Environmental

The History of Environmental Laws

By chelsea.alexander

  • Philosophers

    Philosophers
    From Aristotle and Immanuel Kant we find that nature is purely instrumental for human life, but it is necessary for humans to take care of the environment and the animals (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

  • Early Documents

    Early Documents
    In 1671, the Colonial Assembly of South Carolina passed an important law that is still used today. It prevents the poisoning of "creeks, streams, or inland waters" by regulating what goes into such bodies of water. If found guilty of this, conviction was the punishment (South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control).

  • Constitution

    Constitution
    The Constitution provides no direct limitations on the government to protect the environment. But through Posterity, the Constitution calls the government to think about the present and future of our nation. Through Posterity, the Constitution makes the government think of the safe continuation of our country (Constitutional Law Foundation).

  • Legislative Branch

    Legislative Branch
    The EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, was created by President Richard Nixon in 1970 to monitor and fix national guidelines for environmental laws. At the time, air pollution was a concern due to automobiles and factories. The EPA was initially created to combat air pollution with the Clean Air Act of 1970. The EPA has created many laws and regulations over the years to keep the US emissions and waste to a minimum (Encyclopoedia Britannica).

  • Judicial Branch

    Judicial Branch
    A bill President Nixon signed was the NEPA, or the national environmental protection act of 1970. This started a multitude of bills that were passed, starting with the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972, the Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (NRDC).

  • Executive Branch

    Executive Branch
    President Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, was rated as the most environmentally friendly President. He deserved this title through his many acts, bills, and his lobbying for the passage of bills. His greatest feats were the creation of the Department of Energy and the passage of the Soil and Water Conservation Act, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and amendments on the Clean Air Act, as well as the National Energy Act (Carter Center).