The modern environmental movement traces its roots back to the Nixon era in the early 1970s when the public was becoming aware of rising environmental threats. Strong public support of environmental protection measures motivated the policymakers to act on proposed legislation. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) set the stage for the following decades of environmental protection measures. NEPA gave the charge to maintain a balance between man and nature for current and future generations. As Nixon designated the 70s as the "environmental decade", Congress rallied to the call and pushed popular environmental policy legislation into law. "Congress had frequently played a more dominant role than the president in initiating environmental policies, and that pattern continued in the 1970s" (Vig, 12). The significant factor during this time was the fact that so much progress had been made which is unlike the traditional American incremental approach. This congressional passion is not to say that there were no partisan gridlocks over certain issues such as energy. Public opinion was mixed and the issue was complicated but overall, "Congress maintained its strong commitment to environmental policy throughout the 1970s" (Vig, 13).
The Reagan administration in the 1980s heralded a new era of conflict in the realm of environmental conservation. Public support and enthusiasm for new and more restrictive environmental policies had slowed in the later years of the 1970s and the anti-environmental agenda of Reagan "sought to reverse or weaken many of the policies of the previous decade" (Vig, 79). Congress opposed many of the efforts that Reagan made to open resource exploitation in the U.S. and the battle left much of Reagan's agenda unfinished at the end of his second term. While some environmental measures such as the Global Climate Protection Act of 1987, and various amendments of older legislation were successfully passed, "Reagan clearly lost the battle of public opinion on the environment. His policies had the unintended effect of revitalizing environmental organizations" (Vig, 81). While keeping pace with much of what Reagan had started, Bush Sr. promised a more environmentally friendly presidency. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 became "arguably the single most important legislative achievement of his presidency" (Vig, 82). Bush came to office just like Nixon during a time of increased public support for environmental action but faced greater resistance to policy changes toward the end of their term.
Clinton came to office with a number of campaign promises and a full agenda of environmental policy reform. After failure upon failure to deliver on his promises, Clinton was forced to resort to the use of executive powers as a means to keep his agenda moving. "Intense opposition to environmental and natural resource policies arose in the 104th Congress (1995-1997), when the Republican Party took control of both the House and Senate for the first time in forty years" (Vig, 1). This stagnated all new environmental policy during this time and congressional opposition ultimately held on. "Since 1992, governments at all levels have struggled to redesign environmental policy for the twenty-first century" (Vig, 2). President George W. Bush faced a similar congressional environment as Clinton and made full use of his executive powers to bypass congress and advance his political agenda. While there have been times when environmental policy has successfully risen through the halls of Congress to become law, there has been an equal and perhaps longer period of time when disagreement and conflict has stalled real progress. "Nonetheless, when issues are highly visible, the public is supportive, and political leaders act cohesively, the U.S. political system has proved flexible enough to permit substantial policy innovation" (Vig, 8).
On the campaign trail, Obama promised the nation, a new environmental era, which would be a departure from the posture of previous presidential rule. Declaring a laundry list of proposed actions, Obama enticed and excited the nation with hope for real change in Washington and delivered the Christmas list of environmental policies that the environmental protection community had been waiting for. Riding the wave of energy following the election of the first African American president, Obama and Congress got to work spending money to revitalize the depressed economy through environmentally friendly projects in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As the public became weary of the lack of expedient progress toward the end of Obama's first year in office, Congress became less interested in supporting the policies that were coming from the White House. The Obama administration found itself in an inhospitable position similar to previous time periods when deadlocked governmental entities limited the available options for the president. Environmental protection measures were extremely unpopular during the recession that seemed to last forever. Obama resorted to actions under his executive power during the recession and put small steps in place to make future changes less drastic. Policy changes throughout the federal government focused on instituting the idea of place in every project and proposal to ensure that the impact of government on the environment was sensitive to the local needs. As the recession began to give way to renewed growth in the spring of 2012, it is the renewed optimism that could carry this presidential hopeful to a second term and a second chance to deliver the promises to the American people.
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