--> Abstract: Effective Environmental Regulation, by Claire T. Dedrick, Norman E. Hill; #90962 (1978).
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Abstract: Previous HitEffectiveNext Hit Environmental Regulation

Claire T. Dedrick, Norman E. Hill


The forerunners of environmental laws were single-purpose approaches to resource use. Most of the abuses of resources resulted from the unanticipated side effects of other single-purpose activities. Environmental regulatory laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act were enacted to require that a proposed activity be studied to discover the unanticipated side effects before they occur. The results of the study would be used to revise the activity to avoid the problem before the activity is approved. If the environmental evaluation laws are to be Previous HiteffectiveNext Hit in leading to sound revisions in activities, they must introduce the environmental considerations as early as possible in the design of projects and programs. The evaluation proces must require more than just identification of the environmental problems. The law must require a commitment to make feasible changes in the project which could avoid the environmental problems. To be Previous HiteffectiveTop, the law must lead the private sector to anticipate the environmental constraints in the design of their activities.

The purpose is not to prevent the use of resources, but to encourage the careful management of all resources with an understanding of how they affect one another. This purpose comes from the conviction that society will benefit more from the husbanding of all its resources together rather than sacrificing one resource for the use of another.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90962©1978 AAPG 2nd Circum-Pacific Energy and Minerals Resource Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii