most major laws in modern u.s. environmental policy were enacted in the 1980s.
most major laws in modern u.s. environmental policy were enacted in the?
1980s
the environmental policy of the united states is a federal governmental action to regulate activities that have an environmental impact in the united states. the goal of environmental policy is to protect the environment for future generations while interfering as little as possible with the efficiency of commerce or the liberty of the people and to limit inequity in who is burdened with environmental costs. as his first official act bringing in the 1970s, president richard nixon signed the u.s. national environmental policy act (nepa) into law on new years day, 1970. also in the same year, america starts to celebrate the first earth day, which is "the big bang of u.s. environmental politics, launching the country on a sweeping social learning curve about ecological management never before experienced or attempted in any other nation"(rosenbaum, 2016, p. 9). nepa established a comprehensive us national environmental policy and created the requirement to prepare an environmental impact statement for “major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the environment.” eccleston has called nepa, the world's “environmental magna carta”.
environmental policy of the united states
today, travelers driving west from vandalia travel west along modern u.s. 40 through south-central illinois. the national road continued into indiana along modern u.s. 40, passing by the cities of terre haute and indianapolis. within indianapolis, the national road used the original alignment of u.s. 40 along west washington and east washington streets (modern u.s. 40 is now routed along i-465). east of indianapolis, the road went through the city of richmond before entering ohio, where the road continued along modern u.s. 40 and passed through the northern suburbs of dayton, springfield, and columbus. west of zanesville, ohio, despite u.s. 40's predominantly following the original route, many segments of the original road can still be found. between old washington and morristown, the original roadbed has been overlaid by i-70. the road then continued east across the ohio river into wheeling in west virginia, the original western end of the national road when it was first paved. after running in west virginia, the national road then entered pennsylvania. the road cut across southwestern pennsylvania, heading southeast for about before entering maryland. east of keyser's ridge, the road used modern alternate u.s. 40 to the city of cumberland (modern u.s. 40 is now routed along i-68). cumberland was the original eastern terminus of the road. in the mid-19th century, a turnpike extension to baltimore—along what is now maryland route 144 from cumberland to hancock, u.s. 40 from hancock to hagerstown, alternate u.s. 40 from hagerstown to frederick, and maryland route 144 from frederick to baltimore—was approved. the approval process was a hotly debated subject because of the removal of the original macadam construction that made this road famous.
national road