Dear EarthTalk: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had its 40th anniversary in 2010. How effective has the EPA been and what are its biggest challenges today?—Bill A., Seattle, Wash.

By most accounts the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which turned 40 in December 2009, has been very effective. The first dedicated national environmental agency of its kind, the EPA has been instrumental in setting policy priorities and writing and enforcing a wide range of laws that have literally changed the face of the Earth for the better. The EPA’s existence and effectiveness has also inspired scores of other countries to create their own environmental agencies along the same lines.

Several environmental wake-up calls during the 1960s—from revelations about the hazards of pesticides to smog causing respiratory problems to rivers catching on fire as they flowed through industrial areas—set the stage for the creation of EPA in 1970 by the Nixon administration. The agency was charged with overseeing implementation and enforcement of a new raft of laws designed to protect Americans’ air, water and land from the ill effects of pollution, development and urbanization. The Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act are early examples of sweeping legislation that only a dedicated environmental agency could properly oversee. Today the EPA has also taken up the mantle of helping Americans find and implement remedies for pressing global problems from ozone depletion to climate change.

The Aspen Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering leadership and dialogue on wide range of topics, recently unveiled a list of “10 ways the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has strengthened America over the past 40 years.”

The home runs on the list—which was compiled by a group of more than 20 environmental leaders, including several former EPA officials—include: banning the widespread use of the pesticide DDT, which was decimating bald eagles and other birds and threatening public health; achieving significant reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions that were polluting water sources via acid rain; changing public perceptions of waste, leading to innovations that make use of waste for energy creation and making new products; getting lead out of gasoline; classifying secondhand smoke as a known cause of cancer, leading to smoking bans in indoor public places; establishing stringent emission standards for pollutants emitted by cars and trucks; regulating toxic chemicals and encouraging the development of more benign chemicals; establishing a national commitment to restore and maintain the safety of fresh water, via the Clean Water Act; promoting equitable environmental protection for minority and low-income citizens; and increasing public information and communities’ “right to know” what chemicals and/or pollutants they may be exposed to in their daily lives.

As to the EPA’s priorities now under administrator Lisa Jackson, climate change is high atop the agency’s agenda, as are further improving air quality, assuring the safety of chemicals used in everyday products, protecting increasingly compromised waterways and coastal areas, building stronger state and tribal partnerships, and expanding protection for underrepresented communities. Any number of potential hurdles—from an unfriendly Congress to lack of White House resolve to public apathy, let alone future natural and man-made disasters that divert attention and resources—could hamper the agency’s progress.

CONTACTS: EPA, www.epa.gov; Aspen Institute, www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/docs/events/EPA_40_Brochure.pdf.

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7 Comments

1. 1. Cosmic 02:38 PM 2/8/11

   As long as there are people with money who have the firm resolve NOT to solve problems and to buy public opinion, there will always be an uphill struggle for environmental protection. We would be in a far better place if we had embraced problem solving and innovation and kept taxes high for those who could pay them. There has been little incentive to problem solve or to get new perspectives in this country. The focus has been on hoarding money and empire building. :(

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2. 2. ConcernedCitizen in reply to Cosmic 03:47 PM 2/8/11

   We have the highest corporate tax in the world. Our taxes are towers tall. Keeping taxes means the only companies that can afford to work here are the ones that cut corners.

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3. 3. Trent1492 04:55 PM 2/8/11

   @Concerned Citizen,
   
   "We have the highest corporate tax in the world. Our taxes are towers tall"
   
   Nope. The U.S in not even in the top five.
   
   http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Income_Taxes_By_Country.svg
   
   You forget about all those loop holes and subsidies that these corporations get. Consider how much taxes Exxon-Mobil paid last year.
   
   http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/01/ge-exxon-walmart-business-washington-corporate-taxes_2.html
   
   

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4. 4. Postman1 in reply to ConcernedCitizen 09:06 PM 2/8/11

   Actually, in a speech to the Chamber of Commerce on 2/7/11, Obama said the US corporate tax rate is 'among the highest in the world', not the highest.
   So far, these comments don't seem to be about the article. While I personally feel the EPA has lost sight of its mandate, I have to agree that they have had some impressive results in the past. They need to stay out of politics, unless they want their future funding(and possibly their existence) tied to the ups and downs of a particular group.

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5. 5. agenthucky in reply to Postman1 12:54 PM 2/9/11

   You are all too right, the EPA has had success, but it is risky to get tied to politics, you see this happening with climate change. It has an ebb and flow that is attached to the democratic side, although it has nothing to do with politics.
   
   It's a shame, but these agencies need to get help from the government if they want to mandate, this gets caught up with everything our government doesn, which in turn introduces them to politics. If companies are lobbying against the EPA, they will need to retaliate by lobbying back (which takes time/resources away from what the EPA needs to concentrate on, thus is a win/win sitation for the groups lobbying against).
   
   You are too right about your comment, and it's a shame they have to get dragged down into politics, but we don't have a fair system in place. Corporations drag these agencies through the political dirt. It only hurts those agencies.

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6. 6. ttheobald 03:43 AM 2/11/11

   @ConcernedCitizen - "We have the highest corporate tax in the world."
   
   Way to repeat a lie, dude. Clue: there are dozens of countries worldwide that have higher corp taxes.
   
   @Post & agent - there's no way to avoid having this be tainted by politics. As long as private ownership and democracy exist - and there's no way those are going away soon, I hope - then private owners will attempt to influence others' minds and sway votes and enforcement to their own favored outcome.
   
   Sometimes, that outcome means dumping pollutants into the air/water/landfills. That's just the way it goes.
   
   But if we, as citizens, care, then we need to stand up for a strong EPA to protect our individual rights from the influence of the Exxons, the BPs, etc. There's no other way to avoid being run over by their steamroller.
   
   T

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7. 7. eco-steve 08:02 PM 2/20/11

   Clearly the policy has been a total failure, since the USA continues to be one of the Worlds major sources of environmental damage.

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