By Diane Katz
The nation’s environment has dramatically improved in the four
decades since adoption of America’s foundational environmental statutes.[1]
It is also true that there could have been even greater improvement at
far less cost—economic and social—had lawmakers forgone centralized
government control in favor of the transformative powers of market
incentives and private property rights.[2]
But it is not too late for change. This primer presents alternatives to
the regulatory status quo that would enhance the environment and
economic growth, and preserve Americans’ freedoms.
Conventional wisdom has long held that government controls of
industry are the best and only way to protect flora and fauna. We now
know better. Forty years of command-and-control regimes have led to
massive, ineffective, and unaccountable bureaucracies. And the bigger
the federal government has grown, the more essential political influence
has become, leading to corruption in the regulatory realm. All of this
has weakened property rights, inhibited innovation, and increased the
prices of food, fuel, fiber, and minerals.[3]
In many respects, the need for reform of environmental regulation has
never been greater. The nation’s primary environmental statutes are
woefully outdated, and do not reflect current conditions. The White
House, Congress, and federal agencies routinely ignore regulatory costs,
exaggerate benefits, and breach legislative and constitutional
boundaries. They also increasingly dictate lifestyle choices instead of
focusing on public health and safety.
Conservatives rarely shape the debate on environmental policy. Too
often they focus solely on regulatory costs rather than on an
alternative agenda. But green eyeshades simply cannot compete for public
support against the seemingly selfless agenda of green activists.
Americans care deeply about the environment and expect public officials
to act. Therefore, conservatives must put forth their own platform for
responsible stewardship and not merely oppose the green lobby’s agenda.
As noted in an earlier Heritage study, “While the conservative critique
is well known, the conservative agenda is not.”[4]
To that end, this primer recommends reforms based on conservative
principles and fundamentals of good governance: Market incentives are
more effective than government diktats; sound science fosters sound
policy; and, most important, citizens are far better stewards of the
environment than the government will ever be.
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