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Originally Posted by ngdawg
I don't think 'very little has been done'. More can be done...but the strides made in the last 30 years or more have been huge.
We have saved many species from certain extinction due to pesticides and hazardous environmental impact.
The stripping of rainforests has been slowed.
Stringent regulations have been put in place to control environmental hazards from industry.
Recycling has become a way of life.
More and more, alternative energy comes into play in both homes and business.
Revitalization of many areas of the world has taken place( the Black Forest comes to mind here)
Strip mining has decreased.
Our biggest hurdle is dependency on fossil fuels. How cool would it be to see a new development with a windmill in every yard?
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Absolutely, we have made great strides at many levels in the last 30 years.
But we are living and working under a 30 year old national environmental policy. We renew the old bills every 8-10 years (Clean Air, Clean Water, etc) with the same old 1970s regulatory standards.....as the amount of greenhouse gas emissions continues to grow from the 70s, through the 80s and 90s, and into the 21st century.
I cant think of any new meaningful environmental initiatives under Reagan, GHW Bush or even Clinton/Gore.
And in the last seven years, we've taken a step backwards under the current Bush.
His "Clear Sky Initiative" rolls back Clean Air Act standards on power plants and other large industrial polluters.
His "Healthy Forest Initiative" has opened up some pristine national forests to the logging industry.
And his energy program gave $multi millions in tax breaks to big oil at the expense of supporting and developing alternative energy.