Poltica ambiental dos EUA

Leitura 1
Robert Hahn
Ano : 1994

1.INTRODUCTION

TheUnitedStatesnowspendsmorethananyothercountryinthe
worldoncleaninguptheenvironment.(dadosde1993,2.4%do
GNP)
AEPAestabelecidaem1970
TheEPAis,arguably,themostpowerfulagencyintheUnitedStatesthat
regulateshealth,safetyortheenvironment.Sinceitsinceptionin1970,
theEPAhasbeengivenanincreasingamountofresponsibilityandpower

tocontrolpollution.
Oautorapresentaumbalancegeraldaspoliticasambientaisfederais,queseria
positivoparaquestesnacionaiselocais,comoapoluiodoaredagua,porem
comumquadromenosotimistaparaquestesglobais(2)
Sobreapoliticafederalemrelaomudanaclimticaelediz:

Theverdictisstilloutonglobalclimatechange,asthenationsofthe
worldtrytodevelopasetofpoliciesthatwillsensiblyaddressthis
issue.Inresponsetothepervasiveuncertaintiesassociatedwith
climatechange,theUnitedStatesGovernmenthasdevelopedan
aggressiveresearchprogramwithprojectedoutlaysof$954million
in1991.Atthesametime,theUnitedStates,undertheBush
administration,resistedsettingtargetsandtimetablesforgreenhouse
gasreductionsinlightofthelargescientificuncertainties.The
ClintonAdministrationagreedtoreducegreenhousegasestotheir
1990levelsbytheyear2000,buttheemissionreductionstrategies
pursuedbythetwoadministrationsweresimilar.'
APREOCUPAODOSEUACOMADEGRADAOAMBIENTALEM
PAISESEMDESENVOLVIMENTO

Thereisincreasingconcernaboutdecreasesinwaterandairquality,
soilerosionandtheavailabilityofwaterinlessdevelopedcountries.

Governmentagencies,environmentalgroups,andbusinessesare
addressingtheseissuesinavarietyofways,suchasincreased
foreigninvestment,helpindesigningenvironmentallawsandthe
provisionoftechnicalassistance.
AQUESTODARELAOCUSTOBENEFICIO

UnitedStatesfederalenvironmentalpoliciesoverthelasttwo
decadeshavemetwithconsiderablesuccessincleaningupthelocal
environment.Yet,thereisagreatdealofdebateaboutwhetherthese
policieshavebeenworththecost.Intermsofeconomicbenefitsand
costs,thenumberssuggestbenefitsexceedcostsforfederalpolicies
regulatingairpollution,butfallshortofthecostsforpolicies
regulatingwaterpollution,withoverallbenefitsandcostsofpast
environmentalprogramsbeingcomparable.8Futureenvironmental
regulationsaremuchlesslikelytopassnarrowbenefit/costteststhat
arebasedontherisksreduced.Thereasonisthatwehavealready
implementedmostoftherelativelyeasyfixesforcleaningupthe
environment.
A MISSO DA EPA FOI MUNDANDO AO LONGO DO TEMPO DA
SAUDE PARA A ECOLOGIA

Overtime,themissionoftheEPAhasbeenredefined.Under

AdministratorCostle,whoservedunderPresidentCarter,the
emphasiswasonreducinghealthrisk.Now,theagencyismoving
awayfromhealthrisk,towardagreaterconcernwithecology.9
ANOVAAGENDADAEPAANOS90

Thisagendaincludesagreaterconcernforman'srelationshiptothe
planetand"sustainable"development."0Italsoincludesa
reassessmentofhoweconomictoolsmightbeusedtopromote
environmentalquality."
2.ASHORTCOURSEONFEDERALENVIRONMENTAL

POLICY
oautornaspaginas4e5arelaodostrespoderesnocontroledapoliticaambiental
federaleosconflitosqueocorrem,destacandooconflitoentreaEPAeaCasaBranca
humgrandeniveldeinrcianosistema(5)

Thereisagreatdealofinertiainthissystem,withthevarious
institutionsimposingimportantchecksandbalances.Thisinertia
makesitdifficultforthePresidenttochangepolicydramatically
overthelongtermwithoutatleastsomeformofacquiescencefrom
EPAandtheCongress.
OcrescimentodaautoridadedaEPAtemsidoconstante(5)
Oglobalclimateprotectionactde1987(6)

EnvironmentalQualityTrends
ThebestdataonenvironmentaltrendsintheUnitedStatesoverthe
lastseveraldecadesareforairemissions.(7)
AQUALIDADEDAGUA
Overallenvironmentaltrendsinwaterqualityaremuchmore
difficulttoassessthanairqualitytrends.Thereisnogoodoverall
measureofwaterquality,andtheexistingdataprovidesamixed
pictureabouttrendsinwaterquality.(9)
PAREINAPAGINA10