2009 was a dramatic year for the Clean Air Act (CAA). Under the Obama Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took significant steps on many fronts. As widely expected, it issued an endangerment finding with respect to greenhouse gases (GHGs) and granted California's waiver request. However, less expected, was the new national automobile GHG emissions standard that managed to garner the auto industry's support.
Editors' Summary
Editors' Summary
Editors' Summary
I. Introduction
While we agree with Richard B. Stewart, in his Article, Solving the U.S. Nuclear Waste Dilemma, on some crucial issues--most notably that the national process for developing a geologic repository for disposal nuclear waste is currently a mess--we have a substantially different perspective on the reasons for the mess and the path forward.
I. Background on Geologic Repositories
Richard B. Stewart's article, U.S. Nuclear Waste Law and Policy: Fixing a Bankrupt System, provides a thoughtful discussion of some of the complex scientific, policy and legal issues involved with nuclear waste generation and disposal. It is packed with useful facts, information, and history, and just the recitation of the history and circumstances of nuclear waste disposal issues and decisions in a readable, understandable form makes a useful contribution.
In his article, Solving the U.S. Nuclear Waste Dilemma, Richard B. Stewart analyzes the history of the failure of the U.S. to manage the recycling and disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from the nuclear fuel cycle associated with the production of electricity. He then develops some insightful suggestions to rectify the problem, recognizing that our current government policy is not moving the country toward a viable solution for disposal of SNF and HLW.
My basic critique of the Endangered Species Act (the ESA) is that it is built on an untenable premise that there is something natural--whether called species, ecosystems, or biodiversity--out there that we can save from humanity's reach. The Act's problems ultimately are rooted in a denial of the extent of human domination of nature and a failure to recognize our limited ability to halt and reverse the decline of species, ecosystems, and biodiversity given our pervasive impact on the planet.
Above my desk at work, I keep a button that reads "Save the Ugly Animals Too." It is a reminder that more than just the charismatic megafauna, such as wolves and bald eagles and grizzly bears and whales, are worth conserving. From the standpoint of protecting the web of life, including the ecosystems that benefit us all by providing services such as water purification, flood control, nurseries for our fish and shellfish, and opportunities for outdoor recreation, it is often as important to conserve the lesser known species, the cogs and wheels that drive those ecosystems.