The National Environmental Policy Act

765 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: environment regulations consequences

The National Environmental Policy Act

Our Congress created the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969 in order to establish an environmental foundation for mankind. This policy endorses harmony between humans and the vast ecosystems surrounding them. To obtain this goal and provide our future with resources as well, NEPA is separated into two titles. The first title declares the policy in detail while the second title focuses on the Council on Environmental Quality. The CEQ oversees the effectiveness of current methods, the reactions of the environment to those methods, and implements revisions as necessary.

In Title I of NEPA, our government recognizes the immutable link between mankind's dealings and the impacts on the environment. People have an individual responsibility to the world around them. The Constitution assures us "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." However, "life" is undefined. We, as human beings, have the superiority to nurture and preserve all forms of life. Transitions in population growth (or decline), urban spread, industry expansions and technological advances are critical in determining and modifying the ever-changing needs of the environment. Extensive research and planning with State and local government allows NEPA to anticipate, possibly even predict, an environmental disaster before it occurs. These measures are to insure the most beneficial use of our natural resources, to preserve our Nation's history as well as encourage individuality, to search for improvements in recycling our resources and the discovery of new ones. These goals are sought after in a systematic manner to include the most recent available data that could promote or reject proposals for changes t...

... middle of paper ...

...distribution of the fund as well as sets the regulations to operate it.

Overall, the implementation of NEPA has made it possible for everyone to be informed and participate in the discoveries and changes of the environment we've been blessed with. This has led to multinational concerns and efforts for improving our environment. In September 1992, Canada, Mexico, and the US instituted a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). It promotes joint environmental development and education throughout North America. Alliances such as this restore some faith that our environment matters to us. Not only what it provides us with but also the bounties it provides for animals and birds, trees and open land, fish and plants. They have no tangible voice with two exceptions -- the voice of a mankind that cares and the voice of extinction.

Show More
Related

  • Rosenbaum Review

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...nerations” if things go unregulated. Fortunately science provides policy makers with the information needed to make informed regulations to benefit the future. It seems that environmentalism is becoming the stewardship of the Earth.

    Read More

  • Sierra Club Pipeline Case Summary

    471 Words  | 1 Pages

    Rule: National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 establishes that it is necessary to take actions to review and protect the environment mitigating any potential damages. Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"),

    Read More

  • EPA Protecting the Planet

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    The environment and the health of the surrounding population go hand in hand. The Environmental Protection Agency takes on this ever so important mission of protecting them both. The mission statement of the EPA states, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Small Business Programs is to support the protection of human health and the environment by advocating and advancing the business, regulatory, and environmental compliance concerns of small and socio-economically disadvantaged businesses, and minority academic institutions (US Enviromental Protection Agency, 2010).” The impact of its mission can be defined clearly as it examines the impact of contamination in the air, the water, and the land on human health.

    Read More

  • Business Law: The Oil Pollution Act

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. The United States government and Congress have implemented various legislations in order to hopefully reduce oil spills and aid in the clean up, should an oil spill occur. The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) was signed into legislation in August 1990. The OPA improved the nation's ability to prevent and respond to oil spills by establishing provisions that expand the federal governments's ability, and provide the money and resources necessary, to respond to oil spills. The OPA also created the national Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is available to provide up to one billion dollars per spill incident. The OPA also implemented new requirements for contigency planning both by government and industry. The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contigency Plan (NCP) has been expanded into a three-tiered approach: the Federal government is required to direct all public and private response efforts for certain types of spill events; Area Committees -- composed of federal, state, and local government officials -- must develop detailed, location-specific Area Contigency Plans; and owners or operators of vessels and certain facilities that pose a serious threat to the environment must prepare their own Facility Response Plans. Finally, the OPA increased penalties for regulatory noncompliance, broadened the response and enforcement authorities of the Federal government, and preserved State authority to establish law governing oil spill prevention and response. Another legislation that was implemented was the Clean Water Act, formerly known as Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which was emplented in 1948. In 1972 the act was reorganized and expanded, adding ammendments and changing it's name to the Clean Water Act(CWA)....

    Read More

  • The Endangered Species Act

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    The topic that I chose to discuss is one that every state has adopted due to the acts that have been taken to preserve and protect our environment, so I chose the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act prohibits activities affecting threatened and endangered species. There are many organizations in place to enforce the authorities of this act and a couple of the main groups are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The National Oceans and Atmospheric National Marine Fisheries Services. In this assignment I will elaborate on the Parks and Wildlife efforts and policies on the Endangered Species Act. To put this Act or Law into order, there were strong actions that were threatening the environment for those that research and treat the animals. Since the 1960’s there have been motions to protect animals and in 1966 Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act and bought its first endangered species habitat in Florida. Once again it was revised in 1969 and 1970, but in 1972, President Nixon declared that conservation efforts in the United States aim to prevent the extinction of species that brought together the 93rd Congress to develop comprehensive endangered species legislation. Congress responded and on December 28th the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 was signed and put into order.

    Read More

  • Wind Energy in Ontario

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Freedman, B. (2010). Environmental Science: A Canadian Perspective – Fifth Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

    Read More

  • Reducing Carbon Footprints: A Modern Necessity

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever stopped to take a look at your surrounding environment and see lots of grass and open space? Or maybe you live in an industrial city and see smog and lots of factories and buildings being built. Do you ever stop and consider the pollution in your environment and how you could be contributing to it. Today people seem to be much more concerned about their natural environment and have taken various steps to try and reduce their carbon footprints. Examples of this are that many of us choose to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle to drive back and forth to work every day or that more people today take the time to separate recyclables from actual trash. Even the government who usually only seems to want our money has

    Read More

  • Environmental Issues In Canada

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Canada there are numerous environmental problems the country faces, from climate change to urban sustainability. These environmental problems result in political action being taken in order to

    Read More

  • The White Collar Nature of Environmental Crimes

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    Another good law that was signed by President Nixon was the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970. This act requires all federal organizati...

    Read More

  • The Government And Environmental Policy

    1769 Words  | 4 Pages

    in an effort to solve problems, which can be seen with the Clean Water Act.

    Read More

  • Environmental Issues In Silent Spring

    2441 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the

    Read More

  • The Endangerment and Mass Extinction of the Tiger: Can We Stop It?

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lynn R. Goldman, who wrote the article, “Endangered Species Act,” explains the details and the importance of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The article suggests that human activity is the lead cause of species extinction. Human kind brings loss of habitat, pollution, and overharvesting. What people do not realize is that species biodiversity has many health benefits for them. Whether it is a substance used in pharmaceuticals, or improving the quality of the environment, a species has its effects on human kind. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 states that any species deemed endangered by the Department of the Interior (DOI), will be protected in different ways that are most beneficial to the species. The DOI can claim an area as a “critical habitat,” which protects all features that are essential for a specific species to survive and thrive. Problems arise when land that can be considered a critical habitat is owned privately, which can conflict with property rights (Goldma...

    Read More

  • Environmentalism: Is The Earth Out Of Balance: Article Analysis

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    The environment is a topic that is often brought up and a subject most widely debated upon. We

    Read More

  • The Oil Pollution Act

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 gave the EPA the opportunity to prevent and respond to oil spills. The OPA enforced a trust fund financed by a tax on oil to clean up oil spills when a party would not take responsibility. They also developed Area Contingency Plans to prepare oil spill response on a regional scope.

    Read More

  • The Protection of the Environment Through Law

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    The protection of the environment through law is unsuccessful; as the protection of the environment has just recently begun to take affect. The protection and conservation of the environment has been a concern since the 1880’s; when European settlers came to Canada, and discovered its wealth of natural resources.

    Read More

More about The National Environmental Policy Act

Open Document