implemented. The EPA is faced with many challenges when it comes to emplacing these standards. For a more conservative government less EPA action is allowed to be carried out and even more so now with the potential disbandment of the EPA (2018). The battles over environmental science, the EPA, and regulatory decision making in 2017, as well as over the past two decades, say much about the way Congress deals with environmental, energy, and natural resources issues today, and the many obstacles it will face in trying to chart new policy directions of the twenty-first century. The environmental gridlock that often slows the democratic process makes it very difficult for the EPA to pass the risk control policy that they hope to implement. Impact Since the major environmental legislation of the 1970s was enacted, great progress has been made in some areas, but the environmental protection has come at a high price. Between 1970 and 1996, air pollutants dropped 32% while the population grew by 29%. Other pollutants have been more difficult to track, especially water pollutants. While air and water standards have been slowly improving, in 1996 70 million people still lived in counties that did not meet EPA ozone standards. 36% of rivers and 39% of lakes did not meet minimum standards for all uses (swimming, fishing, drinking, supporting aquatic life). In the same period, the size of the National Park Service grew from to , and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expanded by over three times to manage over . In 1995, 41% of the 960 endangered species were stable or improving. Critics of environmental legislation argue that the gains made in environmental protection come at too great a cost. The overall cost of environmental regulation in the United States is estimated to be about 2% of the gross domestic product-similar to many other countries, but calculating the cost is challenging both conceptually (deciding what costs are included) and practically (with data from a broad range of sources). In 1994, almost $122 billion was spent on pollution abatement and control. $35 billion of that has been in direct government spending, $65 billion was spent by business, and $22 billion was spent by individuals. See also Environmental Racism in the United States Climate change policy of the United States Foreign policy of the Obama administration regarding Climate change List of environmental agencies in the United States List