Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2024)

Back to the Drawing Board 50 Years of Air, Water and Wild

Life Quality Improvements

By Rik van Hemmen moved to the United States in 1976. It was an interesting time because the United States had

I recently enacted laws that were intended to improve the country’s air, water, and wild life.

Instead of speci? c archaic environ- mental laws that, for example, out- lawed dumping dead horses into the

Hudson River, these were nationwide laws that set a minimum national stan- dard that was to be enforced by the newly created EPA.

These laws were enacted during the Nixon administration even though some of these laws were vetoed by

Nixon and had to be overridden by a congressional super majority.

I suppose these laws were passed by

Congress because it was patently clear

Graphic above: Copyright Yulia/AdobeStock to both Democrats and Republicans tions that had caused the damage to the a mess of things the moment they are re- that things were not the way they were environment, but I very much doubt quired to clean up the mess they made.

supposed to be. Many animal species that the overall economy was negative- What is often ignored in the environ- had disappeared, rivers were burning ly affected by these laws, because the mental debates is that the lowest hang- and air pollution was so bad it was reduced pro? ts actually paid for new ing fruit is a drive to greater technolog- literally killing people. I am not fully industries that were involved in reduc- ical ef? ciencies, which reduces costs familiar with the debates during the ing and remedying pollution. Those for everybody. And once things start to creation of those laws, but I am sure businesses did not really exist prior to improve, everybody’s health and quali- there were factions that were predict- the environmental laws and now were ty of life is improved with a cleaner en- ing total economic collapse if those providing good incomes for a signi? - vironment. When those trends are com- laws were enacted and, in general, cant part of the population. It should bined it becomes clear environmental there was strong corporate resistance be remembered that the quality of an protection and pollution remediation is based on the fear pro? ts would de- economy is most strongly related to a killer app. It does not happen over- crease when corporation were forced employment and it makes no difference night, but, looking back over the past to reduce pollution and clean up the if that employment is related to creat- 50 years, the results are nothing but as- mess they had made in the past. ing pollution or cleaning up pollution. tonishing. Everybody truly lives better

I am almost certain that these laws Most of all, there is no reason to feel today than 50 years ago. Not just the negatively affected pro? ts of corpora- sorry for any person or business that made rich; everybody has a higher quality of 10 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2024

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