EPA appointment and his creation of a new energy and climate position dramatically demonstrated an environmental stance that stands above those of Nixon and Carter.  Lisa Jackson, head of the EPA, has also proven to be a dynamic and powerful force and has been crucial to the environmental policy success under his administration.

            U.S emission levels have been reduced by 25% with a continued commitment for improvement.  Solar and wind energy production is now the fastest growing source of energy, powering 25% of U.S homes.  Over 25 major U.S cities have committed to work in tandem with the EPA to improve mass transportation systems and the development of green jobs.  President Barack Obama has done it again, proving that dramatic change can be had, even in the face of seemingly impossible obstacles.

 

Source: Vig, N. and M. Kraft, Eds . (2005). Environmental Policy: New Directions for the 21`st Century, CQ Press.

Obama putting quick stamp on Environmental Policy

The article I selected came from the Herald Tribune, titled "Obama putting quick stamp on Environmental Policy."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/26/america/calif.4-416351.php

It is extremely refreshing to see that, in the midst of such an ugly economic crisis, Obama is not hesitant to take measures in all areas of policy.  The proposed policy discussed in the article brings in the environmental actions that many environmental analysts and european counterparts have been calling for for several years now.  Although he recognizes the severe stress that is currently being felt by the U.S auto industry, Obama has stayed true to his campaign promises on emission standards and other environmental issues. 

It is clear that concise federal regulations are needed in order to be consistent and effective. For years states have been waxing and waning on exactly how to set the proper emission standards without compromising their economy.  A national policy will eliminate the threat of economic instability from state to state.  It will also demonstrate internationally a great change in the right direction.  This is now the U.S that is far removed from the days of the Kyoto Protocal! 

Why won't gas prices go up!

I certainly do not condone gas companies making outrageous profits off of sky high gas prices during an economic crisis. I did, however, take great joy in the changes that the United States finally started making once gas started moving into luxury status.

The U.S has been sluggish at best in reforming its bullish ways and adopting more sustainable practices. U.S automakers such as Chevrolet and Ford have had fuel efficient cars on the european market for years and claim they need time to develop the technology. What Americans think they "need" in terms of material goods in light of information about the damage being done to the environment for those goods never made a difference. Apparently we can look past a brown cloud across our skyline, but $4.00 a gallon!? That is disgusting and we will not stand for it!

Yes, I was glad when gas prices neared $5.00 a gallon. Not everything good can be measured in monetary terms. If that is what its going to take to push Americans into reforming their wasteful habits, then so be it.

I realize this is not a post specific to environmental policy, but I thought I would get the semester off with some good old political ranting.