Reply-To: A discussion of Ecological and Environmental Theories and
Practices <ECONET@MIAMIU.BITNET>
Sender: A discussion of Ecological and Environmental Theories and
Practices <ECONET@MIAMIU.BITNET>
From: ritter@AMETHYST.BUCKNELL.EDU
Subject: Urban Environmental Quality: water
Urban Environmental Water Quality Policy Recommendations
As a group of students from Bucknell University researching Urban Environmental water quality in the United States, we have found that in order to improve the water quality, the U.S. must take several steps.
The first of which is increasing regulations on water pollution and increasing the fines for this pollution. For example, at the present a $50,000 dollar fine to a large corporation, such as Exxon for water pollution, isn't a very convincing punishment. If a much higher fine were imposed, these corporations would be much more cautious about hazardous waste removal. We also feel that a progressive tax should be placed upon corporations for the amount of waste they release in water after the set standard. What it comes down to is that corporations will violate the law if they can get away with it and if it is in their financial interest. We feel that these regulations in addition to our other recommendations are a must if corporations are going to comply with the law and contribute to the improvement of our water.
The second recommendation is public education. The better acquainted with environmental issues citizens are, the more likely they are to demand environmentally sound decisions from their elected officials. The education will play an important role in overcoming the "not in my backyard," or NIMBY syndrome. Some problems associated with water quality, in particular, are made worse by the actions of people who may be in agreement with the need to solve a problem but do not want it solved in their local community.
The third recommendation is accepting to pay the bill. If the United States waters are to be managed to meet future needs, the public will have to begin paying for maintenance and accept a "users pays" system instead of increasing federal subsidies.(Warren Viessman)
In conclusion, we as a group feel that urban environmental water quality will not improve until these step are fully implemented. These steps are not the only measures available to us but these are the ones we found would definitely help alleviate the problem. We request any responses or comments on our policy recommendations.
